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​WhatsApp drew intense backlash earlier this year after updating its privacy policy which talks about sharing data with Facebook, essentially asking users to accept them and keep using the service, or risk losing their account by rejecting the changes. After widespread criticism and debates over privacy concerns, the company pushed the implementation of its new policy to May 15, and ever since, has been trying to educate and convince users about the changes. Now, WhatsApp has explained what happens to your account if you don’t accept the updated privacy policies after the May 15 deadline.

If you don’t hit the ‘Accept’ button in time…If you don’t accept the new privacy policies after May 15, you will lose some key functionality. Which ones exactly? “For a short time, you’ll be able to receive calls and notifications, but won’t be able to read or send messages from the app,” says the company on a new FAQ page titled What happens on the effective date?

You’ll lose key functions & risk account deletion

As for the ‘short time’ in WhatsApp’s ominous announcement, it will last a few weeks (via TechCrunch). WhatsApp has reportedly started sending a communique detailing the aforementioned changes to its merchant partners, which are apparently business accounts that use the platform for commerce and pay a fee in exchange to the Facebook-owned company.

What are your options?

So, you’re now left with two options:

1. You give in and accept the new privacy policies.
2. Download your chat history and delete your WhatsApp account.

Now, WhatsApp says that you will still be able to accept its new privacy policies after May 15 and get back to using the app with full functionality. However, once the deadline hits and you haven’t hit the ‘ACCEPT’ button, your account will be classified as inactive. And inactive accounts are automatically deleted after 120 days. 

So, you essentially have 120 days to think and accept (or reject) WhatsApp’s updated privacy policies. However, each day after May 15, you will have to live with limited functionality (read: Not being able to send or read messages) if you haven’t accepted the new rules.

What if you delete your WhatsApp account?

Or, you can download your chat history and say goodbye to WhatsApp. However, the company says that if you delete your account, you will be kicked out from all groups, and all your chat history and backups will be permanently deleted. “It is something we cannot reverse,” WhatsApp says.

Alternatively, you can migrate your WhatsApp data to Telegram that the latter offers. You can move your WhatsApp chat – including media and documents – from personal as well as group chats with a new chat export feature in Telegram.

Source: Pocketnow

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​Apple is rumoured to be working on a VR headset filled with cameras and features that could set consumers back $3,000 (£2,191) a unit.

The gadget could launch in 2022 sporting a dozen tracking cameras and a LiDAR system to augment the headset's VR and AR (augmented reality) capabilities.

According to a drawing from The Information, which first reported on the mixed-reality headset, the device looks more similar to goggles than headsets such as the Oculus Rift or Google Glass.

Apple employees who spoke to The Information described the device as offering mixed-reality experiences - a VR headset but with augmented reality features, such as with the popular Pokemon Go game, layered on top.

The dozen cameras that feature in the glasses mean it will be possible for the software to identify objects in the real world and integrate them within the AR landscape.

Facebook's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg described Apple's augmented reality glasses as one of the reasons why the company was "one of our biggest competitors" in a recent call with investors.

He was more likely referring to Apple Glasses, however, which would be more focused on AR.

More similar to Oculus Rift, the VR headset which is owned by Facebook, than Google Glass, Apple's mixed-reality headset will completely occlude the wearer's view of the world around them.

However the dozen cameras on the outside will feed 8K footage into the two displays, which will use eye-tracking technology to ensure the view remains realistic.

The eye-tracking feature will also help power the device by ensuring that details in the periphery of the user's vision are rendered at a lower resolution than the objects they are looking at directly.

Two people who spoke to The Information explained that the wearer will also have a thimble-like device on their finger to assist with hand tracking and to help with controls.

Apple and Google have been showcasing AR tools available for iOS and Android smartphones since 2017, allowing developers to superimpose digital information on real world objects through people's phones.

But the lack of developer tools available for Apple's VR features has prompted some to suggest the launch of the mixed-reality headset may come much later than 2022, with Apple Glasses likely to launch earlier borrowing AR features from the iPhone and iPad.

Source: Sky News