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by cbracketdash 15 days ago
Why is it more likely you'll have internet access when you don't have a phone? If you happen to find a computer, what's insufficient about writing an email?
2 comments

How will you log into your email from a strange computer without your phone. Gmail has required 2-factor auth for a long time.
You have to set up those backup codes and keep them in your wallet or somewhere independent of your phone and in your person at all times.
I get your point, but believe it or not there's more email services than just Gmail
Really, because I’ve been working to move off gmail for 5 years and it’s slim pickings.

I’ve tried fastmail, protonmail, outlook and they all suck. Gmail is probably the only google account I still use.

I like fastmail but any provider worth using is going to have 2FA mandatory so that will be an issue regardless. Gmail was just a (popular) example.
My wife doesn't check email frequently, so SMS (or even better, WhatsApp) would be more reliable.

Maybe an alternative is to store the WhatsApp contact information of people who could help behind a password.

Then, if I need help, I can ask to borrow someone's phone on the street. If they don't have WhatsApp, I can just make a regular phone call instead.

Why hide emergency contact info? Put it in Emergency group on everyone's phone.

The goal should be to send a single message with nature of emergency, what you need from them, and what they do like call police

I could see a private reference page with important info. Including checklist for various scenarios. That's what I thought you did. Then print out a copy and put in binder somewhere at home.

> If they don't have WhatsApp

Is this really likely? I would guess only 70 year olds don't have WhatsApp.

Seems more likely you forget the impoprtant phone numbers because you never enter them manually.

Nobody in my friend group has a WhatsApp and I'm a millennial.
Depends where you are, in most European countries, everyone including their grandmas will use Whatsapp.
It doesn’t have to be just for one type of user.
WhatsApp is not universally used. Line, WeChat, and KakaoTalk are more common in East Asia
In the US, the only people I know who use WhatsApp are immigrants who use it to talk to friends and family back home.
With iMessage, Discord, and Signal, I can't imagine a use case for me or anyone I know to use WhatsApp.
The vast majority of the world defaults to whatsapp. But yes, other than convention, any of these could be equivalent.

I don’t see why you would care for Discord over whatsapp except that it’s what you happen to use already.

lol not 70, no Whatsapp.