Pete
I'm riding a #bikepacking race/holiday in October. Just learned the comms are all WhatsApp-based. I don't do Meta. So, what to do? #lazyweb
It's somewhat pathetic, but I do feel sometimes I miss out by refusing to use WhatsApp. Does anyone use a burner number service for such things? And/or say a Signal bridge service (Beeper?) to distance oneself from dealing with Meta direct? #privacy
Sep 15, 2025 at 8:34amWeb
Show threadThe FussSep 15, 2025
@pete For exactly those cases I am **planning** to switch from Android to #GrapheneOS, where you can run apps like WhatsApp completely sandboxed. But I have not yet found the time to do so.
Show threadAlanSep 15, 2025

@pete I assume Beeper is only front-ending the various apps?

I tried to move to Signal but couldn't shift the people in various groups I want communicate with, so I have to live with WhatsApp to support activities I'm involved with.

A hopeless task I'm afraid.

Show threadFluffgar 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Sep 15, 2025

@pete Hadn't heard of Beeper so read a little just the now. The main issue I see being brought up is that it decrypts a message from one service then re-encrypts it using another service's method. Meaning that at some point the message is sitting unencrypted somewhere.

Whether that's a problem or not probably depends on a lot of factors, and I'm in no position to say.

Self-hosting Matrix, with bridges to different services, was mentioned as an alternative. Though it takes more expertise.

Show threadMattSep 15, 2025
@pete I feel you. I had completely ditched WhatsApp years ago but in some countries it's the only way to contact some people you rely on, so now I'm using #GrapheneOS to sandbox it and a free SIP number to disassociate it from my primary mobile. It's probably not working very well though considering that they have access to everybody else's full phone book, so it takes only one person who has my primary contact sticking my dedicated WA number in the same phone book entry for them to make the connection. And of course you contribute to the network effect working in Meta's favor just the same.
Show threadSimon WaltersSep 15, 2025
@pete I use a burner phone for my brother/sister group. Gave up on Beeper about 6 months ago due to being unreliable
Show threadBellwetherFarmSep 15, 2025
@pete what do you think they'd say if you just let them know you don't use WhatsApp?
Show threadJennifer Moore 😷Sep 15, 2025

@pete

The one time I was on a project run on WhatsApp, and reluctantly decided to connect, I put a new giffgaff pay as you go sim in my old phone, and carried 2 phones for the duration.

Show threadPaul EdwinSep 15, 2025

@pete I find it really annoying that so many organisations assume that everyone will have WhatsApp and rely on it for their communications.

I've toyed with setting up WhatsApp using some kind of virtual number, but never been bothered enough to actually get around to it.

Show threadBruce D PorterSep 15, 2025
@paul_edwin @pete after leaving WhatsApp I had to return for Blood bike work, if anyone else contacts me via WA I just text them in reply and mention Signal.
BB are due to move to using Teams, which is a "little" better.
Show threadadamriceSep 15, 2025

@pete It’s a truism that organizations need to meet people where they are, and sadly, nearly everyone is on one or another Meta service. Holdouts like us barely count as a rounding error. And I can forgive a race organizer for not wanting to be a privacy evangelist.

My mid-range goal is to move to Spain, and WhatsApp seems even harder to avoid in continental Europe.

Show threadMichael LabowiczSep 15, 2025
@pete A Google voice number worked to setup WhatsApp in the past, not sure if it still does