New data shows how big the WhatsApp privacy nightmare is for Facebook

Facebook will roll out its controversial WhatsApp privacy policy update on Saturday. WhatsApp users will have to agree to the new policy to continue using the chat app in full. Facebook will not delete the app if you do not agree to the new terms of service, but it will gradually phase out features to the point that WhatsApp texting and calling might be impossible. Inactivity resulting from the inability to use the app might lead to account termination.

Facebook might not have canceled plans to update the WhatsApp privacy policy to collect more user data from e-commerce features inside WhatsApp, but the company’s WhatsApp privacy nightmare isn’t exactly over. A regulator in Germany already issued an injunction preventing Facebook from processing user data from WhatsApp. The German regulatory body urged its European peers to take similar action. Regulations aside, Facebook also has another serious problem of its own making. The WhatsApp privacy change fueled a renewed interest in competing WhatsApp chat apps, with millions of people downloading Signal and Telegram. A new report shows just how significant the problem might be for Facebook.