This was bound to happen. It was predicted when Facebook acquired WhatsApp that this would inevitably happen and the company has indeed confirmed it today. WhatsApp will start sharing user data with Facebook. This includes sharing users’ phone numbers to provide them with “better friend suggestions” as well as “relevant ads.”
Facebook is the world’s largest social network and if you use it, chances are it already has quite a bit of your data, and now it’s going to get even more.
WhatsApp says that it will share basic metrics about the app with Facebook, metrics like how often people use the app. Sharing users’ phone numbers with Facebook will enable the social network to provide better friends suggestions and relevant ads.
In its blog post announcing the changes to its privacy policy, WhatsApp reiterated its resolve to keeping users’ conversations secure and private. It said that even as it coordinates more with Facebook, users’ encrypted messages will remain private and no one else will be able to read them, not WhatsApp, and definitely not Facebook.
The change is being made to enable users to communicate with businesses that matter to them. It provides an example of hearing from your bank about a potentially fraudulent transaction or getting notifications from an airline about a delayed flight. Facebook has been testing these integrations with Messenger and the data sharing between the two companies will enable WhatsApp to start offering similar integrations.