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.
This 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.
Meta primarily wants info on you who talk to, when, how long, etc. Basically your social graph. No mod is going to help with that.
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.
Really? Romming since they day it existed, never had a problem with it
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.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.
Some/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”
I 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.
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.
Wrong, they already have. What are you doing wrong?
