Whatsapp doc? \ stacker news ~AskSN

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369 sats \ 17 comments \ @jasonb 7h AskSN

Hey Stacker.news,

I'm trying to book a room with a bitcoin-friendly bnb. They only had CC or debit payment on their website so I shot them an email inquiring about paying with bitcoin. They asked that I send a Whatsapp message that they'd send a lightning invoice to. Problem is, I've avoided Whatsapp because it looks like they harvest ALL of your data! Am I being a bitcoin hipster or do you think I'm right that this app looks just oh no good?

I really want to book with these guys, so if you're in the, "yeah, don't get Whatsapp camp," what do you propose that I propose to them as an alternative?

Pseudonymously, Doubter in Cypherland

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0 replies \ @jasonb OP 5h

For any curious, I wrote them via signal and explained in a follow up email that I don’t have WhatsApp. I’ll let you know if they send me the invoice there or come back with a different plan.

I really appreciate all the advice and feel more confident in my conviction to avoid WhatsApp.

50 sats \ 3 replies \ @kepford 5h

Whatsapp is pretty sus. Mostly because its closed source so you are trusting them with all you coms. But this is also true of most email providers. The real issue is that while I believe Whatsapp is end to end encrypted we just can not know if they are logging all the comms or what else they may be doing.

All that said, I would use it but I would not grant it access to my contacts or anything that it doesn't have to have to work. But it would be a VERY high bar for me to install it.

I would need to know why they are using Whatsapp before recommending an alt, but my go to would be Signal. Its open source and Whatsapp is believed to have copied the Double Ratchet Algorithm at the heart of Signal. SimpleX is another alternative but it doesn't have as wide a user base yet.

74 sats \ 2 replies \ @itsrealfake 2h

only e2ee if you select the privacy room in WhatsApp

5 sats \ 1 reply \ @kepford 1h

Good to know. I would not trust even that.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @itsrealfake 36m

Oh yeah, likewise. I wouldn't trust it either. But I wanted to make the point that the end-to-end claims from WhatsApp only apply to the special case of selecting a private chat; as far as I'm aware, group chats and default person-to-person chats are not encrypted at all.. All of the other chats are not end-to-end encrypted.

60 sats \ 1 reply \ @NovaRift 7h

Ask them politely that you don't use Whatsapp and would prefer to use Signal or maybe Telegram instead. You go easy, and they will go easy too.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 6h

maybe tell them it's a work phone, your employer doesn't allow you to install it...

50 sats \ 1 reply \ @fishious 6h

Can someone else receive the whatsapp message for you? Obviously, someone you trust like a family member.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @jasonb OP 6h

I’m not sure I actually know anyone in person that uses it.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @88b0c423eb 3h

once you're there tell them about nostr and simplex. Simplex is much better than signal and they will have a communication with many other bitcoiners. Whatsapp is a total no go zone.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @TheBTCManual 5h

I guess you can just tell them to SMS you or send a raven

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @Catcher 6h

I think paying a lightning invoice to a stranger on the internet is more risky than getting a WhatsApp:) at least with WhatsApp you will have their number in case you need to dispute this)

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @jasonb OP 6h

In general, agreed, but these guys have a public face and I’m relatively confident bad reviews are enough to keep them honest.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @96c0b276a3 6h

☝️

0 sats \ 2 replies \ @jasonb OP 6h

Just curious, is anyone in the, "go ahead and get Whatapp," camp?

0 sats \ 1 reply \ @megaptera 5h

Only you use a burner phone nr. to register. I had similar experience while traveling. This is quite annoying especially in LATAM everyone and every business uses that crap.

0 sats \ 0 replies \ @jasonb OP 3h

I didn’t think of that! Great idea!