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'WhoApp' Provides Users With Detailed Unknown Caller Information for Free [Updated]
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I don't really need an app. I don't get that many unsolicited calls. When I do, I never answer them and if I get two or three from the same number and they don't leave a message, I put them on the blocked list. I also block "unknown caller" --so for me the problem is solved.
This is exactly how it works!
Lots of apps do this & LinkedIn is the most notorious.
When people you called once for a craigslist ad are showing up on "people you may know" in LinkedIn and you never shared your contacts with LinkedIn. You can only conclude they got your contact info from that person's phone who posted the craigslist ad.
How scary is that?
Right. One scenario is that, once whoapp starts selling your info, potentially more people will be getting more marketing calls, and the database will be "good" with active and legit users. Even if a whoapp user can decline, he might be getting more calls he has to decline. So, instead of getting one call a week where he doesn't know who the calling is, he might be getting ten calls a week now, although the app will tell him who those ten callers are. He ends up having to do more work. And the work will continue to benefit whoapp.
We completely understand your privacy concerns and assure you that we take them very seriously. WhoApp leverages public data sources, but we never share the personal data we collect outside of our organization. We don’t use your contact book information to share information with others, we use it to increase the accuracy of the data we already have from other sources. We will never share your contact data by itself, we will only show that information if the same data is available through multiple sources. As a company we are committed to protecting users' privacy and security.
Then why don't you update your privacy policy to say that instead of posting it on some forum?
Hmm, personally I'd say the opposite. Why would you trust a huge corporation with your data? I don't really see the concern because Google is already making money off of your publicly available data on the internet, and even more so if you use Gmail, or even just Google search.
Your information is likely a lot of places you don't know about. Property tax records, for example, are publicly available with your name and home address. Also vehicle tax records. Both searchable by name. Your phone number is likely already listed in either whitepages or yellowpages through any number of means, including something as innocuous as filling out a form for a contest. Or even through a similar app like TrueCaller which also has a crowd-sourced contact database.
That'd be entertaining. Useless, but entertaining. Under what law would you state a claim for relief?
I was able to find the cancel codes for Sprint *74 was cancelled by *740 and *73 was cancelled using *730. I hope this helps others.
Thanks for the heads up.
Is there a way to report an app to Apple?
Hmm that's an interesting point and pretty crazy too. I'm usually wary of providing phone numbers but will be even more so now.
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If you wanna be honest, what is your profit model for starters?
My personal phone number is not included in any public directory or record. I don't use it when I fill out "contests" (which I really never do), and don't use Truecaller (don't even know what that is). Only friends and coworkers have this number. Now, if even one of them installs this app, it will be out and, according to their privacy policy, can be used for advertising purposes and who knows what else. The same goes for email addresses, job titles and other personal information that may be stored in the contacts. Personally, I don't find it acceptable that all this data is collected and stored.
At the very least, the company should clearly guarantee in the privacy policy that this data is never shared, and they should minimize the data they store. They should also clearly spell out exactly what personal data they collect (how about the users' call histories and voicemails?).
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Here's a clue from the privacy policy:
"WhoApp may also use Personal Information to work with our partners to select and display targeted advertisements to your mobile device."
This is a question i have for any of the "who called" apps or services: Why do you need my contact list and social app information at all? Is some telemarketer or spam site going to NOT be a telemarketer/spammer because of a contact I have or my Facebook page? Wouldn't it be better to assume that everyone doesn't want spam and give an option to allow a number if necessary rather than automatically retrieving my personal information?
Like I said, large corporations like Alphabet/Google have a lot more to lose if they engage in shady/illegal behavior and get caught. Very small businesses have a lot less at stake if they engage in shady/illegal behavior and get caught. They can just close up shop and start another company doing the same illicit stuff their last company did.
While I know nothing about the company that's behind "WhoApp", my assumption is that they are simply trying to extract as much contact information from as many iPhone users as possible and they will then turn around and sell that data to God knows who and the people who thought they were actually going to put a stop to unwanted calls are going to be on the receiving end of a whole lot more of them.
A lot of people don't trust Google...I get that. But to the best of my knowledge, in the 12 years I've had a Gmail account, I have never been on the receiving end of an unsolicited phone call or e-mail specifically because Google sold my phone number or e-mail address to a third party.
For all of you complaining about this app accessing your contacts (or those of your friends/family), how is this different from any of the other common apps accessing the same information?
Facebook messenger ties into your contact list, as do all of the common "chat" apps (WhatsApp, Line, Viber), as do many of Google's apps (Voice and Hangouts), as well as any of the social mapping "how close are my friends?" or dating apps that show you the friends of your friends who are also on the app.
Yeah, yeah, I'm sure there are some SJWs out there who are looking for the chance to say how proud they are to not use any of these apps, but they lie.
Facebook messenger ties into your contact list, as do all of the common "chat" apps (WhatsApp, Line, Viber), as do many of Google's apps (Voice and Hangouts), as well as any of the social mapping "how close are my friends?" or dating apps that show you the friends of your friends who are also on the app.
Yeah, yeah, I'm sure there are some SJWs out there who are looking for the chance to say how proud they are to not use any of these apps, but they lie.
What we need is our government to enact laws and actually go after the robo-dialing telemarketers and scammers.
All of the apps that you list that I use REQUEST access to my contacts, and I can reject that request, which is what I do. I do not use any app that REQURIES me to allow access to my contacts.
Your policy -
"When your Contact Information is incorporated into the Contacts Database, it is no longer linked or linkable back to you. The Contacts Database is used by WhoApp and by apps that are offered by the company that offers WhoApp (or its affiliates)"
Clever way of de-linking the information from where you got it so it can't be requested for removal, even if the user uninstalls. Also, in the policy - "The Contacts Database is used by WhoApp and by apps that are offered by the company that offers WhoApp" (???)
And what does "will only show that information if the same data is available through multiple sources" mean? Shady stuff.
Sorry I don't buy it. Mostly out of concerns for the people in my contact list than myself.
In all fairness, you can also reject WhoApp's request to access the contacts, like any other app. I haven't tried it, but the privacy policy makes it sound like the app would still work. You still have to forward your calls to them though, which is also a privacy risk.
Regarding other apps, many just access the contacts locally on the device when you need to call/message someone (iOS even has an API that lets the user pick a contact without the app accessing the entire address book). This is fundamentally different from siphoning the entire address book from users' devices and uploading it to some server. Such incidents didn't end too well for some apps in the past.
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You're right about FB, etc - it's been going on awhile now. I wish there was a feature to enable access to contacts for app convenience reasons, but disallowed the transfer of them.
I don't think it's a SJW issue. I care about my privacy; someone who has my # can compromise that w/o my consent. I don't want someone to cancel my phone call to potentially see all my details w/o me even knowing, and that may be the case now. Hell, someone could dial a random number or stalk someone via phone number with this. FB/etc data mining doesn't provide that (yet).
I want to believe you, but without your real name, phone number, email, home address, recent photo and a picture of your house, it's difficult to know why you're contacting us.
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