I’m currently looking to develop an open source app that can help somebody. I’m currently out of ideas, so I’d like to heard if from you guys.
Sorry if it seems to lazy to ask for ideas like that, I just thought that I could do it since the result will be a free app.
WhatsApp
What about signal?
The signal app does not let me send messages to WhatsApp users.
Use the web app version then
The web app version requires you to install the nonfree app. This is circular logic.
Oh I didn’t know it couldn’t work without the app. Nvm then
Yeah and not just once. Iirc if their proprietary, closed-source app doesnt call home to their mother ship at least every 2 weeks, then all your WhatsApp Web sessions get deauth’d.
We really need a way to use WhatsApp without using the original spyware app.
Well even if someone creates it, it will still act like a web session. It will just be a frontend. You can’t create a separate app with authentication and everything because it’s proprietary (so you can’t see how authentication works) and messages are E2EE
Of course you can. Its just more difficult.
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Signal I suppose would be the closest analog
No, I’m not looking for an alternative. I’m looking for an open source client that let’s me talk to folks on WhatsApp.
I see, fair enough. I don’t know if you’ll have any luck with a FOSS third party client which does t violate their TOS. There was something on fdroid years ago, a wrapper that effectively allowed you to use WhatsApp Web on another phone (or perhaps even the same one), but it ultimately requried the use of the official clients
If you use one of those WhatsApp web apps, you still have to use the closed source app. It doesn’t solve the problem
Yes, I already aluded to this. Point being, I don’t think you’ll find a viable FOSS front end since it would violate their TOS.
Most people don’t care about violating ToS. Its not a risk to an open source project.
It is to
A: the continuity of said project (DMCA) and B: to the individual end users.
You can use FOSS clients for things like Discord or the Google play store but you still run the risk of getting banned.
Shit, I get banned by their shitty ML algos when I do comply with their ToS. I don’t think most people care about the risk of having to create new accounts, since they’re already forced to do so already.
This and so many others that are irreplaceable because of the Network effect. Google Maps, Uber and so on…
However if you are looking for a self contained app to bring into the Foss ecosystem then I would recommend making a game that you like?
My first game that I bought on Google Play was Osmos making a version of this that is open source would make me happy…
Edit: someones already mentioned these below… nevermind!
If youre in the EU then EU parliament forced whatsapp to start developing cross-app communications with Signal, telegram etc. (Source). This was in 2022 and was due to be released in March 2024. Im not sure where it got to though since i dont use whatsapp, though i might start asking some friends to see if its rolled out.
Alternatively there are “matrix bridges”. Namely via Matrix which can link messaging apps through matrix accounts and send messages between
Telegram is pretty good, and has open-source clients.
Doesn’t let me talk to people on WhatsApp
It soon will
Deadline for that was a few months ago. I’m skeptical