Facebook Inc. announced today that WhatsApp users won’t lose their account completely if they don’t agree to its new privacy policy right away, but  the company has made many users an offer they might not be able to refuse.

WhatsApp said on its FAQ page that users won’t have their accounts deleted on May 15 if they haven’t ticked the box, but at some point after that, they’ll be met with a permanent screen asking them to accept the new terms of service.

Then users will experience limited features, although Facebook said this won’t happen to everyone at the same time. When it does happen, users won’t be able to access their chat list, but will be able to pick up incoming phone and video calls. “After a few weeks of limited functionality, you won’t be able to receive incoming calls or notifications and WhatsApp will stop sending messages and calls to your phone,” said the company.

This has been called a soft approach by Facebook, which in the past hasn’t afforded users such a long time to make a decision to accept a new policy update. The nice-guy tactic is no doubt a consequence of the backlash WhatsApp recently experienced when users around the world wrongly stated that the new agreement would mean it could basically listen in on all people’s calls and messages.

“Neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can read your messages or hear your calls with your friends, family, and co-workers on WhatsApp,” the company reassured users today. “Whatever you share, it stays between you. That’s because your personal messages are protected by end-to-end encryption.”

WhatsApp added that it never keeps logs of who is messaging or calling, and it cannot see a person’s location when they share it with someone. If users are concerned about their data, it said, they can set their messages to disappear and they can download any data to see what information is stored on their account.

What WhatsApp can do after users accept the update is track “business conversations.” Facebook explained that this will mean “when you communicate with a business by phone, email, or WhatsApp, it can see what you’re saying and may use that information for its own marketing purposes, which may include advertising on Facebook.” The company added that conversations with businesses will be clearly labeled.

Still, this is a bridge too far for many, with reports stating that millions of users have already deleted their accounts and signed up for alternative apps, including Signal and Telegram. It’s also not to the liking of Germany’s regulator for the social media company, which has put a three-month emergency ban on Facebook to prevent its processing personal data from WhatsApp.

The head of the Hamburg privacy authority, Johannes Casper, said the new privacy policy was broad, unclear and inconsistent. Facebook shot back, saying the regulator has made that assumption “based on a fundamental misunderstanding” of the update.

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