WhatsApp is enforcing new rules to its chat app that has left over a million users in United Kingdom banned from using the service.
As the world’s most popular chatting app with over 1.5 billion people using it every month across the globe has taken a drastic step in the wake of the ongoing GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) move.
According to reports, the Facebook owned app for iOS, Android and desktop will no longer allow people under the age of 16 to use it. For those having children with smartphones expect a blackout soon as UK users have been banned and probably the same could happen to Africa soon.
Until recently, WhatsApp had allowed those aged 13 years-old and above to join the messaging service in the UK. However, on Friday May 25 2018 the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) kicked into force.
The EU’s data privacy laws give the public more rights over how personal information is used and it raises the amount that firms can be fined if they breach it.
As a result, those who do not meet the new minimum age requirement for WhatsApp will no longer be able to use the hugely-popular messaging service.
According to WhatsApp, the company isn’t asking for any new rights to collect personal information as part of its updated terms of service but its goal is simply to explain how we use and protect the limited information it has about you.
WhatsApp said their update ensured it could “meet the new high standards of transparency for how we protect the privacy of our users”.
In the weeks running up to GDPR becoming official on May 25, WhatsApp users reported online that they had been asked in advance to confirm they were over 16.
Is Africa next? Are we soon joining the GDPR drama and having our access to some apps stripped from us? Let’s wait and see.
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