WhatsApp on Wednesday said personal messages of users continue to be completely encrypted and the proposed privacy policy changes are only geared towards making business messaging effective.
The reiteration by the social media app came a day after the Modi government asked it to withdraw changes to its privacy policy, which had spooked users.
WhatsApp said the proposed change does not expand its ability to share user data with Facebook and that it is open to answering questions on the issue.
“Our aim is to provide transparency and new options available to engage with businesses so they can serve their customers and grow,” the company said.
WhatsApp added that it will always protect personal messages with end-to-end encryption so that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see them.
"We are working to address misinformation and remain available to answer any questions," it added.
Our aim is to provide transparency and new options available to engage with businesses so they can serve their customers and grow," a WhatsApp spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that WhatsApp will always protect personal messages with end-to-end encryption, so that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can see them. "We are working to address misinformation and remain available to answer any questions," the spokesperson further stated.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has posed 14 questions to WhatsApp about its "invasive" changes to its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
In a strongly worded letter to WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart, the ministry has said the proposed changes to the WhatsApp Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, without giving users an option to opt-out, "raise grave concerns regarding the implications for the choice and autonomy of Indian citizens".
The letter noted that with over 400 million users in India, the changes will have a disproportionate impact on the country's citizens, it said. The new terms caused an outcry among technology experts, privacy advocates and users and triggered a wave of defections to rival services such as Signal and Telegram.
WhatsApp had on January 16 delayed the introduction of the new privacy policy to May 15 after user backlash over sharing of user data and information with the parent company, Facebook Inc.
"No one will have their account suspended or deleted on February 8. We're also going to do a lot more to clear up the misinformation around how privacy and security works on WhatsApp. We will then go to people gradually to review the policy at their own pace before new business options are available on May 15," WhatsApp had said in the blog post.
