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0 pointsarp2422y ago0 comments

I don't really see why WhatsApp would care, because once you have developed the interoperability, audited the apps, and done all that, it doesn't really cost WhatsApp anything if a user is using that app. They lose no profit, doesn't cost their servers any more than their own client would, etc.

WhatsApp makes their money from the business clients/apps (which aren't covered under this, which I think is fine by the way).

So why care where a user is on the planet? I just don't see the business reason for this. Maybe I'm missing something?

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lxgr2y ago

For one thing, they can't show ads in third-party clients. (I think they currently only do that in "stories" in their own client at the moment, but without competing clients, they always have the option to expand that.)

On the other hand, I could imagine their business messaging ambitions to be threatened by third-party clients: There's nothing stopping the vendors of these clients from undercutting Meta on business messaging rates.

And this is all assuming that third-party services couldn't provide their own business messaging services to first-party WhatsApp client users without paying Meta their list price. I don't know whether the DMA allows that, or if normal rates would still apply in that case.

akdev1l2y ago

The WhatsApp client does give Meta a window of opportunity to get data from users.

The data is otherwise E2E encrypted but when you see a link preview on WhatsApp Meta knows that.

Vinnl2y ago

Only the messages are encrypted, but there's a ton of metadata that isn't, e.g. who you talk to, when, where you are when you do so, ...

akdev1l2y ago

But in the client is the only time their code touches the actual unencrypted message data.

Also a lot of the data you mentioned will also not be available if you don’t use their client, eg: if you use Signal client then Facebook won’t get your location all as that’s not part of regular text message

arp242OP2y ago

Do they actually do that? Because I'm not so sure that they do.

akdev1l2y ago

The preview sends a request to some server on a Facebook subdomain. I know because I was sniffing traffic on my phone without any Facebook app installed other than WhatsApp.

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0 pointsarp2422y ago0 comments

WhatsApp makes their money from the business clients/apps (which aren't covered under this, which I think is fine by the way).

So why care where a user is on the planet? I just don't see the business reason for this. Maybe I'm missing something?

0 comments

lxgr2y ago

akdev1l2y ago

The WhatsApp client does give Meta a window of opportunity to get data from users.

The data is otherwise E2E encrypted but when you see a link preview on WhatsApp Meta knows that.

Vinnl2y ago

Only the messages are encrypted, but there's a ton of metadata that isn't, e.g. who you talk to, when, where you are when you do so, ...

akdev1l2y ago

But in the client is the only time their code touches the actual unencrypted message data.

arp242OP2y ago

Do they actually do that? Because I'm not so sure that they do.

akdev1l2y ago

The preview sends a request to some server on a Facebook subdomain. I know because I was sniffing traffic on my phone without any Facebook app installed other than WhatsApp.

2 more replies

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse