WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted. How does all the data magically show up when you change phone which doesn’t have the same private key as the old phone? It’s like having a lock on your front door and giving the keys to a random neighbour. Most folks trade convenience for privacy or security. That trade is looking less and less appealing by the day.
Also when logging in on the website version on pc, you need to keep whatsapp open on your phone to sync old messages and media to your pc if you want to be able to see them there.
If you get a new phone and don’t import anything from your existing phone, then messages you receive will be unable to be decrypted. Since WhatsApp uses the Signal encryption protocol, it’s fairly detailed how receiving a message which can’t be decrypted can start an initialization to the sender to retry sending the messages: https://signal.org/docs/specifications/sesame/#retry-requests-and-delivery-receipts
The signal app will prompt you when a contact’s public key is updated, but IIRC, by default Whatsapp will not do this, and it will automatically happen under the hood, which is why it appears like magic.
WhatsApp is end-to-end encrypted. How does all the data magically show up when you change phone which doesn’t have the same private key as the old phone? It’s like having a lock on your front door and giving the keys to a random neighbour. Most folks trade convenience for privacy or security. That trade is looking less and less appealing by the day.
Ehm, they don’t show up magically.
You have to backup directly to your new phone, otherwise it won’t get transfered.
I just did this, and I can 100% confirm that not backuped data won’t go to the new phone.
Which is also exactly how Signal works too; I migrated both two days ago. Process was virtually identical.
I much prefer Signal, but can’t judge WhatsApp to harshly on this tbh.
It better be the same because WhatsApp uses the Signal encryption protocol!
Doesn’t necessarily have to be the same. Afaik the signal protocol is for sending messages, not for transferring backups of chats.
Whatsapp actually lets you back up all your chats, unencrypted, to Google Drive or iCloud. Definitely not the same as Signal.
Also when logging in on the website version on pc, you need to keep whatsapp open on your phone to sync old messages and media to your pc if you want to be able to see them there.
If you get a new phone and don’t import anything from your existing phone, then messages you receive will be unable to be decrypted. Since WhatsApp uses the Signal encryption protocol, it’s fairly detailed how receiving a message which can’t be decrypted can start an initialization to the sender to retry sending the messages: https://signal.org/docs/specifications/sesame/#retry-requests-and-delivery-receipts
The signal app will prompt you when a contact’s public key is updated, but IIRC, by default Whatsapp will not do this, and it will automatically happen under the hood, which is why it appears like magic.