WhatsApp beta now lets you download user account information which is in compliance with EU's data privacy regulation

Looks like every app maker out there has to rethink their data sharing strategy as we approach the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which is expected to come into effect from 25 May 2018 onwards. WhatsApp in its latest beta update has added a feature to export user account data in compliance with the GDPR.[caption id="attachment_4443095" align="alignleft" width="380"]

Whatsapp logo. Image credit. Whatsapp[/caption]According to a report in XDA Developers, WhatsApp which has a daily active user base of 1 billion users is following in the footsteps of its sister concern Instagram which had recently released a data download tool. WhatsApp beta for Android version 2.18.128 comes with an option to request account information which creates a report of your WhatsApp account information and settings which can be accessed or ported to another app. This report will not include users' messages.Adopted back in April 2016 and which will go into effect from 25 May 2018 onwards, the GDPR has user data protection as its objective. One of the major stipulations of the GDPR is that users must have the ability to download their user account information if they want to leave a platform, or even if they just want to keep a backup.According to WABetaInfo report, users can request a report for their WhatsApp account by navigating to Settings > Account > Request Account Info.

According to the screenshot seen in the tweet above, your report will be ready in one day and you will have a few weeks to download the report after it's made available. The report states that the request cannot be cancelled unless a user deletes their account. The information contained in the report will be group names, contact details, profile photos, etc.At the moment this option is only available on WhatsApp Beta version and should roll out to the stable app in the coming weeks.