Privacy-focused Whatsapp mods?
Privacy-focused Whatsapp mods?
I have to use Whatsapp, unfortunately. Are there any good alternatives to the default app on Android?
I'm worried about all the data it shares with Meta. I denied all permissions but this makes it less convenient, and the app probably still sends over the data that available without them.
I only know you can use it via Matix with a bridge, but the setup is quite involved, not just an App on your phone. Plus the metadata is still shared with Meta, like who you talked to and when, which they can build a profile and a social graph.
13This is true.
I use WA via the Matrix bridge. WA requires the official mobile app (not web) to connect every 14 days, so you need to have it on a separate profile, a spare phone or do a complicated Android emulator setup... To be usable you need to allow the WA app access to your contacts, which results in Meta getting just about the same metadata from you it would via using the official app.
If I wasn't using Matrix for other things like notifications from servers, I wouldn't bother with this. The only upside is having only one app for messaging. The bridge system itself works really well, nothing bad to say there.
10I used a setup like that, but there were 2 things that I didn't like
- I had to keep Whatsapp on my phone and open it every 2 weeks, because without it the bridge would just die (so why not just use it anyway?).
- The app I had used a lot off battery, which was a dealbreaker for bike/backpacking trips.
2When was this?
I've been using WA through a matrix bridge over a year, and I don't think I've opened the WA app since setting it up. I do have to keep it installed, and allow it to run in the background.
It, or my matrix app, doesn't seem to significantly drain my battery more than normal.
Is the once every two weeks thing an old requirement? I've never needed to deal with something like that.
1
Afaik there were some custom clients for it in the past but WhatsApp broke them at some point. They even randomly ban phone numbers of those who try to use the official app on a custom Android ROM. Unfortunately the most you can do is get a separate physical device just for it.
7Really? Romming since they day it existed, never had a problem with it
4Not everyone gets banned but some people do. I've seen a lot of cases in my phone's support group on Telegram.
2
Auto reply with Watomatic and always real reply late on WhatsApp:
🤖 Automated Reply 💬 I reply faster on example.org ⁉️ WhatsApp is anti-libre software. We do NOT control it. It withholds a libre software license text file, like GPL.6Permanently Deleted
6The solution is to not be available in the first place... can I have your number? nope don't have one ... So how can we keep in touch we can't ... There's this thing called simpleX I once in a blue moon check if you want to try ... Convinced one friend till now ... He doesn't answer on it :( Hope to meet you in person one day would be a nice to knew someone privacy aware
3Let's say there was a perfect API present and WA allowed you to use a completely FOSS app witch didn't share any data with FB. But still FB will know everything they can still access all the metadata like earlier. The only thing they can't access is analytics data but that can be easily blocked by DNS. And as far as Add ID goes use graphene OS it protects against that by giving each app different ID. So even if FB collaborated with other services to collect data as they do they won't be able tie all back to you.
3I guess the stuff I was worried about was contact list sharing, Google Advertising ID, installed app list, and who knows what else a native app can access. Good to know that Graphene has that protection, I guess I'll worry less about using WA.
4
WhatsApp bridge on a matrix server self hosted is prolly as good as it gets. Run Android on a VM for the WhatsApp Android app on it
3Wasn't there eu regulations in the making that were about standardisation of messing protocol that would make messaging apps interchangeable?
1No.
There is no public API (nor any efforts to reverse engineer the one used by the official app afaik). WA is also client to client encrypted, meaning all your messages are only ever stored in one "main" installation of the official app, as well as in a backup file that whatsapp will put on either your google or apple cloud storage.
All the alternative apps/bridges for interacting with WA use the Whatsapp Web API to talk to your main client, which in turn talks to WA. There is no way around using the main whatsapp app, everything else still has to be used through it.
1I've seen WA mods (basically rebuilt .apk files), but I don't know much about them, and therefore they seem shady.
2Ah. I guess you might remove some metrics or some such that way, but that's not a very transparent way to achieve that unless you dig in personally.
1
This and the automated reply achieve precisely nothing you're setting out to do. People won't register in a service or install a new app solely to talk to you.
4Wrong, they already have. What are you doing wrong?
-1
Is there a gun to your head? If the answer is no, then you're not being forced to use it. And so you only think you have to use it, because it would be more inconvenient not to do so, but you can make that choice. I don't use it and never will. And I will simply tell people that if they ask.
-8Some/most places outside the USA heavily rely on WhatsApp for communication. This is like saying "you dont need to be able to talk with your friends, family, or employer"
11I have actually stopped talking to both friends and family because they refused to use a more privacy-preserving platform.
8
Well if you're in a country that uses WhatsApp as a main communication platform, then either you use it too or you don't talk to your friends, family and more.
6I was not asking for advice.
What I find really annoying about this community, is that no matter what you do, for some people it just won't be good enough, and they will throw it in your face.
5