WhatSim, a SIM Card for WhatsApp

Post by ismail » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 12:52 PM UTC

kbart wrote: post #61

andyjohnson0 wrote: post #39

I understand what this is but I'm having a hard time understanding how it works. I understand that it is a sim that permits data-only connectivity for a large number of networks around the world. What I'm having difficulty with is understanding how the sim limits the user to using only whatsapp. Does the sim analyse network traffic content or endpoint to block non-whatsapp data? Is the whatsapp software supplied on t…

I guess they run as MVNO[1] and all data is routed through their APN. The rest goes as another comment has already described. 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_virtual_network_operator

Post by wodenokoto » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 1:30 PM UTC

cr3ative wrote: post #29

Andrenid wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup way too many mentions of "free, without limits", considering: €10 per year but they say "no expiry". €.25 per photo (sent or received, I think) €.50 per video That's just for Zone 1. More than triple those prices if you're in Australia or any Zone 2 country.. and more than 6 times those prices if you're in Canada or any Zone 3 country.

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…

Post by wodenokoto » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 1:32 PM UTC

josteink wrote: post #70

Why would a chat-service operated over the internet require a dedicated SIM of its own? This just reeks of bad design and the limitations of tying the chat-protocol user-ID to a phone-number. Until I can log on (anywhere) using a username or email, I'm not going to consider whatsapp a messaging-service for the internet-age.

Post by Gustomaximus » Thu, Jan 29, 2015, 1:46 PM UTC

kweks wrote: post #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,…

Post by burnte » Sat, Jan 31, 2015, 3:09 AM UTC

kayoone wrote: post #60

burnte wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.