WhatsApp terms and conditions: what's inside and what it means

You have to agree to the WhatsApp terms and conditions if you want to use the chat app on your smartphone. The legal notice is seldom read, usually just click on "Agree". We explain what is in the terms and conditions - and what the written means.

WhatsApp terms and conditions: chat app collects a lot of data

Hardly anyone takes the trouble to read the small print terms and conditions or terms of use. It is really worth taking a closer look.

• If you agree to the terms and conditions, allow WhatsApp to use your phone number, profile name, profile picture and email address. In addition to your own data, that of your contacts, i.e. their telephone number, is also used.
• In addition, WhatsApp also accesses information that has little to do with the actual use of the chat app. This saves usage and log information and which functions you use within the app, such as telephony.
• WhatsApp is also interested in your smartphone model and which network you use. Time zone and language, which you have also set on your smartphone, also seem to be important for WhatsApp - as well as your location information.
• By agreeing to the terms and conditions, you forego a lot of privacy. By the way, you also waive data protection. The data and information collected does not remain with WhatsApp. The app passes these on to other companies for analysis.
• WhatsApp has legally secured itself in this regard with the following passage in the terms and conditions: "WhatsApp uses the information available to it and also works with partners, service providers and affiliated companies".
• However, since the GDPR came into force in WhatsApp, you can object to the transfer of data to Facebook. We will show you how in a different practical tip.
• You can also get an insight into stored data. You will also find instructions on how to do this.

WhatsApp Chat: Free admission from 16

Many children and teenagers use WhatsApp. Actually, this is not allowed under the terms and conditions.

• According to the terms and conditions, you as a user must be at least 16 years old if you live in the European Union. Outside the EU, the age limit is 13 years.
• If you are younger, you can only use WhatsApp with the permission of a legal guardian.
• However, WhatsApp does not control the age required when setting up the chat app, nor does it control the consent of a legal guardian if necessary.
• In principle, the age restriction is simply based on the trust of the provider that you answer and act truthfully.

Terms and Conditions: You assign these rights to WhatsApp

The question of the rights to images, texts and videos arises again and again.

• What you send in WhatsApp should actually be private. It is your pictures, texts, videos or voice messages.
• Here, too, it is worth taking a closer look at the terms and conditions of the app.
• You can read here: "In order for us to operate and provide our services, you grant WhatsApp a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works, display and perform the information (including the content) ) that you upload, transmit, store, send or receive on or via our services. "
• This clause is not really clear. The passage "So that we can operate and provide our services" can be interpreted differently.
• In principle, you transfer the rights of everything you send via the app to WhatsApp. By agreeing to a "sublicensable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, create derivative works, display and perform the information", you also allow WhatsApp to do what your company wants with your content.
• The license to the content can be passed on to other companies or published in another way. Your private content could also appear anywhere, such as on Facebook. Privacy looks different.
• How the clause can ultimately be interpreted can certainly be clarified in individual cases.

Collecting data through WhatsApp has been a problem since the GDPR came into force. In our next practical tip, we will explain what you need to know if you use WhatsApp on your company mobile phone.