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Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

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Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#121
post #67

WhatsApp backup on your Google account contains all your message history, and is unencrypted. If you use google cloud backup for your phone, Google can read your WhatsApp messages, and has been able to do so for more than 5 years now.

There's an option to enable end-to-end encryption on your backups.

https://faq.whatsapp.com/490592613091019

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#122
post #73

People have been clowning on Apple for being behind on the AI stuff and -- while I'd never defend how they promised a bunch of features in 2024, showed them in ads, and sold iPhones based on vaporware, but still haven't shipped most of the features -- I will say, I imagine a lot of the hold-up is because they realized how dangerous it is to start trusting AI with the sensitive data on your phone. It's probably not to…

No. It's well documented and reported that Apple's hold-up is because of technical incompetency.

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#123

In the year 2025 I can’t think of any reason a person would use Signal instead of WhatsApp. All your friends and family should move to Signal if that is your excuse.

> In the year 2025 I can’t think of any reason a person would use Signal instead of WhatsApp.

I can. Several, actuallly

> All your friends and family should move to Signal if that is your excuse.

They did. Those that didn't/won't, do have my telephone number, though.

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#124
post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to unencrypt data to process it and as soon as you do that, the right Kernel APIs are enough to see whatever you want -- here the accessibility APIs are probably enough to read any text you would be able to read.

another person in the thread suggests it's working over a screen capture stream. But that's what i'm wondering : are they working over a video of the screen or by integrating directly with the internals of the OS.

The more likely candidate is reading notifications, no?

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#125

Google has been working on this since November last year going by the wayback archive of the support page for this feature. I'm not seeing any indication that Gemini can read your messages, though. You can compose messages and start calls, but I can't get it to read me any of my messages. In fact, I can't even get it to send messages to group chats, only to individual contacts. The feature makes a lot of sense, of co…

What Gemini should be able to do with WhatsApp: Exactly and only what any other random app on the phone could do with WhatsApp, assuming that you have enabled that in exactly the way you would have to enable any other random app to do it. Google needs to not be abusing its position as the source of the OS to give its software special privilege to reach inside of third-party apps.

> Google needs to not be abusing its position as the source of the OS to give its software special privilege to reach inside of third-party apps.

There are some extremely useful features that you can implement with AI, but currently only at the OS level, not with normal app permissions-- namely live translation of audio streams that belong to another app (calls, video playback, etc.).

But I suppose you're still right; it would still be better if Android had an API for sharing app audio streams like this.

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#126
post #7

These big tech companies are so frustrating. Why does every single aspect of our digital lives need to be monitored? It’s like whack a mole trying to get the most basic of privacy.

Because people collectively vote for the ad model over the subscription model.

people didn't vote for shit, if they could vote they'd vote for no ads and no cost. companies like google destroyed this option on purpose. there is no reason why the vast majority of apps and services online can't be both free and ad free. if i look for tetris on the app store it's literally impossible to find a version that's both ad free and free of purchases despite the fact that i know there's at minimum 100 options that fit this criteria. google/apple just buries them and deliberately doesnt allow filtering to find them

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#127

Not exactly related, but does anyone know what's the best way to backup WhatsApp data on an Android phone without using Google drive these days?

I use Syncthing to backup WA and Signal

But isn't it quite useless to backup WA when it's all encrypted and you can't backup the key?

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#128
post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I prefer AI to stay in its own corner. Let ChatGPT, Gemini, and the rest be something I open when I need them, like a website or an app. I'm not really into the whole "everything should have AI built into it" idea. It kind of reminds me of how the internet used to be. Back then, you had to go to a specific room to use the family computer. The internet was something you visited. Now, tech is everywhere, fr…

It's going the opposite direction. AI won't be inside each different thing, instead everything else will be nested under the AI. Like Gemini here. AI will have user-equivalent access to interact with any app. It will be the default and people will not mind it because it's convenient and if you have nothing to hide.

What if you do have something to hide?

Re: Google can now read your WhatsApp messages

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed the privacy that keeping AI "in a corner" appeals to me too. The fundamental catch here is that 80%+ of the future benefit will likely come from the very thing that erodes privacy: deep integration and context. Imagine if a Gemini had your entire life in its context (haha scary I know!), prompting would be so much more powerful. That's the core, uncomfortable trade-off we're all facing now.

> Imagine if a Gemini had your entire life in its context (haha scary I know!) Windows Recall [1] is this for your PC activities (not yet fed to AI, but I see no reason to think it will stay this way). Meta is working on glasses to record the IRL part. But your phone is probably enough for most of it. Joining Zoom meetings with AI note takers is getting popular [2]. Not long until in-person meetings will have AI list…

If I can have the AI agent attend the meeting for me in the first place, and then provide me the notes that's the winning play. Take the morning stand-up: all the developers' agents know what they are working on and what any blockers are. They can all exchange information in a virtual AI meeting and then send the notes around. Meanwhile all the developers are getting something productive done.
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