I'm missing why this needs both a python and a node backend.
Hi, please refer to my answer to a similar comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16796791
Reverse Engineering WhatsApp Web
71–80 of 127 posts
Re: Reverse Engineering WhatsApp Web
#72I'm missing why this needs both a python and a node backend.
when i've done similar stuff (with java and node), i've used node because nodejitsu can proxy websockets
Re: Reverse Engineering WhatsApp Web
#73I'm very hopeful this reverse engineering effort will enable the creation of a tool to export my conversations (WhatsApp can do email export, which let's be real, doesn't cut it for most cases). A point to those that support migrating to alternatives such as Signal. Signal is good, but far from great for a single reason: you need a phone number. This is very bad in necsec and reliability terms, my case: Reliability:…
If you want a good alternative try xmpp. It is basically email but for chat. Completely free, open source, distributed. And, you can have as many as you want with no need for a phone number.
Re: Reverse Engineering WhatsApp Web
#74Earlier quoted context omitted.
I wish signal had a webapp.
It has a desktop app for MacOS, Linux and Windows. https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop
It's as "native" and "desktop" as... well... ekhm:
"Signal Desktop is an Electron application that links with your Signal Android or Signal iOS app."
Re: Reverse Engineering WhatsApp Web
#75Many of the vendors we partner with (tourism industry) live in countries where the main communication channel is WhatsApp. There's a lot of communication we want to automate in the near future—eagerly looking forward to seeing this progress!
Re: Reverse Engineering WhatsApp Web
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Better? Yes. Easier? No. Besides, what's more open, as usable and secure?
Signal. It is at least as secure as Whats App by design, has pratically the same interface and also a Chrome-based desktop app that works untethered from the phone app.
My friends switched from whatsapp to signal for day. We switched back after a matter of hours. We couldn't find a way to quote messages to reply to them, which is critical for group conversions where multiple threads are happening at once. Also there was no ability to @user to direct a message at a specific person. As for the app, there was unnecessary whitespace between messages--even using smallest font size. Usability vs unauditable security is tough calculus but I think technical people weigh security more then their less technical friends.
Re: Reverse Engineering WhatsApp Web
#77Wouldn't it be better to simply start convincing your friends to use something more open, where you have choice of the client? It feels like solving the problem from the wrong angle…
Have you tried that? Ends up with some friends throwing you a bone and downloading / registering for a new service. Some of them remember to keep it open. Some use it. The rest of their friends don't. But a few of them love you enough to use a special app just for you because you seem to care. <3
Actualy I almost don't use WhatsApp. Saddly I settled on Telegram (sigh) but it's the only remotlely sane solution to having desktop client that doens't require mobile phone being constantly on.
I would love to have XMPP more popular, but while I love the protocol it had quite some shortcomings (carbons only getting popular recently for example)
Re: Reverse Engineering WhatsApp Web
#78Noob question: Is traffic going through the websocket-servers properly end-to-end encrypted? That's what always held me back about using Whatsapp Web
Hi, that's definitely not a noob question. I'm already having plans on investigating this, but this topic is even more difficult than WhatsApp Web itself (see https://github.com/sigalor/whatsapp-web-reveng/issues/10#iss... ).
Thus, at this time, I am not able to give you a definite answer, though, to put it informally, "it looks good" (at least on the surface).
Re: Reverse Engineering WhatsApp Web
#79I'm very hopeful this reverse engineering effort will enable the creation of a tool to export my conversations (WhatsApp can do email export, which let's be real, doesn't cut it for most cases). A point to those that support migrating to alternatives such as Signal. Signal is good, but far from great for a single reason: you need a phone number. This is very bad in necsec and reliability terms, my case: Reliability:…
This may sound like an advert, but it's not - I used "Backuptrans Android WhatsApp to iPhone Transfer for Mac" last year when I moved from Android to iPhone, and surprisingly it actually worked! I could export all my Android (Nougat) messages and media, and restore it onto my iPhone (iOS 11). It was a bit dodgy though - it asked me to install an old (custom?) APK first to export my messages, and the iPhone restore pr…
> and the iPhone restore process looked like an actual iOS system restore..
As in it 'hijacked' the UI? I guess its possible that it's using the backup-restore mechanism to get data onto the iPhone.
I wonder if it still works now in iOS 11.
Re: Reverse Engineering WhatsApp Web
#80Earlier quoted context omitted.
Better? Yes. Easier? No. Besides, what's more open, as usable and secure?
After playing around with federated XMPP (on my own server): XMPP with OMEMO is brilliant. No battery drain (Conversations and Astrachat tested on android), multi-client e2e encryption, even voice/video is possible. And, being federated, I finally own my identity.
What's the benefit of end-to-end encryption if you don't have anyone on the other end?