If you use the popular messaging service WhatsApp, you know that you can only add contacts to the service with a phone number. Don’t have the number registered to a WhatsApp account? Then you can’t add the contact to the app.
Clearly, having to share your phone number is not always a good idea. While you may not have any issues sharing it with close friends or family, giving it to others is another matter.
It is a privacy and security issue. Other messengers support usernames, which do not reveal critical information to a third-party.
WhatsApp started to work on usernames about three years ago, but the Meta-owned app is just about to start rolling the feature out to a first batch of users, reports WABetaInfo.
You can add a username in the settings. Once you do, you may share the username with others to get them to add you to the messenger. Good news is that you can further protect the username with a code, which others need to provide when they try to add you.
However, there are quite a few limitations regarding usernames. Here are noteworthy ones:
- The username can be between 3 and 23 characters in length.
- It needs to start with a letter, and can only contain letters, numbers, underscore, and a period.
- It can’t be a domain name or start with www.
- It can’t be taken, if someone on Instagram or Facebook picked it already. The user who picked it can get it on WhatsApp.
Support for usernames is a welcome addition. While some Internet users prefer to use other messaging clients, those who offer more privacy, WhatsApp’s users will certainly benefit from the feature.
No official ETA or confirmation by Meta at this point though. Might take months or even longer before the feature lands for most users.
+ 1 for trash app with little privacy run by one of the worst companies in tech today.
– 2 for Signal for still requiring a phone number after all this time.
Nobody should be trusting WhatsApp nonetheless nor should they be supporting the parent company (Meta) at all.
They have zero credibility.
I know virtually nothing about WhatsApp and only recently learned it is in some way connected with Meta.
What I now know is that “Over three billion people use messaging apps, making them one of the most popular app types.”
8.3 billion people apparently exist on the planet. Okay!
Great article:
https://www.businessofapps.com/data/messaging-app-market/
I’d always thought Discord, Signal, and Telegram were the preferred messaging apps with TikTok nearly the only short video app.
Bitchat–worth mention b/c GenZ used it in Nepal to bring down the government. Discord was also used.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/technology/nepal-protest-genz-used-this-secret-chat-app-after-govt-banned-social-media-101757919039327.html
I think I shall avoid messaging apps like WhatsApp–Mark Zuckerberg? He always looks so tired in his photos.
I never use any Meta products, and use browser extensions to do the best I can to keep my data away from them. The one good thing about Meta is that, unlike Google or Microsoft, they don’t make anything that I actually need (or even want) to have.
Discord is a separate problem all together.
I have absolutely no doubt that Discord would love to be in Meta’s position. They have and will continue to sell out it’s user base.
Not only is Discord a security risk but a poor substitute for its predecessors in all categories. A jack of and absolutely a master of none.
Telegram is mystery to me. There are absolutely no assurances of any sort to suggest that it is safe other than hearsay.
There is a lot of garbage out there but none more so than WhatsApp. Security audit of, It’s safe and secure because we say so, that’s why!
P.S. Our entire company business model is based upon monetizing your data and violating your privacy but we are very safe and privacy respecting… hmm?!?
Everything is between, you, me and them. Me being an entire corporation and them being any third party that they wish to share such information with at any given time as long as it benefits them and their hip pocket.
I have tested quite a few of these apps and a lot of them are trading upon lies, BS, falsehoods and branding.
The minimum requirement for these apps being accepted should be a very thorough audit by an independent entity, foundational logic like not requiring a phone number which connects you as well as your contacts back to a somewhat unique identifier. The code being open source should help for it to be audited in a transparent manner otherwise it is once again just hearsay.
I personally am more likely to use a software that has no man in the middle server which is why matrix based applications will also not cut it for me these days either as I do no know or trust the man in the middle hosting the server not to mention that some of these have various restrictions that you must be mindful of.
One must also consider where their server is location geographically in regards to safeguards and privacy laws. It’s a tricky balance to strike which is why its much for people to just chose willful ignorance over anything else which is a fallacy that will sooner or late catch up to you.