WhatsApp has faced complaints from the European Consumer Organisation and others about its privacy policy update.

According to a report by Reuters, the update has triggered global outcry and pushed some users of the app to other platforms, including Telegram and Signal.

WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, introduced the policy in January.

The update allows the platform to share some data with Facebook and other group firms.

Facebook has said that the changes enable users to interact with companies and would not impact personal messaging.

The news agency said that the European Consumer Organisation and eight of its members criticised the update and put forward complaints with both the European Commission and the European network of consumer authorities.

The organisation believes WhatsApp is unfairly pressuring users to accept the new policies, said Reuters.

"The content of these notifications, their nature, timing and recurrence put an undue pressure on users and impair their freedom of choice. As such, they are a breach of the EU Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices," the groups said in a joint statement. "WhatsApp has failed to explain in plain and intelligible language the nature of the changes... This ambiguity amounts to a breach of EU consumer law which obliges companies to use clear and transparent contract terms and commercial communications.”

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