Live data from Hacker News

WhatSim, a SIM Card for WhatsApp

whatsim.com

51–60 of 82 posts

Re: WhatSim, a SIM Card for WhatsApp

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've dealt with a small amount of MVNO negotiations and this company has put many red flags up in my mind. It may be obvious to someone else, but I'd like to know how they detect a photo or video being sent, rather than text? WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted, so they can't be proxying the data to the servers. Are they just guessing from the total data transfer seen from the subscriber? There's a lot of unanswered que…

Metadata doesn't get encrypted. That question is, at least, fairly easy to answer.

That's good to know. I assume most mobile operators sniff this traffic already, but it does feel a bit strange knowing up-front that they're going to be closely monitoring that kind of thing. Maybe I'm paranoid!

Re: WhatSim, a SIM Card for WhatsApp

#55
post #44

So you need to use a different phone number than the one you usually use for WhatsApp? Then you wouldn't be linked to your friends anymore, right?

Right, your friends would basically need to have your phone and whatsapp contact which is not really practical.

Re: WhatSim, a SIM Card for WhatsApp

#57
post #25

Can it get even more retarded? Will I have to switch between a dozen SIM cards in a few years when I want to send an iMessage, a Facebook message, upload an Instagram photo, conduct a Google Hangout session. Oh hell no. Just give me a 4G enabled SIM card, a reasonable data limit (ie. 5GB) for an affordable price. I'll figure out by myself what I will use this mobile broad band connection for, thanks.

Even better would be if dual-SIM was supported by Big Brand phones like iPhone and Samsung.

I'd get an unlimited voice and unlimited data SIM and that would be the end of it.

Re: WhatSim, a SIM Card for WhatsApp

#58
A much better alternative would be: http://www.knowroaming.com/

- It's a SIM Sticker that sticks onto your existing SIM - When you roam, it activates, and uses its networks (but you can disable it, as you wish) - Calls, SMS etc are available at very decent rates. - Data is available at very reasonable rates (10c - 25c per MB - this is amazing for roaming) - Coverage is very, very good. I worked my way through Turkey, Iran, Iraq, the stans, Asia, Australia, South America, Russia.. all with coverage.

Highly recommended, and not some dodgy service.

Re: WhatSim, a SIM Card for WhatsApp

#60
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've dealt with a small amount of MVNO negotiations and this company has put many red flags up in my mind. It may be obvious to someone else, but I'd like to know how they detect a photo or video being sent, rather than text? WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted, so they can't be proxying the data to the servers. Are they just guessing from the total data transfer seen from the subscriber? There's a lot of unanswered que…

Well, it's trivial for the app to simply add a flag that there is a photo or video in the encrypted content. End to end encryption doesn't mean the app doesn't know what you're sending, it means the company can't decrypt the contents.

But that does not explain how the WhatSim guys can detect multimedia content and charge accordingly. They can't decrypt the traffic and can't modify the app itself.
Post reply on HN