[HOWTO] Using WhatsApp under shelter

Thanx! Will give it a try according to link!

Seems like Facebook needs to be sheltered too [not serious]

WhatsApp users to lose access to accounts unless they agree to share data with Facebook - Mirror Online - https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/whatsapp-delete-your-account-you-23272051

Hi,

My first reaction when I firstly read about it: “it is high time to move every acquaintance out of it”, and I was planning sending them some messages to persuade my contacts… then I have read some other articles saying that Niamh Sweeney (Director of Public Policy, EMEA - WhatsApp) wrote that it will not apply to the European Region … so my plan to persuade my acquaintances failed … :frowning:

If they don’t apply this to European users, why don’t they avoid the notificatio to them? There was no information like ‘‘if you live in Europe, this does not apply to you’’.

It is pretty easy from the phone numbers to say who is from Europe.

All in all a suboptimal communication style.

I totally agree with you, and I saw the following as well:

So I am bit puzzled… I need to check if I have received the message first :smiley: (I am not a regular user, you know…)
But perhaps I should reconsider my plan :slight_smile: I would be very satisfied if, eventually, it works… after many years without Facebook, it is now time to do the same with Whatsapp… it would make my life easier in /e/OS as well, I guess, as I have installed Shelter only for that. My understanding is that Signal does not need those precautions, am I right?)

Please have a look at to his lengthy discussion

It is more or less depends on your needs. I am happy with Delta Chat.

My understanding is that, as a user in the UK (and I believe this also applies to users in the EU):

  1. I must accept the new Terms &Conditions or I will not be able to use the app after 8th February 2021:
  2. Those new conditions allow WhatsApp to share data gathered by the app with Facebook;
  3. WhatsApp have stated that, for users in the European Region, there will be no change to their data sharing practices

It remains the case that WhatsApp does not share European Region WhatsApp user data with Facebook for the purpose of Facebook using this data to improve its products or ads.

  1. That statement does not state that they will not share data with Facebook for other purposes

This understanding is based on reading quite a lot of internet words on the subject and, primarily from the The Register article on the subect. My reactions is that, if the changed terms do not apply to me, then why make me agree to accept them? Even if you believe that they will not change what they do for now, agreeing to those terms means I have agreed to them doing so if they choose to do so in the future. No thanks! :slight_smile:

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That’s exactly how I see it as well. It’s getting worse step-by-step since Facebook took over.

I also fondly believe that they access all this data now anyways. They’ve proven that they can’t be trusted numerous times.

Bit unrelated, but I just remembered this article. Knowing you’re at least a hobby programmer from the Easy Installer thread, you might find it interestimg as well:
https://www.darkcoding.net/software/facebooks-code-quality-problem/

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This is exactly me point. I never had to accepted anything that does not apply to me. There is a risk that they process the data in the first place just to say later ‘‘ups, we did a mistake but there was not much damage to you’’.

Hi @tyxo,

I might have missed the point, so I will try to politely ask again: is Shelter needed for Signal? Or can I avoid it and all the mess to use Whatsapp under Shelter?

Thank you in advance

Since I am not a signal user I can’t tell anything.

This topic is not a HOW TO anymore.
Could a moderator separate this top and make a clean how to ?
Thanks
BTW what is the rule with HT? I guess we are not supposed to add replies ank make it so long, are we?

Short answer: you don’t need to run Signal under Shelter.

Longer answer: you don’t actually need Shelter to use WhatsApp. Shelter is useful because it restricts the amount of data that WhatsApp can access and share with Facebook. I spent some time running WhatsApp under Shelter, but Shelter caused problems for me with TWRP backups, so I reverted to using WhatsApp without Shelter, but not giving WhatsApp access to my contacts. That worked OK for the way I used WhatsApp.

As for Signal, I’ve read quite a bit in the last few days about Signal, Telegram and other possible WhatsApp alternatives. I haven’t come across anything to suggest that Signal is sharing your data with any other entity, or that it accesses and stores any data beyond what is necessary for the smooth running of the app. From what I have read, I am also quite relaxed about giving Signal access to that data. So for me there is nothing to make we want to use Shelter for Signal (which currently I am not using - I have gone for Telegram instaed) or for any of the apps I use.

As I have said elsewhere, I am not an ‘absolutist’ when it comes to privacy: if I were, then I wouldn’t use mobile phones, landline phones, the internet, computers… :slight_smile: For me, there is balance to be struck between privacy, security and usefulness. Pretty much everyone will find a slightly different balance and, in the end, everyone makes their own decisions about what is an acceptable balance for them.

I hope that is helpful to you. If not, then go with the ‘Short answer’ :wink:

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thank you very much @petefoth for taking the time to provide such a detailed answer. I have appreciated it.
Have a good day

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Hello all :slight_smile:

I have a simple question: as i still use whatsapp under shelter (thanx all for advices) i would like to know what shelter gives as information to the software encapsulated in ? as mobile phone or contacts and then ? I am sorry to be honest to use it but family does so i don’t have any other option but only for it.

Thanx a lot for your answers :slight_smile:

Regards!

Same question as yogib33r!
how safe is my phone if I use e Os and whatsapp under shelter?
is it safe enough or should I do more thing

thx

Hello.

I use WA under Shelter. It can acces only to a short ‘sheltered’ contacts’ list. I couldn’t backup WA after fresh (and clean) /e/ install (new device), but it doesn’t matter. Apps frozen as much as possible…

I use Tracker Controk too, with full scanning settings.

Unfortunately, I have to use Messenger Lite (FB) for some of my guitar students, but it doesn’t work with TC fully enabled. I hope Shelter is strong enough…

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Strange thing: in the app info for the apps without the lock icon I read “App installed from Shelter”:

How do I move my WhatsApp folder from files on main account to files in shelter? I don’t see a way to access files between the two