Recommended config for WhatsApp always available

tisi

I empathise hugely with others who feel chained into using WhatsApp, despite preferring to ideally be free from WhatsApp
That includes among others, many who contributed in:

https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/28876-another-whatsapp-thread

I'm now on my 2nd grapheneos config (on my 1st grapheneos phone which I bought recently)
As mentioned separately, my current config is:

1) Owner profile: all apps I can find a way to install without Play Store
2) Owner profile private space: Play Store and apps I've been unable to find a way to install without Play Store

WhatsApp I regret is my #1 challenge currently
I downloaded the WhatsApp APK from whatsapp.com/android
I've not found a way though to have WhatsApp auto-update
I've managed to get Obtainium to auto-track WhatsApp
Obtainium very clearly stated though, that Obtainium will do no more than auto-track WhatsApp; i.e. Obtainium will not auto-update WhatsApp
Hence it seems to me (please correct me if I am wrong), that the only way to maintain WhatsApp currency in a Google-free profile is to manually download newly released WhatsApp APKs and action a fresh WhatsApp install each time
That would involved taking a backup of WhatsApp chats to subsequently be restored into the newly updated WhatsApp instance
I've had issues getting the chats successfully restored into the latest version of WhatsApp (to the point at which I've regrettably given up restoring the backed up chats)
Hence, it seems that the only reliable method for WhatsApp auto-update is to using Play Store
Private Space I believe has a time out feature that:

a) Cannot be disabled. And;
b) Has a max timeout duration of 60 mins

Those Private Space time out constraints make unachievable, my need for WhatsApp to be always on when the phone is on
Does this thus mean that with those requirements, I am doomed to install Play Store in the owner profile (so I can operate an auto-updating version of WhatsApp)?
If that indeed proves to be the point, does that then mean I should run all apps in the owner profile (since Play Store would be in the owner profile, thus rendering Play Store obsolete running in Private Space?

Thanks for any help.

Probably9857

tisi Private Space I believe has a time out feature that:

a) Cannot be disabled. And;
b) Has a max timeout duration of 60 mins

Those Private Space time out constraints make unachievable, my need for WhatsApp to be always on when the phone is on

I'm not aware of any such feature. Can you provide some source for this?

There is an option to auto-lock after 5 minutes, but it can be disabled.

I keep my private space running most of the time, and have never noticed it being shutdown automatically.

Probably9857

tisi

Hence it seems to me (please correct me if I am wrong), that the only way to maintain WhatsApp currency in a Google-free profile is to manually download newly released WhatsApp APKs and action a fresh WhatsApp install each time

That would involved taking a backup of WhatsApp chats to subsequently be restored into the newly updated WhatsApp instance

This also seems incorrect. I don't think updating an app manually from an apk will delete the app's data.

I don't see any reason for it to do that. However, I don't personally update my apps this way, so maybe I'm wrong.

tux_

tisi I am doomed to install Play Store in the owner profile (so I can operate an auto-updating version of WhatsApp)?

Whatsapp does not require Google Play and (IIRC) updates itself regardless. Notifications also work without Google Play, but you need to allow unrestricted battery usage. This is because Whatsapp needs to maintain a permanent connection to its servers for notifications, since it can't rely on the Google backend for this.

jarell

Since updating an app in one profile updates the app in all profiles, you could install WhatsApp on your owner profile and leave it disabled. Aurora Store can be configured in the settings to update disabled apps.

tisi

jarell
Hi again Jarell and thanks once more for having replied.
I'm reluctant to use Aurora & F-droid, based on security concerns I've read online. I regret I don't have sufficient knowledge to understand how legitimate those security concerns. For the moment though, my grapheneos device is aurora & f-droid free. However, I am still interested further on what you suggest. Could you elaborate further to clarify please what it is you suggest?

jarell

If you want an alternative to Private Space that has no timeout, you can try a work profile via Shelter.

tisi

jarell
Thanks for that reply. Seems the source I used was incorrect. There's an option to "Lock private space automatically" that can be set to "Only after device restarts". That has the effect of disabling Private Space time out. I still have some challenges though and will update again.

tisi

Probably9857
Hi there,
Thanks for your reply. Can you clarify please what you mean by "This also seems incorrect. I don't think updating an app manually from an apk"? If you mean using something like Obtainium to update an app that was installed by downloading an APK, I fully agree with you. My concern though is that since I can't Obtainium to update WhatsApp after WhatsApp was installed from an APK, the only way forward is to download the latest APK and then action a fresh install. Do you mean that can be done without 1st uninstalling the version of WhatsApp installed from the previous APK?

Probably9857

tisi Do you mean that can be done without 1st uninstalling the version of WhatsApp installed from the previous APK?

Yes. It works the same way if you download and install a newer apk. There is no need to uninstall the existing app.

tisi

Dear @Probably9857 @jarell and anyone else,

I may have a solution
I installed WhatsApp in Private Space from Play Store - sub-optimal but the world isn't perfect
As mentioned in my update of a few mins ago, I've set Private Space to lock automatically only after device restart
I was facing an issues due to the device timing out on to screen lock, and then not receiving any WhatsApp notifications while the device was locked
However, I believe I now know why that was
Specifically it is because I often have the device on silent notifications
There's settings headed, "Notifications on Lock Screen"
Within that is a further heaing, "What to show on lock screen", with 3 settings below that heading
The 2nd of the 3 settings is "Show Silent Notifications" that was defaulted "off"
I've now enabled "Show Silent Notifications"
That seems to have given me what I believe to be is a reasonably acceptable working config for me
My thanks to all who read my post, especially those who responded
Best wishes all for 2026

tisi

Dear all,

Apols for my unjustified confidence in my previous post
I regret WhatsApp notifications are still not consistently appearing when the device is locked
I tried to my previous and what I now see is a misleading post
However, I get an error message advising i don't have permission to do so
More info when I have

tisi

tux_ @Probably9857
Thanks both for your replies,
I got WhatsApp to work after making the following changes:
1) Set WhatsApp battery to use to unrestricted
2) Set Private Space lock to a different PIN from the device lock (I at one point as part of this exercise set the Device & Private Space PINs to be the same. I undid that edit after it had no noticeable effect)
3) Get Google Play battery to unrestricted
4) Enable Google Play Services notifications
While WhatsApp is working, I suspect this is sub-optimal in terms of privacy. Any suggestions welcome on a more private config, that doesn't involve having to change out of whatever profile is being used as the main profile to use (within that, I've no issue if the recommended config involves using Private Space)