Illustration: The Verge
Meta is integrating WhatsApp into its Accounts Center, as WABetaInfo spotted. The change, which is rolling out globally “over the next few months,” lets WhatsApp users share status updates across Instagram and Facebook, as well as enable single sign-on.
Meta says the link won’t be turned on automatically, so it’s up to you to decide if linking WhatsApp to Accounts Center is something you’re into. If you do so, Meta will start using your WhatsApp information “to do things like provide, personalize, and improve its products and services, including to show you ads,” according to a help page about the change.
Image: Meta
Meta’s other apps won’t use WhatsApp personal data “unless it’s to determine how many people we serve, keep people safe, or to provide optional features that work across Meta products,” the company writes. It also says linking your account won’t change the fact that messages are end-to-end encrypted in WhatsApp.
Down the line, Meta says it will add the ability for users to go to Accounts Center to manage things like Meta AI stickers or AI-generated avatars created using its Imagine Me feature.