ryrona WhatsApp will also still always be able to obtain identifiers for your Google services since it needs Google services to function.
I've had this impression for a long time aswell, but it came to my attention, through this forum, that whatsapp actually doesn't need play services to function. It functions on 'barebones' grapheneOS with notifications.
r134a I've had this impression for a long time aswell, but it came to my attention, through this forum, that whatsapp actually doesn't need play services to function. It functions on 'barebones' grapheneOS with notifications.
Oh, really? That I wouldn't have expected. That certainly means it can be made even more privacy respecting, especially once we have Application Scopes. Thanks for sharing! I have obviously made some assumptions here.
I too like many others have to use WA reluctantly because of Family/friends etc reluctance to use anything else.
I use WA and do not have any Ggle services installed and it works fine.
I do use WA via a VPN and Orbot. (not at the same time) but swap from one to the other as and when I want to.
Hopefully that mitigates most of the data harvesting that goes on. However my phone number in the other persons devices in regular Ggle phones will be known to G**gle, which is why i signed up with a sim I disposed of.
ryrona I think I didn't explain it well. Of course, you can not stop WhatsApp (Meta and indirectly Google) from collecting this metadata, but they are not the only actors that may be interested in collecting it.
Also @r134a not needing Play Services in order to run and not contacting them are 2 different things, wouldn't you say?
DeletedUser127 Also @r134a not needing Play Services in order to run and not contacting them are 2 different things, wouldn't you say?
Not entirely sure why u quote me on this? One mentioned it needed play services to run, i've rectified this assumption which i had for a long time aswell.
ryrona Would it help to isolate WhatsApp into a different user profile, with no other apps, exept vpn, in it?
brandy078 if you have just whatsapp installed it should be good.
Because then it can't communicate with other meta apps or google play apps.
I just installed Whatsapp in main profile and am able to use it normally, without Google Play. I ordered a free SIM which I will hold and use it just for registration. So its also anonyme because with this number I'm not known to Meta.
brandy078 The benefit of isolating WhatsApp in its own user profile with is that WhatsApp will not be able to get the list of apps you have installed in any other profile. You also prevent WhatsApp from communicating with other Meta apps or embedded Meta libraries through IPC.
You could use a Private Space instead of a secondary user profile. It's a lot more convenient to use WhatsApp in a Private Space because a Private Space is essentially a secondary user profile but integrated in the Owner profile UI.
Oh I see. I thought it can't communicate with Apps which are not installed or connected to Google Play Store
TGOS Did you make a new account with sim, or did you just changed your number?
ryrona WhatsApp can still communicate with other Meta apps you have installed, to share account information.
You can install WhatsApp in a different user, work profile or private space to stop this communication with Meta apps.
Carlos-Anso You can install WhatsApp in a different user, work profile or private space to stop this communication with Meta apps.
True, I should had said, "other Meta apps you have installed in the same user profile".
DeletedUser88 Thanks. But I already use private space with a bunch of apps, with trackers and my banking apps
brandy078 you need to reeavaluate your threat model and ask yourself what exactly you want to protect and from whom. You can then make decisions based on that.
while i understand whatsapp sometimes is a must.
I stopped trying to get people to use telegram or other. whatsapp is deeply embedded in lives of people, mostly in my country. everything goes through it basically.
the day wsp is down the country is uncommunicated and i am not exaggerating.
however, the use of meta-apps is avoidable. the mobile websites work as good. avoid installing other meta apps but whatsapp.
m4ri0g WhatsApp is the only Meta (cr)app I'm using.
DeletedUser127 I want to give meta as little useful information as possible.
Whatsapp currently only has access to my contacts. No access to files, photos, micro or camera.
I also use an always on VPN.
I understand that avoiding metadata does not seem possible. But I want to reduce them to a minimum.
TGOS have you given it access to any contacts at all? That would already most likely deanonymize you. When I used WA back in the day, I made sure not to give it any access to contacts. Just wrote to numbers and remembered who it is by chat content.
Also remember, communication is bidirectional. So if your party adds you to contacts and does not restrict access to them, this creates another dataset that can aid tracking. In other words, don't only look at your activity, in the real world your privacy very much depends on the objects (people) you interact with.
