In a response to a plea challenging the new updated policy of WhatsApp, the Delhi high court on Monday (January 18) said that WhatsApp was a private application and a user could remove it from their phones if they had a problem with it.
Adjourning the matter to January 25 due to lack of time, a single-judge bench of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva refused to issue notice on the plea by lawyer Chirag Rohilla. Rohilla had challenged the controversial new privacy policy of WhatsApp.
"Don’t join it. It is a voluntary thing. Use some other app. What is your grievance? .. I can’t understand your concern. If you feel WhatsApp will compromise data, delete WhatsApp," Justice Sachdeva said.
The court also said that it was not only WhatsApp that collected information from its users but rather all mobile applications did the same.
The petitioner's counsel Manohar Lal requested the court that a reply was sought from WhatsApp on the issue of privacy raised. The court however remarked that the petitioner could use some other application in case he had a problem with WhatsApp.
The plea against WhatsApp's new privacy policy said that it virtually scrutinised personal profiles of its users and was in violation of their Right to Privacy.
Remarking on the WhatsApp's earlier stipulation for its users to accept the updated policy by February 8, the petition called it a 'Damocles' sword on its users'.
Appearing for WhatsApp, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi said in the court that the policy of WhatsApp for private persons remained the same as it was for the last five years.
Rohatgi added that the private chats on WhatsApp continued to remain end to end encrypted and the policy update was only for business accounts on WhatsApp.
It was also informed during the high court hearing that the implementation of WhatsApp's new privacy policy was deferred till April.
