New controversial WhatsApp rules can be rejected by most users

WhatsApp is gearing up to make its conflicting terms and privacy policy changes optional for most users. Earlier this year, the WhatsApp messenger introduced new terms of service that immediately sparked controversy and forced many people to switch to other services such as Telegram and Signal. The new terms included the granting of permissions to transfer data to Facebook.

XDA-Developers is now reporting that the new terms may be optional. WABetaInfo found a document stating how the new terms will be used and that they will be optional for most WhatsApp users. Facebook now appears to be planning to limit this mandatory change to WhatsApp Business users only.

This means that if you want to use WhatsApp to communicate with friends and family, you can ignore the terms and continue using the service without restrictions. However, if you plan to chat with business accounts, you will still have to “review and accept” the new update to WhatsApp's privacy terms.

The updated terms of service will only apply to users exchanging messages with business accounts. WABetanInfo states that new changes to the Terms of Service will be announced shortly and a future beta version of WhatsApp will be released along with these changes. However, there is no official confirmation from WhatsApp yet.

In January, WhatsApp updated its privacy policy, but users were allowed to accept the terms until May. In parallel, WhatsApp published explanations to them, emphasizing that it will not share data from personal chats or groups. In May, when the new policy was to become mandatory, the company said it would not immediately restrict WhatsApp functionality for users who did not accept the new policy update. It was expected that users could start blocking within a few weeks, but this never happened. All this time the company was trying to find a compromise solution.