Whatsapp is privacy invasive, and we likely know that even when using E2EE, this is possible due to metadata tracking.
An easy way to avoid one creepy thing, contact scanning and the creation of “who knows whom” social nets, is to not grant apps permission to your contacts!
But this is not easy, as apps often enforce this, just as they do with
- embedded cameras instead of using the system camera
- embedded galleries instead of the 2 available portals (but Google will soon forbid that)
- asking for unneeded permissions
Only GrapheneOS also allows blocking these permissions
- sensors
- internet
- loading code from memory i.e. from the internet (why would they do that? Is there something they want to hide?)
- debugging their own code to spy on the system behavior
But this app can help everyone on any Android to at least fix this :)
Highly recommended to just not use this app vs. trying to bypass malicious features.
What is that suppose to mean?
It means by using this app you’re bypassing malicious features but still using malicious software.
Well thats life lol
That’s not life. You can choose to use software that isn’t malicious.
No not if you arent in a position where people you need to contact dont use it lol
Inform those people that you don’t use it, and inform them of the alternatives. Boom, problem solved.
it is really not solved if it’s not about people wanting to reach OP, but OP needing to reach other people, like those at work
Magic
There’s also “Open in Whatsapp” which has been around for 5 years, I’ve used it for all this time actually, I stopped giving Whatsapp access to my contacts around the time I was degoogling, plus I keep it installed in the work profile (Shelter), where I purposefully don’t sync my personal addressbook. So this type of apps is very handy for a couple different scenarios:
- you need to contact someone you have no interest in saving the contact of forever (plumber, guy on craigslist, etc)
- you want to contact a person you haven’t talked to in a long while (otherwise you could just search their name within whatsapp) of which you have the number somewhere else
All in all you save time mostly, and potentially give a little less to Meta.
embedded galleries instead of the 2 available portals (but Google will soon forbid that)
Is it not using the portal? I thought it was since I’m able to choose every picture without granting media access to WhatsApp
Interesting, wasnt in the past, that means they are faster than Signal LOL
Ah so it is! And yeah, Signal not having it is such a pain
