Thank you, WhatsApp! Oppressive governments, especially ones that have lots of resources to torment their citizens, should not get to play with our toys.
WhatsApp Blocking Encrypted Calls to All Saudi Numbers
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Re: WhatsApp Blocking Encrypted Calls to All Saudi Numbers
#12WhatApp does the same for UAE numbers. If I initiate a call to my sister who lives in UAE I get an error saying that "Whatsapp calling is unavailable in the UAE" or something along those lines. We worked around it by installing Signal, but she needs a VPN to be able to access it since it's completely blocked in the UAE (as well as Oman). We get around this by texting each other before hand on whatsapp with the keywor…
Why not VPN all the time?
The always-on VPN on iOS can be flaky at times, especially if you try to use public wifis with captive portals.
Re: WhatsApp Blocking Encrypted Calls to All Saudi Numbers
#13They're simply providing a better user experience. The Saudis blocked encrypted calls, and users would have wait staring at frustrating repeated timeouts and long 'connecting' hangs. Therefore Whatsapp simply said OK, let's just improve the users experience by giving them an immediate error informing them.
_insert quote about the simpler explanation being far more likely than a nefarious one here_
Simpler explanation: KSA threatened to block all whatsup (and maybe even facebook) if they don't help them.
Re: WhatsApp Blocking Encrypted Calls to All Saudi Numbers
#14They're simply providing a better user experience. The Saudis blocked encrypted calls, and users would have wait staring at frustrating repeated timeouts and long 'connecting' hangs. Therefore Whatsapp simply said OK, let's just improve the users experience by giving them an immediate error informing them.
The gist explicitly claims that's not possible. Specifically, it claims that there's no way for the Saudi teleco to distinguish encrypted phone calls from encrypted messages, and since you can send encrypted messages to Saudi users, there's no technical reason why you can't also call them. The implication is that if WhatsApp did allow the calls, the Saudi telecos might block both calls and messages (since they can't distinguish them), and so WhatsApp disallows calls to avoid provoking them. And the OP's point is that WhatsApp should detect whether the user is actually in-country and allow the calls if they're in another country (since the Saudi telecos won't matter there).
Re: WhatsApp Blocking Encrypted Calls to All Saudi Numbers
#15They're simply providing a better user experience. The Saudis blocked encrypted calls, and users would have wait staring at frustrating repeated timeouts and long 'connecting' hangs. Therefore Whatsapp simply said OK, let's just improve the users experience by giving them an immediate error informing them.
The gist explicitly claims that's not possible. Specifically, it claims that there's no way for the Saudi teleco to distinguish encrypted phone calls from encrypted messages, and since you can send encrypted messages to Saudi users, there's no technical reason why you can't also call them. The implication is that if WhatsApp did allow the calls, the Saudi telecos might block both calls and messages (since they can't…
Bandwidth is going to be a major tell even if you have zero clue about content.
Re: WhatsApp Blocking Encrypted Calls to All Saudi Numbers
#16They're simply providing a better user experience. The Saudis blocked encrypted calls, and users would have wait staring at frustrating repeated timeouts and long 'connecting' hangs. Therefore Whatsapp simply said OK, let's just improve the users experience by giving them an immediate error informing them.
The gist explicitly claims that's not possible. Specifically, it claims that there's no way for the Saudi teleco to distinguish encrypted phone calls from encrypted messages, and since you can send encrypted messages to Saudi users, there's no technical reason why you can't also call them. The implication is that if WhatsApp did allow the calls, the Saudi telecos might block both calls and messages (since they can't…
This is the correct answer. There is definitely cooperation between WhatsApp and the Saudi authorities.
I live in the UAE and it's exactly the same over here.
Re: WhatsApp Blocking Encrypted Calls to All Saudi Numbers
#17They're simply providing a better user experience. The Saudis blocked encrypted calls, and users would have wait staring at frustrating repeated timeouts and long 'connecting' hangs. Therefore Whatsapp simply said OK, let's just improve the users experience by giving them an immediate error informing them.
Whilst it may be a better user experience for those with Saudi numbers in Saudi Arabia (calls would be blocked anyway) it is a much worse user experience for those with Saudi numbers not in Saudi Arabia (calls would work fine, but are blocked by WhatsaApp).
Maybe it's just a use case they missed - but quite a significant one!
Re: WhatsApp Blocking Encrypted Calls to All Saudi Numbers
#18They're simply providing a better user experience. The Saudis blocked encrypted calls, and users would have wait staring at frustrating repeated timeouts and long 'connecting' hangs. Therefore Whatsapp simply said OK, let's just improve the users experience by giving them an immediate error informing them.
The gist explicitly claims that's not possible. Specifically, it claims that there's no way for the Saudi teleco to distinguish encrypted phone calls from encrypted messages, and since you can send encrypted messages to Saudi users, there's no technical reason why you can't also call them. The implication is that if WhatsApp did allow the calls, the Saudi telecos might block both calls and messages (since they can't…
WhatsApp calls are made to a different port; I worked at a teleco in Oman and that's how they blocked the calling feature while keeping messaging alive.
Re: WhatsApp Blocking Encrypted Calls to All Saudi Numbers
#19How about the opposite: does WhatsApp also block calls to a phone registered in a foreign country but connected to Saudi WiFi?
Re: WhatsApp Blocking Encrypted Calls to All Saudi Numbers
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
The gist explicitly claims that's not possible. Specifically, it claims that there's no way for the Saudi teleco to distinguish encrypted phone calls from encrypted messages, and since you can send encrypted messages to Saudi users, there's no technical reason why you can't also call them. The implication is that if WhatsApp did allow the calls, the Saudi telecos might block both calls and messages (since they can't…
WhatsApp calls are made to a different port; I worked at a teleco in Oman and that's how they blocked the calling feature while keeping messaging alive.
To localize this behavior to the US as an example, Verizon wireless is known to block SIP traffic coming and going out of port 5060; it's entirely possible the Saudis are engaging this very similarly and have effectively blocked traffic, encrypted or not coming and going to a specific protocol port.
So I don't think saying "there's no way to tell" is entirely accurate