Auto sync - does it affect other apps?

[frenccw]

Hi guys,

I'm a bit confused by the auto sync settings - i have set tasker to enable it every 30 minutes to save battery - which seem to work fine for Gmail as i don't receive notifications immediately when i receive an email. However, my whatsapp still receives messages in real time which seems to suggest it's still auto syncing.

Any explanation as to why this is happening? (i'm making a logical guess that maybe whatsapp fall under background data and hence ignores auto sync)