“Respect for your privacy is coded into our DNA … Above all else, I want to make sure you understand how deeply I value the principle of private communication. … We have not, we do not and we will not ever sell your personal information to anyone.”
When Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014, founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton publicly pledged that user data would never be shared with Facebook. Two years later WhatsApp updated its terms of service to share user phone numbers and metadata with Facebook for ad-targeting and 'business analytics'.
As of 2026-10-15, the entity has issued no public correction, retraction, or course-change. The platform has tracked this promise continuously since 2026-05-03.
https://www.goblinhouse.net/lies/whatsapp-never-share-with-facebook-2014Goblin House. "WhatsApp: WhatsApp founders: 'Respect for your privacy is coded into our DNA' — no Facebook data sharing" (documented promise). Goblin House — The Architecture of Secrecy. Accessed October 15, 2026. https://www.goblinhouse.net/lies/whatsapp-never-share-with-facebook-2014.Sourced from public records and content-hashed; verify via /attestation, standard at /methodology.