WhatsApp links now require that you share your contacts in order to work

General
1

I hate WhatsApp, but I am forced to occasionally use it for work and interact with businesses. Years ago, I decided to stop sharing my contacts with WhatsApp to limit the amount of data they got from me. That used to mean that people often had to text me first, because I couldn’t initiate a chat with a new contact without sharing my contacts with Meta.

That’s when WhatsApp links came in handy.

CHAT FUEL: A WhatsApp link is a clickable URL that lets people start a chat with you instantly, without saving your number to their contacts. It uses the WhatsApp click-to-chat feature, which opens a conversation with just one tap.

The basic format is: https://wa.me/, followed by your phone number in international format (no dashes, spaces or plus signs). For example : https://wa.me/15551234567.

I’ve been using WhatsApp links for years. Every time I needed to initiate a chat with a new contact for work, I would simply send myself their WhatsApp contact link on the app and just click it.

WHATSAPP_Contact links 001
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However, last night after I updated the app, I noticed that WhatsApp links no longer work. When I click on them, I get this popup:

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This doesn’t make any sense, because WhatsApp links are meant to be used for people who are not already in your contact app, so why would they need access to it?

Web app still works

I have noticed that on web, WhatsApp links still work, I guess because there are no contacts to give away from a web browser on a computer.

But this is really annoying. I really hope this is a bug and that WhatsApp fixes it. I use Android, so I don’t have any contacts saved on my phone because I don’t want to share that with Google or any other app. But even so, this is frustrating.

Alternative option

Beside using the web app, I have discovered a universal workaround. If I just send myself a number with the country code and no URL, it still works.

E.g.: +15551234564

2

This is where multiple profiles on your Android comes in handy. Compartmentalize your life and limited data collection.

But this sucks for sure.

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3

It’s an extension of their recent contact upload feature https://faq.whatsapp.com/1191526044909364. It appears the contacts either live in your phone book or are uploaded and synced to WhatsApp, no in-between. It looks intentional, not a bug.

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4

They’ve been crippling this whole thing for a while. I can’t remember now, but only one platform, either Android or iOS, allowed initiating a conversation by entering a phone number without first adding the contact to your phone. Links functioned as a workaround, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they broke that too.

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5

Thanks for the info. It sucks to know that this is intentional. Basically, WhatsApp wants to have a backup of your contacts even when you don’t share your contacts. I’m glad I was able to find a workaround, but I really hope they don’t block it too. I refuse to share anything more than is strictly necessary with WhatsApp. No contacts. I’m very careful what I share in conversations and use it sparingly, and all my chats are set to self-destruct.

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I’m surprised they would block links. I’m willing to bet that only a tiny minority use WhatsApp links without sharing their contacts. I suspect it’s less than 1%.

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Try fiddling with upload settings, see if that helps

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It’s ok. As I said, I’ve already found a workaround by simply using the number without the URL. I hope they don’t block it, though. I find it funny that on their website they say that sharing contacts is optional, but it’s not true. At all.

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9

You always have a few extra options:

  • trying to push your customers towards contacting you via Signal (or are you the one to reach out to them?)
  • using some kind of VoIP proxy like Aircall (still very KYC I guess but maybe better than Meta for you?)
  • if you’re the one with the business, customers could also maybe interact with you via a chat with something like a Crisp (but better)
10

As I said, right, I still have a workaround which I hope won’t get shut down.

I always try to invite people to use Signal, but some people just won’t. I personally think that the next frontier for Signal to truly compete with WhatsApp is to have business accounts. If they don’t do that, WhatsApp will always be ahead of the curve. It’s that, or another E2EE messaging app will seize the opportunity, and if they are successful, they could threaten Signal’s position.

11

Antoher reason to get GrapheneOS where this isnt an issue.

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Hm, I’m not sure what exactly is a Business Account. What are the benefits of such type?

@ph00lt0 you mean, with the scopes so that it tricks WhatsApp into thinking that you gave access to it?

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That’s not in my budget right now, but it’s on my wishlist.

A lot of businesses are on WhatsApp. They have business accounts where they do customer service via WhatsApp. I know medical clinics that are on it. That means that thousands, if not tens of thousands, of their clients text businesses via WhatsApp for support. I am guessing that there are special features for having a WhatsApp business account, as many people (employees) might be responding from the same number at the same time, to different people. Signal doesn’t have that as an offering for businesses.

Obviously, business accounts are not the only area where Signal is losing to WhatsApp. But in my opinion, if lots of businesses were on Signal, it would encourage regular people to join in order to get customer support. Even if they don’t care about privacy.

2 Likes
14

Yes grapheneOS allows you to decide what contacts you will share which could be 0 and the app wont be able to tell as it just sees as if you granted full access.

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15

Hm, I don’t know the benefits look quite relative…

I mean, if you can’t have a website and want to have some sort of chatbot for your users sure, but I wouldn’t call that professional good looking answer when it’s basic and just automated.
Might be the only solution for some people I guess. :man_shrugging:t2:

EDIT: it is a paid service per message.
Yeah, I think people could do better than that if they are serious about their business tbh. Hence not sure that Signal is missing out on a lot. :sweat_smile:
Also, I think that having some sort of API for Signal is harder to create because of the innate nature of Signal while WA is just owned by Meta so that makes it far easier to go through their own servers etc.

16

I hear you, but I personally find it useful that I can contact certain businesses via WhatsApp instead of spending money on a call. I can also get answers to my questions faster than if I emailed them.

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17

Only thing you need is some sort of real time communication tbh, could be a Crisp chat, Signal or anything else.
WhatsApp Business just gives it a bit of a more “pro” vibe.

But I would also assume that if people really want a quick answer, they end up calling the business on their mobile phone (that would be proxied into some kind of team VoIP).
Not sure if you’re in Europe or not but here, you usually have quite a good chunk of SMS/calls for free included into your monthly carrier plan. :+1:t2:

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By using these services you guys are completely destroying the encryption. Which seems a lot worse than whatsapp knowning your contacts, just saying.

19

Whatever alternative platforms I’d want to use, the business would have to be on it. I have never seen a single business be present on an E2EE privacy platform.

In a lot of European countries, business numbers are not free. They are not included in your monthly mobile plan. They are premium numbers. That means that if you want to call your bank or your local movie theater to book a ticket, you get charged extra. It’s expensive.

This is why Skype was so useful to me, because I used their SkypeOut feature not just to make international calls to foreign numbers, but I would also use it for local calls because it was cheaper than using my mobile provider. I could easily spend 40 minutes on a phone call with my bank, most of which was waiting for someone to answer.

Unfortunately, Skype shut down. And there are currently no comparable alternatives to their SkypeOut feature.

But even if Skype still existed, it’s not as instantaneous as contacting a business via WhatsApp.

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In some parts of Europe, WhatsApp is the only real way to contact certain businesses, such as barbershops or daycare centers, short of visiting them. It’s infrastructure like water. I hate it.

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