[toastal]

There’s issue with metadata & the requirement of sharing one’s address book to use WhatsApp. I wouldn’t be surprised if it too like Signal required users have a Android/iOS primary device & a phone number or you can’t use the service which has privacy implications but also feeds the mobile OS duopoly as you can’t choose another OS (or to just not have a phone).

[matheusmoreira]

It does require a phone number. Alternative clients are banned by terms of service which means you can only choose the platforms they support which means iOS or Android.

[notpushkin]

You can use WhatsApp without sharing the address book by using wa.me links instead (e. g. wa.me/[phone]) to start chats. Still sucks though.

[tough]

Sounds like a nice idea for an app that just gets your contacts and makes the links nicely, like a whatsapp wrapper lmao