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by nonfamous 735 days ago
It’s not the messages I worry about so much — it’s the contacts.

I can’t use WhatsApp because on iOS it asks for access to your contacts, which I refuse to give. (Facebook already burned me once, there.) So in WhatsApp, all my contacts show up as numeric phone numbers, and there’s no way to change that, so it’s basically useless to me.
2 comments
netsharc 735 days ago
TBH all your contacts who use WhatsApp already uploaded your name and number combination to Zuck's server...

A data protection consultant once told me in theory I can sue my friends for violating my data privacy by doing that...

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lxgr 735 days ago
That's indeed the part I like least about WhatsApp: The fact that it both requires phone numbers as identifiers, and insists on full phonebook access.

At least on iOS 18 it will become possible to provide partial phonebook access, as far as I've heard.

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