I would like to order a Fairphone 6 through murena but have a couple questions. Can I use WhatsApp on /e/OS, or can I communicate with WhatsApp users using Signal? I will be using the phone in South America and nearly everyone is on WhatsApp.
For privacy purposes and to protect myself from government surveillance, should I create a new phone number or just port my old one to the new phone? I am coming from a Pixel 9a. I want to leave Google/Android/gmail behind.
You cannot communicate with WhatsApp users via Signal nor vice versa. There are complicated ways of communication with each from Matrix via bridges but otherwise you need to use the same app that the other person is using. There are moves by the EU to enforce some interoperability but this has not happened yet and will mean nothing in South America.
Yes, that works. Most “free” Apps will. Banking Apps is where you can’t be sure.
New Number? there’s a benefit to loose years of identifier aggregation if there was any, but I don’t think it’s necessary weighted against the cons as to update friends and family with a new number.
Hi,
I am using exactly the same phone. I installed the Beeper client (by Automattic) from the App Lounge to communicate with the Whatsapp world without actually installing Whatsapp. That works. According to the beeper site, the client would also connect to Signal.
Regards
Beeper is built on the Matrix protocol and uses the bridges I mentioned earlier. It takes the complexity out of it for those who don’t want to run their own server and bridges. It’s new to me so I’ll be investigating it further. What concerns me at the moment is adding another third party into the mix.
I understand your hesitation. That is why I mentioned automattic. I have some measure of trust in them. However, my life and security does not depend on it.
