This composite image shows a Zalo user on her smartphone alongside a portion of the app’s updated terms of service, which now request additional personal information from users. Users must accept all terms or face account deletion after 45 days, with no option for partial consent. "Even if users only use Zalo, VNG can utilize their personal data across subsidiaries, whether or not the user engages with those companies," a privacy expert noted. Yet skepticism remains over its collection of extensive personal data, including family relationships and government-issued ID numbers, which critics say exceeds Government Decree 147, under which ID numbers are required only if a phone number is unavailable. From January 1, 2026, the Law on Personal Data Protection will give citizens greater control over their personal data, Nguoi Lao Dong reported.

Source: Tuoitre News December 29, 2025 12:50 UTC