New Delhi: WhatsApp has filed a petition in the Delhi High court alleging that other Indian mobile applications are collecting even more data than the messaging platform does. With the petition, the social media giant has hit back hard on the rising criticism over its new privacy policies.
WhatsApp moved to Delhi High Court on May 5, according to a report by Inc42. “A review of the privacy policies of many internet-based applications and websites confirms that such policies include provisions describing the information they may collect that are similar to and in many instances much broader than those in the 2021 Update,” WhatsApp’s affidavit quoted by Inc42.
In its petition, WhatsApp named apps such as Zomato, BigBasket, Ola, Koo and Truecaller, as the apps collect more user data than it does. Even Aarogya Setu is collecting a lot more data than WhatsApp, the company alleged in its petition.
WhatsApp even didn’t spare other tech giants, and claimed that Microsoft, Google and Zoom collect the same or more user data than it does. Republic TV’s digital arm is also accused of collecting more data than WhatsApp. The social media company also pleaded with the Delhi High Court that not allowing to update its new privacy policy will impact its operations in India.
In January 2021, Delhi High Court had ruled that users should get the option of either accepting or denying the new privacy policy of WhatsApp. The decision led to a delay in the rollout of the policy. The new deadline to accept WhatsApp’s privacy policy is on May 15.
The platform is striving to take the consent of its users by showing them how the privacy policy works in their status, along with running several ads in newspapers.
