WhatsApp on Friday deferred a privacy-related policy update as users concerned about privacy fled the Facebook-owned messaging service and thronged rivals Signal and Telegram.
The new policy was supposed to come into effect on 8 February but now that date has been extended to 15 May.
According to a statement from WhatsApp, it has postponed the change so that users can understand the new privacy policy.
"We've heard from so many people how much confusion there is around our recent update," WhatsApp said in a blog post.
"This update does not expand our ability to share data with Facebook."
WhatsApp had said that by February 8, all existing consumers will have to agree on the new privacy policy, otherwise, their WhatsApp account will be suspended. This led to a storm of criticism for WhatsApp and benefited its rivals.
Technology experts argue that WhatsApp's new requirement of its users makes legally binding a policy that has been widely in use since 2016.
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