WhatsApp is a website and app that allows you to message other people or call them for free (data charges may apply). You can use this app on your iPhone, Android, Windows Phone devices and your Mac or PC. They also offer WhatsApp for business purposes, so you can interact with customers, provide customer support, or deliver important notifications.
Personal data collected
WhatsApp collects your personal information, such as mobile number, contacts, profile name and picture, status message, favorites list, and undelivered messages. They automatically collect some information from you, such as how you use their services, how you interact with others using their services, log files, and diagnostic, crash, website, and performance logs and reports. If you pay for their services, you will have to provide your billing address and payment information. WhatsApp will collect your payment receipts, including from the App Store, Google Play Store, or other third-parties processing your payment.
WhatsApp collects your device and connection information, such as hardware model, operating system information, browser information, IP address, mobile network information, mobile number, device identifiers, and location information.
They may retain messages for up to 30 days if they are undelivered. They delete the message from their servers once it is delivered or if it remains undelivered after 30 days. You may provide a copy of your messages, how to contact you, or send an email with information related to their app performance and other issues to customer support.
Personal data usage
WhatsApp uses data to:
- Improve performance and deliver media messages more efficiently.
- Help you organize how you communicate with others.
- Allow you to create, join, or get added to groups and broadcast lists. These groups and lists get associated with your account.
- Allow you to contact customer support.
- Provide customer support and fix any issues with their services.
- Distribute their apps.
- Process payments.
- Help them understand how you use their services.
- Improve and customize their services.
- Analyze and develop their service usage.
- Develop new services and research how they are used.
- Verify accounts and activity to protect you from fraud and illegal activities.
- Communicate with you about their services, features, and updates.
Cookies and similar tech
WhatsApp uses cookies and other similar technologies to operate and provide their services. This includes providing their services which are web based, improve your experiences, understand how their services are being used, customize their service, provide WhatsApp for web and desktop, show you relevant content, understand which FAQs are popular, and your online status. If you disable cookies, their app may not function properly.
WhatsApp account
If you decide to delete your account, your undelivered messages are deleted from WhatsApp servers, along with any other information they no longer need to operate their services. If you delete your account without using their in-app deletion feature, your information may be stored with them for a longer period of time. When you delete your account, it doesn’t affect people’s messages from you that they have a copy of.
Data shared with WhatsApp
How to protect your privacy
You can protect your privacy on WhatsApp by:
- Going into their in-app delete my account feature to delete your account.
- Disabling cookies.
How to contact WhatsApp about your privacy
You can contact WhatsApp through their online Contact Us section, or via postal mail at:
WhatsApp Inc.
Privacy Policy
1601 Willow Road
Menlo Park, California 94025
USA