NEW DELHI: Even as the debate over users’ privacy rages on, Facebook Inc's WhatsApp said that it has decided to go ahead with its new privacy policy update.

In its latest blog, WhatsApp said that it will include a banner that can be tapped to pull up the explanation of the policy. It will start reminding users to review and accept updates to keep using the messaging platform. "We have also included more information to try and address concerns we are hearing,” it stated. The messaging app has also reiterated that personal chats will always be end-to-end encrypted by default.

The announcement comes barely days after the Supreme Court expressed concerns about the new privacy policy introduced on the messaging app on 4 January. The top court had also issued notices to both WhatsApp and its parent company Facebook seeking responses from the tech giants on the proposed changes. “People have grave apprehensions about loss of privacy,” chief justice Sharad A Bobde had said.

The controversial policy was initially expected to come into effect on 8 February, but was later deferred to 15 May amid severe backlash from all corners. The app plans to make it mandatory for users to agree to its new data sharing norms, a key point of which is allegedly sharing data from WhatsApp business chats with Facebook. Since there was no opt-out option, there were apprehensions about privacy which led people to migrate to alternate messaging apps, like Signal and Telegram.

India is also the messaging app's biggest user base, with over 400 million users across the country. Days ago, IT and communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had also asserted that any digital platform must maintain the sanctity of personal communication and not infringe upon the rights of Indians who operate it.