WhastApp shares data with Facebook! Here's how

In what should worry users, it has emerged that WhatsApp messaging app shares limited data with its parent firm Facebook.  What is more, the data has to do with payment service. While WhatsApp messaging app claims that Facebook does not use the shared date for commercial purposes, this Mark Zuckerberg led tech major has been leaking data like a sieve.

WhatsApp claimed on its website that Facebook only helps pass the necessary payment information to the bank partner and NPCI. WhatsApp, which recently launched beta version of its payment service in India, said it shares limited data to help provide customer support for safe and secure payments. The Ministry of Electronics and IT has asked National Payment Corporation of India to check if WhatsApp is sharing data with Facebook, according o a PTI report.

When a user makes a payment, WhatsApp creates a connection between the payment sender and recipient using Facebook infrastructure, the messaging app said in a post.  "We pass the payment information to the bank partner PSP and to NPCI (National Payment Corporation of India) to facilitate the fund transfer between the sender's and receiver's bank accounts," the website said.

Following the data leak controversy recently involving Cambridge Analytica which used Facebook data to help its clients, the Government of India has taken tough stand on data privacy. The government has asked the foreign social media and payments platforms to store data in India. In a latest development, the government on June 7 sought explanation from Facebook on reports of sharing users' data with mobile handset makers.

WhatsApp said it does not store information such as one-time password, account number or full debit card details for the transaction.