Deactivated Mobile Numbers Can Be Reassigned After 90 Days
To prevent misuse, the court has advised users to delete the WhatsApp account associated with the deactivated phone number.
A mobile number, which has been deactivated on account of non-usage or on the request of a subscriber, is eligible to be assigned to a new user after 90 days of its deactivation, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has informed the Supreme Court.
Hearing a case about privacy concerns surrounding misuse of deactivated mobile phone numbers, the top court observed that it is for the earlier subscriber to take adequate steps to ensure that privacy of data is maintained.
To prevent unauthorised access of WhatsApp data, the court said the user should delete the WhatsApp account associated with the deactivated phone number and clear its data from the local device memory.
The court observed that to remove any confusion in connection with recycled phone numbers, WhatsApp monitors account activity and a new account is activated on the recycled phone number only after there is an inactivity of 45 days.
After this, the new account is activated on a different mobile device, the old WhatsApp account data is completely removed, the court said.
