Amid a worldwide backlash against recently announced changes to its privacy terms, instant messaging giant WhatsApp on Saturday announced it would give users until May – rather than early next month – to decide whether they consented to the new arrangement.
However, the postponement was unlikely to stem the recent exodus of users to other encrypted messaging apps, Hong Kong technology experts said, noting that the uproar over the changes had already morphed into a crisis of confidence, despite WhatsApp’s repeated insistence that users’ data would not be compromised.