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I understand my agreement with WhatsApp - i read it and all. I have no agreement with that other app. I do not know what they would do with my data. Until they

I understand my agreement with WhatsApp - i read it and all. I have no agreement with that other app. I do not know what they would do with my data. Until they give me a privacy policy and i approve it, they indeed should have none of my data. Opt-in is the correct solution. I am not even sure how this is GDPR-compliant (that app is European and thus must care about GDPR). They do not have my permission to have/handle my private data, and GDPR does not allow WhatAspp to hand it over without my permission either... My name (which whatsapp exposes simply with my phone number) is considered PII under GDPR and

lxgr 9mo ago
What a strange way to think about a telecommunications service. By the same logic, shouldn’t there be a privacy policy for regular old phone lines? Who knows which third parties are between you and the person on the other end! And speaking about the other end: I have bad news about all the data you share with untrustworthy contacts on WhatsApp… Quite practically, anyone that enables backups (which WhatsApp heavily nudges people to do) uploads a copy of all your messages and media sent to them to a cloud provider you have no privacy agreement with.
- dmitrygr 9mo ago
  old telephone lines did not disclose info about me with merely my phone number. whataspp discloses name, picture, status As for your second comment, updated first comment with: I am not even sure how this is GDPR-compliant if that app is European. They do not have my permission to have my private data, and GDPR does not allow whatAspp to hand it over without my permission either...
  - lxgr 9mo ago
    > whataspp discloses name, picture, status Only to who you choose to make it available to. And if you choose “everybody”, I don’t see how you can reasonably expect this to mean “everybody not using third-party software”?
    - dmitrygr 9mo ago
      Because until today that IS what it meant! Are you claiming that "pray i do not change the deal further" is a sane approach?
      - lxgr 9mo ago
        I just don’t think that’s a reasonable expectation of a telecommunications tool, so yeah, I think it’s a fair change well within the norms and expectations of an instant messenger. You should get to control how/ to whom your data is distributed, but also requiring these recipients to only use software and services of your choosing seems excessive. Platform lock-in at this point seems like the much greater harm. I could see the case for a small indicator in the contact details that they’re using a third-party client, but anything more (green bubbles?) would be counterproductive.
        dmitrygr 9mo ago
        i did not ask for green bubbles, nor did whatsapp implement that. they let me opt-in to communicate with questionable clients and i am here for it.
        jodrellblank 9mo ago
        Do you also wish you could only get telephone calls from people using American made handsets, and that your email client asked you before receiving emails from other email clients, and that you couldn’t get SMS’s from other smartphone manufacturers without opting in one at a time? Being able to reject spam , regions, specific people, specific topics, all makes sense. Wanting to approve/reject the program used to make the connection is a pretty useless way to segment communications - how will you determine “questionable” clients, and what when there’s a person you want to chat with and a person you don’t both using the same client?
        dmitrygr 9mo ago
        I actually would love a mode on my phone that blocks all calls not coming from iPhones just like I have a mode to ignore all messages not coming from iPhones. It has blocked so much spam that it is worth it.
  - xmcp123 9mo ago
    Old telephones had caller ID. They would send your name and company. You did have to initiate the call, but you still didn’t have any kind of agreement about it.
    - mlrtime 9mo ago
      Yes, and you used to have to pay for it! Not only was it opt-in, there was a charge.
  - direwolf20 9mo ago
    Several people have scraped every possible phone number from WhatsApp so they know your name, picture, and status if they want it.
    - mlrtime 9mo ago
      So, that doesn't mean we give it away freely because someone was malicious. That makes no sense.
      - direwolf20 9mo ago
        It's already given away freely. Anyone who has WhatsApp can add you as a contact and see this information. If you are bored and have a computer, you can add every possible phone number as a contact. Not many people do that, but some did.
  - dotancohen 9mo ago
    > old telephone lines did not disclose info about me with merely my phone number. Old telephone lines most certainly disclosed additional information about you. Who you contacted, when, how often. Did you call that drug dealer every Tuesday evening? Looks suspicious. Did that criminal call you the day before he robbed a store not far from your home? Looks suspicious. Do you call Pakistan twice a week? Looks suspicious. Have you ever called a suicide prevention hotline? A bank other than your own? A mosque? An independent political party? Your POTS phone was always revealing information.

lxgr 9mo ago

What a strange way to think about a telecommunications service. By the same logic, shouldn’t there be a privacy policy for regular old phone lines? Who knows which third parties are between you and the person on the other end! And speaking about the other end: I have bad news about all the data you share with untrustworthy contacts on WhatsApp… Quite practically, anyone that enables backups (which WhatsApp heavily nudges people to do) uploads a copy of all your messages and media sent to them to a cloud provider you have no privacy agreement with.

dmitrygr 9mo ago
old telephone lines did not disclose info about me with merely my phone number. whataspp discloses name, picture, status As for your second comment, updated first comment with: I am not even sure how this is GDPR-compliant if that app is European. They do not have my permission to have my private data, and GDPR does not allow whatAspp to hand it over without my permission either...
- lxgr 9mo ago
  > whataspp discloses name, picture, status Only to who you choose to make it available to. And if you choose “everybody”, I don’t see how you can reasonably expect this to mean “everybody not using third-party software”?
  - dmitrygr 9mo ago
    Because until today that IS what it meant! Are you claiming that "pray i do not change the deal further" is a sane approach?
    - lxgr 9mo ago
      I just don’t think that’s a reasonable expectation of a telecommunications tool, so yeah, I think it’s a fair change well within the norms and expectations of an instant messenger. You should get to control how/ to whom your data is distributed, but also requiring these recipients to only use software and services of your choosing seems excessive. Platform lock-in at this point seems like the much greater harm. I could see the case for a small indicator in the contact details that they’re using a third-party client, but anything more (green bubbles?) would be counterproductive.
      - dmitrygr 9mo ago
        i did not ask for green bubbles, nor did whatsapp implement that. they let me opt-in to communicate with questionable clients and i am here for it.
        jodrellblank 9mo ago
        Do you also wish you could only get telephone calls from people using American made handsets, and that your email client asked you before receiving emails from other email clients, and that you couldn’t get SMS’s from other smartphone manufacturers without opting in one at a time? Being able to reject spam , regions, specific people, specific topics, all makes sense. Wanting to approve/reject the program used to make the connection is a pretty useless way to segment communications - how will you determine “questionable” clients, and what when there’s a person you want to chat with and a person you don’t both using the same client?
        dmitrygr 9mo ago
        I actually would love a mode on my phone that blocks all calls not coming from iPhones just like I have a mode to ignore all messages not coming from iPhones. It has blocked so much spam that it is worth it.
- xmcp123 9mo ago
  Old telephones had caller ID. They would send your name and company. You did have to initiate the call, but you still didn’t have any kind of agreement about it.
  - mlrtime 9mo ago
    Yes, and you used to have to pay for it! Not only was it opt-in, there was a charge.
- direwolf20 9mo ago
  Several people have scraped every possible phone number from WhatsApp so they know your name, picture, and status if they want it.
  - mlrtime 9mo ago
    So, that doesn't mean we give it away freely because someone was malicious. That makes no sense.
    - direwolf20 9mo ago
      It's already given away freely. Anyone who has WhatsApp can add you as a contact and see this information. If you are bored and have a computer, you can add every possible phone number as a contact. Not many people do that, but some did.
- dotancohen 9mo ago
  > old telephone lines did not disclose info about me with merely my phone number. Old telephone lines most certainly disclosed additional information about you. Who you contacted, when, how often. Did you call that drug dealer every Tuesday evening? Looks suspicious. Did that criminal call you the day before he robbed a store not far from your home? Looks suspicious. Do you call Pakistan twice a week? Looks suspicious. Have you ever called a suicide prevention hotline? A bank other than your own? A mosque? An independent political party? Your POTS phone was always revealing information.