Ever since WhatsApp updated its privacy policy a few days ago, there's a lot of outrage among its users, most of who are even thinking about switching to a new platform. 

Following all the criticism, WhatsApp has decided to give some clarity on its recent privacy policy update.

In its statement, WhatsApp confirmed that the latest change didn't affect the privacy policy of messages sent to friends and family in any way and it'll continue to protect our messages with end-to-end encryption.

We want to address some rumors and be 100% clear we continue to protect your private messages with end-to-end encryption. pic.twitter.com/6qDnzQ98MP

WhatsApp emphasized that it could not see our private messages or hear our voice calls to users. The company noted that there are various rumours about their policy and they wanted to address them before they become applicable from February 8. 

WhatsApp released a new FAQ page on its site to highlight private communication on the app.  In its thread, WhatsApp said, "Neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can read your messages or hear your calls with your friends, family, and co-workers on WhatsApp. Whatever you share, it stays between you. Our privacy policy update does not affect the privacy of your messages with friends or family." 

In addition to this, WhatsApp also stated that it didn't keep logs of user communications. “While traditionally mobile carriers and operators store this information, we believe that keeping these records for two billion users would be both a privacy and security risk and we don't do it,” it said. 

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WhatsApp also made it a point to note that it didn't share your contacts with Facebook and even our group chats are secure and end-to-end encrypted. The only thing WhatsApp says is that it'll continue to track your location even if you are not using its location-related services. 

WhatsApp uses IP addresses and other information like phone number area codes to estimate your general location. You can learn more about what has to say here in their FAQ page.

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