When it comes to our journalism, we want to hear from you wherever you are and in the easiest way possible. You can now use WhatsApp to share your experience and perspective of news stories with the Guardian. We will be using WhatsApp to open up particular topics to find out more about what is happening on the ground and how you have been affected.
How will it work?
If you already use WhatsApp, you will have the app downloaded to your phone and will be aware of WhatsApp’s own terms and conditions. If not, you can download the app for free onto your device.
You can add the Guardian on WhatsApp as a contact by adding the number + 44 7516 927650
We will be opening and monitoring the WhatsApp as a channel around particular news stories – you’ll see us promote the WhatsApp number in our live coverage and elsewhere on reportfocusnews.com and social networks. We’ll ask you to include a keyword or tag in your message so we know which topic it refers to.
If you share a story, photo or video with us via WhatsApp on this story, a team of journalists monitoring the channel will receive it. We may contact you via WhatsApp for more information about your account and we will endeavour to use the messages we receive to inform our reporting, including featuring pictures, text and videos that you have sent on reportfocusnews.com and other Guardian platforms. If we contact you and you do not wish to hear from us further please reply with “opt out”.
Your Data
When you use WhatsApp to communicate stories to the Guardian, we will receive your phone number and the public username you have set up. In some circumstances we may retain these details to contact you at a later date in order to follow up a story. Otherwise your details will not be kept for longer than necessary. We will not publish your WhatsApp contact details or use them for marketing purposes.