This is a mini rant I want to get off of my chest. I hate the fact that people with your mobile number can randomly add you to WhatsApp groups without your consent. This means that the moment you are added to the group, EVERYONE in that group gets access to your mobile number. If it is a friend group then of course it's fine, but lately I was, without being asked, added to a couple of large activity groups by organizers who had my number that were full of random people that I either don't or barely know. I know it is nothing malicious on the part of the people adding me to the groups, it has good intentions, but in the end the effect is the same.
This is different to marketing companies using and sharing your number among themselves, this is about groups of private individuals immediately having access to it with the click of a button.
I cannot understand how WhatsApp have such a mechanic that allows your number to be shared in this way without either asking for your permission to join the group first, or without at least allowing you to mask your number. To me it's a huge privacy issue as I do not give my number out to people willy nilly.
I got added to a group last week by a friend with about 300 others, only 2 or 3 were my contacts. And yes, you're right, everyone can see my number and I can see everyone elses and I can't see a way to restrict my number being shown. You can restrict the "about me" and your profile pic, but your number is always shown.
PS. You can aslo ask them to set up a "Broadcast" list instead, which works a bit like "BCC" in an email in that you will receive the message but won't see who else has received it.
It's a lost cause, I used to keep my phone book in paper form only and didn't have it in Google contacts due to privacy concerns. However, it became obvious that everybody else does maintain their phone contacts on the phone so all my details are with Google, Apple and FB.
Same with email, only it is more annoying as it is only a matter of time before one of your friend's email is hacked, or they otherwise leak your email and then you end up getting a ton of spam.
Yeah it seems like a bizzarre oversight not to at least receive a message asking for permission to join. You can also leave the group immediately but then there is a nice little message saying that you left the group.
Hmm interesting but guessing that is only the "admin" who can post messages then. Its not interactive for everyone? Well as I said I am not bothered about companies like Google having my phone or email contact data, that is generally a risk we have to accept to use modern devices. This is about being added to a private group that all immediately see your number.
I guess my point is that this is generally a risk we have to accept when we give out our phone numbers (or any other piece of information). The person we give it to can mis-use it, share it with the whole world, or add you to a WA group which shares the information to everybody in that group.
Correct, any single individual can theoretically mis-use it, but the chances of that are comparatively slim, an acceptable risk, and until recently I never had this issue. Whatsapp groups, while technically not 'new' have only comparatively recently started to become fashionable for big groups and there is really a lack of awareness among group admins of the privacy and consent issues that adding people to big groups without consent brings.
I am sure this will become a big enough issue for Whatsapp/Facebook at some point that they will do what they should already have done and implement a permissions system.
I guess it brings the work group email analogy...And these days most people have their work mail on their cell, anyways.
But to be available via email - one can get the email server off the cell easily.
To be available via WhatsApp group - while you can leave the group, or switch off the notification, the info on your cell no has been already distributed. I have a gripe with it, too, tbh. Annoying breach of perso data privacy.
Someone should work on a solution for throw-away numbers like we have throw-away emails to sign up for newsletters to protect against spam.... something like burner phones but of course it would quickly be used for illegal stuff so maybe a dead end
Tons of people do... just not the kind of people I'd associate with if I wasn't obliged by work to use it. It's not a bad messenger, really. Just a little crypto-riddled.