Millions of UK users now banned from Whatsapp

Millions of young people under the age of 16 will no longer be able to use the messaging app Whatsapp as the company conforms to new GDPR rules.

Whatsapp is now for over 16s only.

Previously teenagers over the age of 13 could use the app. The company is enforcing the strict European data privacy laws, or General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that came into force following the 25th May deadline.

Users will from now on be asked to confirm whether they're over 16 when they agree to the new terms and conditions but it is unclear if Whatsapp will be able to check the age of their users. Parent company Facebook is taking a different approach to users aged 13 to 15.

Ahead of the GDPR rollout earlier this year, WhatsApp said, “Our goal is simply to explain how we use and protect the limited information we have about you.”

Whatsapp also confirmed it plans launch a feature within the next month that will enable users to download a copy of the data WhatsApp has collected on them, another requirement of GDPR.

GDPR gives users more control over how their data is used and stored and it's the biggest overhaul of privacy since the birth of the online.