Facebook &mdash; Polyphonicwinter Blog https://polyphonicwinter.writeas.com/tag:Facebook A Blog for updates on Life, Ideas, Technology, Privacy, Problem solving and Learning Wed, 07 Oct 2026 01:13:45 +0000 WhatsApp: The solution? https://polyphonicwinter.writeas.com/whatsapp-the-solution?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[I previously wrote about my strong disliking of Facebook but revealed the "best" way round it. However times have changed and with the audio and broadcast industry defaulting to WhatsApp for communication so must I and this time... I'm almost on board. UPDATE: Now I must preface by saying I do still have a work Facebook account but I rarely use it. When I do use it, I use the NEW official Tor browser app (Available on: Playstore/F-Droid (Preferred)) or the good ol' desktop Tor browser using Facebook's hidden site facebookcorewwwi.onion. I still recommend using my previous post if you NEED Facebook on your phone! Also WhatsApp is created by Facebook, so not great but it does have some tasty features... Features End-To-End Encryption (e2e) WhatsApp uses Signal's end-to-end encryption algorithm [1]. We can't technically trust Facebook has implemented it correctly but if it has... that's a major Hell Yes!! Web-view One thing that WhatsApp does that I wished other private messengers did is have a web app. It always asks for permission before accessing the WhatsApp account and allows you to move files from your PC through WhatsApp with ease. It also enables us Linux users to not worry about compatibility issues.You could suggest that this broadens the attack range for malicious actors using WhatsApp. Doesn't connect to any other accounts WhatApp has been sold as a private messenger and so does not ask for annoying permissions and doesn't connect to other accounts. Nice! HOWEVER You can be as secure as you want your end but the issue then becomes the OTHER people in your chat. WhatsApp by default saves a copy of your encrypted messages to Google/Apple/Microsoft's backup service. Ughh! This can be kinda circumvented by... Disabling backups NOT WhatsApp backups but whatever main backup service you use (presuming it's not a personal server or syncthing or you are using a custom ROM without Google services). This solves the issue for you but NOT for others. You can try (mostly in vain) to get others to do the same but even if you can't it's a step in the right direction. Deleting your messages Again a pretty bad solution but hey it does work. Simply delete your messages after they've been seen BUT before WhatsApp does a backup. You will be notified that to delete for everyone NOT just you. Just Agree! Encrypting This doesn't solve the problem with regular messages but for sending files it does. You can use a service like Firefox Send to send files up to 1 GB (2.5 GB if you have a Firefox account) or Tresorit Send with up to 5 GB or even OnionShare with an unlimited file size limit (works over Tor). These services all use end-to-end encryption (unlocked with a password), links expire after a chosen amount of time and much more. Of course you can use regular forms of file encryption like PGP or AES256. [2] But if you are, you probably have better solutions anyway and aren't using WhatsApp. ;) Overall WhatsApp is one of the 'best' commonly used messaging apps out there and if you can't use an alternative like Signal or Keybase. It's just a good idea in general to treat whatever you send or post like an open letter. DON'T post anything sensitive on it. It's probably overly paranoid to suggest that Facebook reads all your WhatsApp messages but hey! Also with the recent WhatsApp hacks and exploits [3], it never hurts to be safe! Liam [1] https://scontent.whatsapp.net/v/t61/681356207603566577516826212997528851833559n.pdf/WhatsApp-Security-Whitepaper.pdf?ncsid=41cc27&ncohc=NBTA-txayNsAX-xbRaX&nc_ht=scontent.whatsapp.net&oh=3cd37dbd496d40f6dadd0dd475454681&oe=5E62B5A5 [2] https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/FIPS/NIST.FIPS.197.pdf [3] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/may/14/whatsapp-hack-have-i-been-affected-and-what-should-i-do #Facebook #WhatsApp #Privacy #encryption #OnionShare #Tresorit #Firefox #Signal #e2e #Syncthing #PGP #AES256 #TorBrowser #Tor #LineageOS ---]]> I previously wrote about my strong disliking of Facebook but revealed the “best” way round it. However times have changed and with the audio and broadcast industry defaulting to WhatsApp for communication so must I and this time... I'm almost on board.

UPDATE: Now I must preface by saying I do still have a work Facebook account but I rarely use it. When I do use it, I use the NEW official Tor browser app (Available on: Playstore/F-Droid (Preferred)) or the good ol' desktop Tor browser using Facebook's hidden site facebookcorewwwi.onion. I still recommend using my previous post if you NEED Facebook on your phone!

Also WhatsApp is created by Facebook, so not great but it does have some tasty features...

Features

  • End-To-End Encryption (e2e) WhatsApp uses Signal's end-to-end encryption algorithm [1]. We can't technically trust Facebook has implemented it correctly but if it has... that's a major Hell Yes!!

  • Web-view One thing that WhatsApp does that I wished other private messengers did is have a web app. It always asks for permission before accessing the WhatsApp account and allows you to move files from your PC through WhatsApp with ease. It also enables us Linux users to not worry about compatibility issues.You could suggest that this broadens the attack range for malicious actors using WhatsApp.

  • Doesn't connect to any other accounts WhatApp has been sold as a private messenger and so does not ask for annoying permissions and doesn't connect to other accounts. Nice!

HOWEVER

You can be as secure as you want your end but the issue then becomes the OTHER people in your chat. WhatsApp by default saves a copy of your encrypted messages to Google/Apple/Microsoft's backup service. Ughh! This can be kinda circumvented by...

  • Disabling backups NOT WhatsApp backups but whatever main backup service you use (presuming it's not a personal server or syncthing or you are using a custom ROM without Google services). This solves the issue for you but NOT for others. You can try (mostly in vain) to get others to do the same but even if you can't it's a step in the right direction.

  • Deleting your messages Again a pretty bad solution but hey it does work. Simply delete your messages after they've been seen BUT before WhatsApp does a backup. You will be notified that to delete for everyone NOT just you. Just Agree!

  • Encrypting This doesn't solve the problem with regular messages but for sending files it does. You can use a service like Firefox Send to send files up to 1 GB (2.5 GB if you have a Firefox account) or Tresorit Send with up to 5 GB or even OnionShare with an unlimited file size limit (works over Tor). These services all use end-to-end encryption (unlocked with a password), links expire after a chosen amount of time and much more. Of course you can use regular forms of file encryption like PGP or AES256. [2] But if you are, you probably have better solutions anyway and aren't using WhatsApp. ;)

Overall

WhatsApp is one of the 'best' commonly used messaging apps out there and if you can't use an alternative like Signal or Keybase. It's just a good idea in general to treat whatever you send or post like an open letter. DON'T post anything sensitive on it. It's probably overly paranoid to suggest that Facebook reads all your WhatsApp messages but hey! Also with the recent WhatsApp hacks and exploits [3], it never hurts to be safe!

Liam

[1] https://scontent.whatsapp.net/v/t61/68135620_760356657751682_6212997528851833559_n.pdf/WhatsApp-Security-Whitepaper.pdf?_nc_sid=41cc27&_nc_ohc=NBTA-txayNsAX-xbRaX&_nc_ht=scontent.whatsapp.net&oh=3cd37dbd496d40f6dadd0dd475454681&oe=5E62B5A5 [2] https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/FIPS/NIST.FIPS.197.pdf [3] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/may/14/whatsapp-hack-have-i-been-affected-and-what-should-i-do

#Facebook #WhatsApp #Privacy #encryption #OnionShare #Tresorit #Firefox #Signal #e2e #Syncthing #PGP #AES256 #TorBrowser #Tor #LineageOS

]]> https://polyphonicwinter.writeas.com/whatsapp-the-solution Fri, 01 Nov 2019 11:39:04 +0000 Facebook: Why I hate it! https://polyphonicwinter.writeas.com/facebook-why-i-hate-it?pk_campaign=rss-feed <![CDATA[NOTE: THIS POST IS NOW OUT OF DATE! Please refer to this one: WhatsApp: the solution? I think I joined Facebook when I was 14 years old. I posted pictures of everything. From my friends, food, travel photo's to even some images of myself as a baby. I loved it! I was obsessed. Farmville. All day. Everyday. Constant invites to other games, funny memes, I had loads of friends and (from what I could see) everything was good in the world Then I found out about the Snowden leaks. I was horrified, scared but above all angry. How could I have been so stupid?! You get nothing for free and yet I just blindly gave Facebook all my data. After reading maybe 3 articles/study's I was convinced that I HAD to delete Facebook. But even as I filled out the deletion page I felt a lump in my chest. Would my friends think I had abandoned them? I organised everything on this site, everyone did. The more I thought about this the worse and worse I felt about deleting my account. But luckily for me my hate for unnecessary hierarchy was more than a match for my guilt. DELETE. In the coming days I was conflicted. I had lost so many friends from such a simple act. However it opened up a opportunity... how good a friends where they? Some people immediately just asked for a email address or a phone number so we could stay in touch. However most didn't blink an eye at it. My group of friends shrunk from 60 'online friends' to 5 really good friends, friends I'm still in touch with to this day. It was definitely worth it. I noticed my concentration improved, my grades went up and overall I felt better. The more I researched the treachery of Facebook and other internet giants the more I felt empowered about what I had done. I felt smart. Ahead of the curve. I started trying to convince other that their cyber footprint mattered, digital hygiene was huge and not to trust anything at face value. My interest in technology grew and I realised above all that I wanted to be an engineer. I didn't feel controlled, I felt free... Which is why I am so confused about what I am doing. I'm seriously thinking about CREATING a Facebook account. Why? I hate Facebook! I like feeling free! Answer: The convenience of others. Let me explain... I am involved with a lot of group work at University and almost all of that group work is organised over Facebook. Group chats, Pages, you name it are all on Facebook. Now if someone let's me into their group they can no longer use those tools. They have to text, email or God forbid... call. This is "so much" hassle that no one wants to work with me. I have Twitter, Reddit, Signal, XMPP, email, phone numbers, Hell I'll even build my own chat application but NO Facebook. No one is particularly a dick about it they just sort of accept it and move on. Normally in these circumstances I would say fuck'em. We all have email and text. Create a group in that, Setup your phone so you get Uni email. Sorted. Right? But in this case, wrong. If I can't work in a group then I will struggle to get good grades and at this point in my life