What happens to data of users who quit WhatsApp, asks HC

WhatsApp, the popular instant messaging platform, was on Wednesday asked by the Delhi High Court what happens to information and messages of a user when the user deletes his or her account, even as the company claimed that its new privacy policy is for sharing of ''information'' and ''not data'' of users with its parent Facebook.

''We don't want to know about users willing to continue with WhatsApp. We are concerned about users who do not wish to share. What happens to past information/ data on deletion of account? What happens if you opt out?'' asked a bench headed by Chief Justice G Rohini.

The bench posed the query during the hearing of a petition filed by Karmanya Singh Sareen and Shreya Sethi against the new privacy policy that gives users the option of sharing their account information with Facebook.

Their counsel, senior advocate Pratibha M Singh, said while WhatsApp had in its affidavit claimed that when a user deletes his or her account, all the information is deleted, it goes on to say that popular photos / videos are retained on its server for a longer period of time.

''Now, how do they determine what is popular,'' she contended.

To this, the bench told WhatsApp, ''You please answer this. What happens if a user completely deletes his or her account from WhatsApp?''

Appearing for WhatsApp, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra replied, ''When a user deletes his or her account, all undelivered messages are deleted from our servers. Everything is gone. If there is some information that a user has shared with another, that remains on the server.''

Luthra also claimed that sharing with Facebook is limited sharing of information and not data.

The petitioners' counsel requested the court to record the company's statement that ''the new privacy policy is only for sharing of information like telephone number, etc., and not data''.

While WhatsApp claimed to give its users 30 days till 25 September to opt out of the policy, Singh told the court on Wednesday that no such choice was given in reality.

She alleged, ''They [WhatsApp] are not giving any choice. They are saying even if you accept or not accept, Facebook will continue to receive the information. They should give an option of 'do not share' to the user. For uses who opt to retain WhatsApp, they risk sharing of their family photos, music files, etc.''

The bench said it would pass orders on 23 September on the plea seeking direction to prohibit WhatsApp, Facebook Inc and Facebook India Online Private Limited from sharing, in any manner, details and data of every kind of subscribers with any entity including Facebook or its family of companies.