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So this is indeed a very simple wrapper around the web.whatsapp.com. Just an <iframe>. I wondered how they reverse engineered the security and worked around wha

So this is indeed a very simple wrapper around the web.whatsapp.com. Just an <iframe>. I wondered how they reverse engineered the security and worked around whatsapp's SSO permissions. They didn't, you can just as well open web.whatsapp.com and realize that this still doesn't make it work with an iPhone. Now all they did is make themselves a target for legal action, because they're using the whatsapp trademark on the domain name and spent a load of time doing basically nothing.

brobinson 11y ago
It looks like he also built a wrapper around Facebook's Messenger site, including copying the color scheme/layout and an almost identical favicon: http://messengerfordesktop.com http://messengerfordesktop.com Seems he is based in Romania, so we'll see what Facebook's/WhatsApp's reaches are I suppose.
- kybernetyk 11y ago
  >Seems he is based in Romania, so we'll see what Facebook's/WhatsApp's reaches are I suppose. FYI Romania is a member state of the EU.
  - corin_ 11y ago
    7th of 28 by population, 27th of 28 by either GDP or Human Development Index. (Completely unrelated, but maybe interesting.)
    - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
      Yeah they could use a lot of help. Hardworking folks for the most part; but tremendously disrupted by Glasnost. Communal farms lost their equipment when the bureaucrats sold it out and ran off with the proceeds. Villages lost their social support (schools, old folk stipends, post-natal care) overnight. Small towns and villages lost all their young folk to the city over a period of months. Slowly this is changing. But its a bleak picture for towns with no partner. Our church partnered with a village there, sold their crafts at an auction here to pay for a school building, books, old folks support, even a tractor. They were the only village in the area to get all their fields planted that year. This kind of partnership helps bootstrap folks. I don't think of it as charity. More like investment. Returns aren't in cash but still very real.
- amyjess 11y ago
  That's kind of disturbing. I've been using Messenger for Desktop for a while now, and I thought it was an official Facebook product (just checked again and there's a disclaimer saying it's unofficial, but I don't remember it being there when it launched). Yeah, while I'm against services going after third-party client developers 99% of the time, this isn't one of them. I hope he gets nailed to the wall for this, because he's creating actual confusion, which is the very purpose of trademark law.
  - rokhayakebe 11y ago
    I hope he gets nailed to the wall for this, because he's creating actual confusion This is a mean spirited wish. What would you have him/her do? Why not hope Facebook brings him/her on board since they are solving a problem FB is not addressing currently?
    - amyjess 11y ago
      > What would you have him/her do? Choose a name and icon that make it clear his client is a third-party product.
      - rokhayakebe 11y ago
        Yes, and you could have suggested this without wishing any ill on him/her. Give being nice a try my friend, specially when you have the upper hand. By the way I did not downvote you.
  - aluxian 11y ago
    I'm sorry for the confusion, I'll try to make it clearer on the website it's not an official app. Do you know how I should contact Facebook to discuss these legal problems? I can't find any way to contact them, and the help center isn't helpful at all.
  - philtar 11y ago
    > NAILED TO THE WALL Now that's a completely reasonable reaction. Do you not think the author might read this? What if you released something you thought was harmless and people start asking for you to be crucified
- corin_ 11y ago
  Apparently the Facebook one "has over 100,000 visitors/month and more than 1 million downloads so far (including updates)" I wonder at what size Facebook begin to care..
alextgordon 11y ago
> Also: remember kids. If you're using coffeescript, save yourself the trouble and just write Javascript. Adults, on the other hand, should come to an informed decision by weighing the pros and cons.
sergiotapia 11y ago
So this doesn't work if I have an iPhone? Bleh, cancelled download. Thanks for the heads up.

brobinson 11y ago

It looks like he also built a wrapper around Facebook's Messenger site, including copying the color scheme/layout and an almost identical favicon: http://messengerfordesktop.com http://messengerfordesktop.com Seems he is based in Romania, so we'll see what Facebook's/WhatsApp's reaches are I suppose.

kybernetyk 11y ago
>Seems he is based in Romania, so we'll see what Facebook's/WhatsApp's reaches are I suppose. FYI Romania is a member state of the EU.
- corin_ 11y ago
  7th of 28 by population, 27th of 28 by either GDP or Human Development Index. (Completely unrelated, but maybe interesting.)
  - JoeAltmaier 11y ago
    Yeah they could use a lot of help. Hardworking folks for the most part; but tremendously disrupted by Glasnost. Communal farms lost their equipment when the bureaucrats sold it out and ran off with the proceeds. Villages lost their social support (schools, old folk stipends, post-natal care) overnight. Small towns and villages lost all their young folk to the city over a period of months. Slowly this is changing. But its a bleak picture for towns with no partner. Our church partnered with a village there, sold their crafts at an auction here to pay for a school building, books, old folks support, even a tractor. They were the only village in the area to get all their fields planted that year. This kind of partnership helps bootstrap folks. I don't think of it as charity. More like investment. Returns aren't in cash but still very real.
amyjess 11y ago
That's kind of disturbing. I've been using Messenger for Desktop for a while now, and I thought it was an official Facebook product (just checked again and there's a disclaimer saying it's unofficial, but I don't remember it being there when it launched). Yeah, while I'm against services going after third-party client developers 99% of the time, this isn't one of them. I hope he gets nailed to the wall for this, because he's creating actual confusion, which is the very purpose of trademark law.
- rokhayakebe 11y ago
  I hope he gets nailed to the wall for this, because he's creating actual confusion This is a mean spirited wish. What would you have him/her do? Why not hope Facebook brings him/her on board since they are solving a problem FB is not addressing currently?
  - amyjess 11y ago
    > What would you have him/her do? Choose a name and icon that make it clear his client is a third-party product.
    - rokhayakebe 11y ago
      Yes, and you could have suggested this without wishing any ill on him/her. Give being nice a try my friend, specially when you have the upper hand. By the way I did not downvote you.
- aluxian 11y ago
  I'm sorry for the confusion, I'll try to make it clearer on the website it's not an official app. Do you know how I should contact Facebook to discuss these legal problems? I can't find any way to contact them, and the help center isn't helpful at all.
- philtar 11y ago
  > NAILED TO THE WALL Now that's a completely reasonable reaction. Do you not think the author might read this? What if you released something you thought was harmless and people start asking for you to be crucified
corin_ 11y ago
Apparently the Facebook one "has over 100,000 visitors/month and more than 1 million downloads so far (including updates)" I wonder at what size Facebook begin to care..

alextgordon 11y ago

> Also: remember kids. If you're using coffeescript, save yourself the trouble and just write Javascript. Adults, on the other hand, should come to an informed decision by weighing the pros and cons.

sergiotapia 11y ago

So this doesn't work if I have an iPhone? Bleh, cancelled download. Thanks for the heads up.