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The Guardian Corrects Parts of Damning Whisper Privacy Report

The Guardian takes back some of its Whisper accusations.

Nellie Bowles

The Guardian on Wednesday corrected parts of multiple stories published last fall that called into question the privacy policies of anonymous messaging app Whisper.

The Guardian also pulled an op-ed titled “Think you can Whisper privately? Think again” from its website.

The corrections come months after Whisper first claimed that the reporting was inaccurate. Among the elements corrected was a portion that claimed Whisper changed its terms of service to protect itself once it discovered the Guardian was looking to run the stories.

“We confirm that Whisper had drafted the changes to its terms of service and privacy policy before Whisper became aware that the Guardian was intending to write about it,” the publication said in a statement on its website.

Michael Heyward, CEO of Whisper, sent the following statement to Re/code in response to the retractions:

“We appreciate the Guardian issuing the corrections and setting the record straight. For us this isn’t about vindication. It is vital that our users and partners know that Whisper is and always has been totally committed to the privacy of everyone who uses our product.”

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

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