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WhatsApp privacy policy 2021 continues to make the headlines and concerns billions of users in India and other regions.
News18
WhatsApp and Meta are once again in the firing line as the Supreme Court in India questions the much talked about WhatsApp privacy policy and how millions of users and their personal data are being exploited for targeted ads by the platform.
This case has been ongoing since 2021 when WhatsApp had sought user’s acceptance to its new privacy policy in garb of an update, which if a user did not accept, would have deprived them of some of the features offered by the messaging app.
Fast-forward to 2026, the WhatsApp Privacy policy case from 2021 continues to make the headlines, especially when statements like, “Quit India if you can’t follow the constitution,” are made by the Chief Justice of the country. So what is the WhatsApp privacy policy that has been going on for over 5 years, what is the issue and how does it affect the users in India.
Where It All Started
WhatsApp users got a pop-up message asking them to agree to the new privacy policy terms with a new update. The changes basically gave a clearer picture of how much of your data will be shared.
In the new privacy policy and terms of use, the Facebook-owned app detailed how WhatsApp’s service handles your data as well as how WhatsApp partners with the larger Facebook platform to allow integrations across multiple apps, including Instagram and Facebook Messenger. Three large buckets under which the new terms were categorised.
First is how businesses can manage their chats using Facebook tools, more information about how WhatsApp works including how your data is processed and illustrations of how your data ties in with the larger Facebook app ecosystem requirements which is called “how we work with Facebook”.
The details given in the policy irked millions and privacy activists who decided to seek legal support to counter the changes and not force WhatsApp users to comply especially since the data regulations were clearly violating privacy rules.
CCI And Supreme Court Lash Out
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had said in the Delhi High Court that the new privacy policy of WhatsApp would lead to excessive data collection and “stalking” of consumers for targeted advertising to bring in more users and is therefore, an alleged abuse of dominant position. This is something WhatsApp has regularly denied.
And since then, the Supreme Court of India has come out strongly against Meta and WhatsApp for its alleged data sharing practices and exploiting the rules of its users. During a recent hearing, the Chief Justice Surya Kant lashed out at the platform and warned, “If you can’t follow our Constitution, then leave India. We won’t allow any citizen’s privacy to be compromised.”
What Users Should Know
The biggest problem with the authority of a single platform like WhatsApp is that it can dictate the terms based on the dependence of the apps among millions. But changing the privacy policy terms might not be understood by everyone, especially those with limited understanding of such concerns and freely handing over their data to these big corporations.
In its defence, WhatsApp has said it collects user information to be able to provide services and customize the experience for the user. Among the information that you share with WhatsApp are your mobile phone number and your profile name to create and run a WhatsApp account.
WhatsApp insists it does not retain your messages and says that messages that you send and receive aren’t typically stored on their servers. “Once your messages are delivered, they are deleted from our servers.” However, there are scenarios where your messages may stay on WhatsApp servers temporarily—that is if a message remains undelivered for a certain period of time up to a maximum of 30 days in the encrypted form, after which it is deleted as well as media forwards that are temporarily stored in encrypted form to improve the efficiency of additional forwards.
The WhatsApp-India privacy policy battle is unlikely to end any time soon but hopefully it does not impact billions of users in the country, who have become heavily reliant on the platform, not just for messages but so much more.
Delhi, India, India
February 03, 2026, 13:38 IST
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