Hi everyone,

First of all, I know WhatsApp doesn’t belong to Google so I’m technically in the wrong community.

Still I think getting rid of Facebook is part of the same movement.

I’ve been using Threema (and Signal/SMS a little bit) for years with all my close contacts, but I can’t fully get rid of WhatsApp as I’m part of some groups where I can’t convince/force everyone to move to Threema.

Because I was still on WhatsApp, a lot of people outside of the necessary groups thought it was okay to contact me on WhatsApp.

I had looked into ways of blocking everyone except these essential groups, but I couldn’t find anything on the web.

Now I think I’ve found the solution to prevent people outside of these necessary WhatsApp groups to write to me on WhatsApp. I had never heard of it before yesterday, but you can download a WhatsApp Business app which lets you send automated answers when people are writing to you.

So I basically just created an automated answer telling people that I’m using Threema/Signal/Sms and that I won’t answer on WhatsApp. Now I don’t have to write long messages telling people to please write to me on another app (and then these people keep writing on WhatsApp of course). So now it’s make the effort or leave me alone 😅

I still plan in ditching WhatsApp for good at one point, but it seems like a good temporary solution and, since I hadn’t found anyone suggesting this idea, I thought I would share it here to help people who have the same problem.

  • barcaxavi@lemmy.world
    201·
    3 months ago

    Not the solution you looking for as I feel, but I leave it here for others to discover: With a home server and proper technical knowledge you can use WhatsApp via Matrix: https://matrix.org/ecosystem/bridges/whatsapp/

    This is something I discovered way before, when I was trying to ditch Facebook Messenger. I felt like there’s absolutely no chance to convince everyone around me to use Signal, so even not having the app on the phone looked like an OK option.

      • barcaxavi@lemmy.world
        31·
        3 months ago

        Not sure if you haven’t read my comment, or just didn’t get the jist of it: the point is that you can use the service without installing their crappy app.

          • yonder@sh.itjust.works
            4·
            3 months ago

            My understanding of Whatsapp’s data collection is that since the messages are encrypted, Meta “only” profiles you using metadata. If you use a matrix bridge to communicate, they would lose out on data like how you interact with their app and when you open it as well as location data but would still get to know when and who you send messages to.

          • barcaxavi@lemmy.world
            31·
            3 months ago

            Just check what privileges these apps ask for when you’re installing them. They could get infinitely more data then “just” the ones tied to the conversations.

            So once again my point is that, if their app is not touching my phone, that’s one bullet dodged.

              • lud@lemm.ee
                2·
                3 months ago

                Not sure why you are being downvoted. Their main problem was the data that was given when you give them permissions. So why the hell is not giving them permissions not a reasonable solution?

    • communism
      3·
      3 months ago

      I heard you still need to log into WhatsApp every few days for the bridge to keep working though. How long were you using the bridge for (or if you’re still using it, how long have you been using it for) without having WhatsApp installed at all?

      • kudos
        6·
        3 months ago

        I haven’t had to reauthorize WhatsApp in months.

        • communism
          3·
          3 months ago

          That’s really reassuring. I may go down that route then. Thanks!

    • Dariusmiles2123@sh.itjust.worksOP
      3·
      3 months ago

      I had a look into this in the past, but it wasn’t for me as I don’t have a home server.

      I think you could also pay some service to host a server for you, but I’m saving my geeky money for other projects.