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BT Buzz: Why WhatsApp s clarification on privacy policy is misleading
Lack of data protection bill puts India at a disadvantage and Facebook seems to be exploiting it, claim experts. They say WhatsApp has a different policy for European and non-European users
Sonal Khetarpal | January 15, 2021 | Updated 12:26 IST
WhatsApp is likely to see 15% users in India move away, says LocalCircles survey
Instant messaging app WhatsApp recently announced the updating of its privacy policy terms from February 8, 2021. After this date users will have no choice but to accept these terms to use the app.
This has led to a backlash with many users migrating to alternate platforms. A survey by LocalCircles finds that WhatsApp is likely to see 15% users in India move away, while 36% will reduce usage drastically.
For the first time ever, a government survey in India asked its people if they have ever used the internet. The question was part of the fifth National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the data for which were recently released. The survey was conducted last year.
Bihar reported the lowest percentage of women who said they had (20.6 per cent), Sikkim the highest (76.7 per cent). Among men, Meghalaya had the lowest (42.1 per cent) and Goa (82.9 per cent) had the highest. The new NFHS data are partial they contain results from 22 states only, with big states such as Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan missing. Thus it is not possible to fully decode the survey data just yet. The results discussed in this story are from this first phase alone, and show wide variations in internet access among men and women, between states, and in urban and rural areas.