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eneshecan / whatsapp-for-linux

An unofficial WhatsApp desktop application for Linux.
GNU General Public License v3.0
947 stars 97 forks source link

Document Phone Requirement #374

Open maltfield opened 2 months ago

maltfield commented 2 months ago

This issue is an attempt to address the obvious question: does this whatsapp-for-linux serve as an alternative to the WhatsApp app (ie: "is it a standalone desktop app?") or is it just yet-another-second-class-desktop-client that routes messages through the phone on the intranet?

Solution

Please do not answer this question on this GitHub issue. I'm pretty sure that this is a second-class app that requires a phone

The solution to this ticket should be to state, very clearly, in the README.md file if:

  1. This whatsapp-for-linux still requires the user to first install and create an account in the official WhatsApp app, and all messages are routed through the phone or (eg like whatsapp web)
  2. This whatsapp-for-linux still requires the user to first install and create an account in the official WhatsApp app, but afterwords WhatsApp can be uninstalled forever, and the desktop client can replace it (eg like Telegram) or
  3. This whatsapp-for-linux is an entirely first-class desktop app. You can create an account in it directly, and you never need to use the official WhatsApp mobile app for any reason (eg like Wire)

Again, please add this information to the README.md file -- not to this ticket.

AntonioFasano commented 1 month ago

Your notion of second-class-app is highly subjective. For example, to me, the email apps are first-class apps, due to their flexibility, and the various proprietary messaging apps are second-class.

Be it as it may, Meta is a listed company, not a foundation, thus their app is tied to the phone, where they might have access to users contacts, locations, media, etc. from which they can monetize from.

That being the case, WhatsApp for Linux has the abilities of WhatsApp Web client, which will be logged out if you don't use your phone for over 14 days. See https://faq.whatsapp.com/668538004658079?helpref=faq_content

maltfield commented 1 month ago

If this repo's app uses WhatsApp Web and "will be logged out if you don't use your phone for over 14 days", then that should be documented.

To be clear: writing here in the issue isn't documentation. These limitations should be clearly added to the repo's README.md or other documentation.

AntonioFasano commented 1 month ago

I don't think so. WhatsApp Web is a Meta product. Users wanting to learn about it should look at their docs. Perhaps here, they might add a "based on WhatsApp Web" to enlighten less tech-savvy users.