Users who do not use KakaoTalk for 3 years will have their accounts automatically withdrawn.
The industry said on Tuesday that KakaoTalk's privacy policy will change from Jan. 12. Under the revision, if users do not use Kakao account-linked services, including KakaoTalk, for 3 years, personal information will be destroyed immediately and the account deleted without a separate dormant-account conversion process.
Previously, KakaoTalk converted accounts to dormant status after 1 year without access and stored information separately. It destroyed the information only after there was no usage record for another 4 years. Under the new rules, the data retention period will be shortened from 4 years to 3 years.
The measure applies not only to KakaoTalk but also to all affiliated and external services that use Kakao accounts for login. If there is a record of using at least one linked service, the account will be maintained.
The change is intended to prevent accounts that have not used KakaoTalk for a long time from being exploited for hacking crimes or leaving personal information unnecessarily. KakaoTalk decided to shorten the data retention cycle to improve operational efficiency and strengthen security.
Hojeong Lee
lhj@d-today.co.kr