WhatsApp draws closer to Facebook, makes it easier for businesses to message you - CNET

WhatsApp users, get ready for messages from companies looking for your business.

That's the upshot from Thursday's update to WhatsApp's terms and conditions. The company outlined in a blog post the kind of interactions it wants to enable, including being notified by your bank about a potentially fraudulent transaction or being warned about a delayed flight.

These are things we might currently be informed about by a text message or phone call. WhatsApp hopes to enable these notifications too, all while keeping spam and third-party banner ads out.

This is the first time WhatsApp has updated its terms in four years, meaning it's the first major change in how the service can operate since it was bought by Facebook in 2014. But the company hasn't been standing still during this period. The terms will also reflect other major changes to the messaging app, including the introduction of end-to-end encryption in 2014.

WhatsApp has also taken the opportunity to coordinate more closely with parent company Facebook. Messages will stay locked up tight, but the phone number linked with your WhatsApp account will be connected with your Facebook account. And that's a lot of phone numbers: This year, WhatsApp said it had grown to 1 billion users worldwide, and they're making 100 million calls a day.