WhatsApp, Facebook Inc’s popular messaging service, will start sharing users’ phone numbers with its parent, allowing for more relevant advertisements and friend recommendations on the social network.
The move is WhatsApp’s first update to its privacy policy since it was acquired by Facebook in 2014.
WhatsApp will also explore ways for businesses to send messages using its platform over the next several months, it said in a blog post. “By connecting your phone number with Facebook’s systems, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them.”
WhatsApp, however, claimed that the users’ messages would remain private even as it step up coordination with its parent company.
“Even as we coordinate more with Facebook in the months ahead, your encrypted messages stay private and no one else can read them,” the statement added.
