WhatsApp Working on Yearly Terms of Service Reminder Feature, Disables Quick Replies for Non Business Users

WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new yearly reminder for the app’s Terms of Service. The Meta-owned messaging platform is said to be working on an entry in the app’s settings menu, discovered on the latest Android beta version by WABetaInfo. WhatsApp is yet to reveal any details or plans to add such a reminder to the app. Meanwhile, the service has begun to remove access to Quick Replies for regular accounts on the latest WhatsApp Desktop Beta version, after it was previously added for users without WhatsApp Business accounts.

According to a report by WhatsApp features tracker WABetaInfo, the messaging service is currently working on a new ‘Yearly reminder of our Terms of Service’ entry in the help menu on WhatsApp settings. A screenshot was also spotted on the latest beta version of WhatsApp for Android (version 2.22.8.1), which shows a green dot on the Help section in the app’s settings, presumably to draw users’ attention to the yearly reminder for the Terms of Service.

A screenshot of the under-development ‘Yearly reminder of our Terms of Service’ entry
Photo Credit: WABetaInfo

The entry is currently not visible on the app for all users as it is still under development, but WABetaInfo explains that tapping the ‘Yearly reminder of our Terms of Service’ entry will take a user to a specific page of the app’s Terms of Service. It will only be visible in India, in order to comply with the Information Technology Rules (IT Rules) 2021, according to WABetaInfo. As previously mentioned, the Meta-owned service is yet to reveal any plans to add a shortcut to its Terms of Service or a reminder for users in India. The service courted controversy last year, when it revealed plans to update its terms in January 2021, that included changes related to messaging businesses on WhatsApp.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp is currently reverting a change that allowed regular WhatsApp accounts to access the Quick Reply feature, according to another report by WABetaInfo. Quick Replies are available for WhatsApp Business accounts, allowing users to “save” certain replies and use keyboard shortcuts to respond to users on WhatsApp Desktop. However, some users with regular WhatsApp accounts were able to access the feature on a recent version of WhatsApp Desktop, and the service has disabled Quick Replies for regular accounts on the latest WhatsApp Desktop beta version.