WhatsApp Changes Incoming After Cambridge Analytica Scandal

• WhatsApp is set to receive major changes following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
• The app will allow users to recover deleted media including pictures, GIFs and documents.
• The privacy features will be available to Android users only for the time being.

Facebook has been under heavy scrutiny recently due to the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal that led to Mark Zuckerberg being grilled by US Senators. The social media network rolled out privacy updates recently and its subsidiary app WhatsApp is receiving changes as well.

WhatsApp is set to receive new privacy features that allow users to recover deleted media from their accounts. This includes pictures, GIFs, voice messages and documents that users may have deleted from chats. The privacy update is set to release for Android users only for the time being.

Image Courtesy of UG Tech Mag

These updates will be rolled out in the 2.8.113 update which will enable an option to re-download older media files directly from the WhatsApp servers. WhatsApp kept data you do not download on its servers for 30 days. It is not the case anymore with the new privacy changes.

Under the new laws that are coming into force from May 2018, WhatsApp will need to comply with guidelines for data retention. Users will be able to download deleted media, and if the files are no longer on WhatsApp servers, users can request the original sender of the media to resend it.

WhatsApp has spoken out on the recent privacy scandal, assuring that the content of messages cannot be intercepted by WhatsApp, Facebook or any third-party due to end-to-end encryption in place. However, it has not stopped the popular messaging service app to offer users more control over their data over the past few months.

In its last privacy update, WhatsApp offered users the ability to delete messages in group chats. Previously, the “Delete For Everyone” feature was limited to personal chats only, which has now been extended to Group Chats as well. Once a message is deleted, it is replaced with “This message was deleted” in the chat windows.

To access the new WhatsApp features, you will need to update the app to the latest version once it rolls out. The rollout for Android users should begin shortly, and there has been no confirmation on when the iOS version of the app will receive the new security updates.