← Back to team overview

ubuntu-phone team mailing list archive

Re: About WhatsApp implementation for Ubuntu phone

 

Dear Tarek

Perhaps include the OTR libraries  in your code ?
User  can instigate an  OTR session just like adium by pressing a button  so it should not matter about the  server, its just  xmpp and its only text being sent. That would make a few people very happy. 


On the bigger picture, the whole world is going XMPP, and going UNIFIED communication, the whole UBUNTU messaging experience is meant to be UNIFIED.
Lets be honest here, now many IM or communications clients do we all have on our phones ? I have 7 !   One day I want one.

 It would just be nice if we could find a generic way to get OTR/ZRTP in there from day one without having to encourage all the different IM developers to include it as default.

I was thinking more like  how a proxy works, but built in to ubuntu as a core function rather than leave it to the individual IM application builder to implement encryption, and then have that ubuntu core software try and implement an OTR session when it could (socialist millionaire protocol perhaps).

At least Ubuntu to Ubuntu users by default would have a basic ability to encrypt using OTR,  and not be limited to any particular IM client.
Whatapp would only see text going through. I already encrypt stuff and send it via whatsapp

Putting stuff at layer 3 can be done but its rather complex, so a proxy like approach may be more practical.



Kind Regards
AGM

On 14 Mar, 2013, at 2:18 AM, Tarek Galal <tare2.galal@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> For WhatsApp, there is no way to identify what phone the other side is using, and if there is, most likely WhatsApp will immediately use it to block clients identified as Ubuntu phones
> 
> On Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 7:53 PM, Alan Miller <dralanmiller@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> Gentlemen
> What do you think the chances are of implementing a secured version of this using OTR or ZRTP ?
> 
> I am in favour of putting OTR or ZRTP  encryption at the lower parts of the stack and then bring up the fingerprints/hashes options into the phone UI, say a key icon beside the battery icon, the usual swipe down gives the encryption options.
> This would allow for opportunistic encryption peer to peer when two Ubuntu phones knew of each other,  regardless of what service was used and would stay silent when the other client was not an ubuntu.
> 
> An equivalent generic messaging client that can support whatsapp (with PTT voice messages etc) in Ubuntu would be spectacularly useful. (especially if it could encrypt).
> 
> What do you think the chances are  of this being a reality ?
> 
> Thanks
> Kind Regards
> AGM
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------
> COMMERCIAL CONFIDENTIAL
> Alan Miller
> +852 91664961
> Skype: agmiller
> 
> -----------------------------------------------------
> Silent Circle (SECURE): 
> agmiller@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> +1 972 468 0310
> -----------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
> 
> Begin forwarded message:
> 
>> From: Tarek Galal <tare2.galal@xxxxxxxxx>
>> Subject: Re: [Ubuntu-phone] About WhatsApp implementation for Ubuntu phone
>> Date: 14 March, 2013 1:34:24 AM HKT
>> To: Matthias Gehre <gehre.matthias@xxxxxxxxx>
>> Cc: "ubuntu-phone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx" <ubuntu-phone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> 
>> Yeah well telepathy itself could be supporting everything, but I guess it would be Ubuntu's telepathy client limitations, right? I haven't tried it, but I mean I haven't seen a telepathy client (yet) which displays delivery receipts (even when telepathy itself supports it). Same case for displaying contacts' "last seen at" and group icons. And these are only a few thing on top of my head. Also what about Emoji support?  I released BB10 client like 4 days ago and already getting a lot of complaints for not supporting Emoji.
>> 
>> On Wed, Mar 13, 2013 at 7:03 PM, Matthias Gehre <gehre.matthias@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> To clarify: ubuntu phone messaging menu/empaty/ KDE telepathy etc, can already be used, but they only show the "content" field of the message.
>> 
>> 
>> 2013/3/13 Matthias Gehre <gehre.matthias@xxxxxxxxx>
>> Hi Tarek,
>> 
>> I'm Matthias, the developer of whosthere, a whatsapp client for ubuntu / ubuntu phone. It's implemented as a telepathy service (using yowsp). There shouldn't be any features missing by using telepathy, everything is/can be wrapped into telepathy. (Receipts are supported natively by telepathy, image, location and so on are implemented as extended messages parameters).
>> For example, a location is send as
>> content-type=plain/text
>> content= "location: \"" << name  << "\" at https://maps.google.com/maps?q="; << latitude << "," << longitude;
>> x-whosthere-latitude = latitude
>> x-whosthere-longitude = longitude
>> 
>> I also wrote a small GUI (on QML2, because QML1 is not supported on ubuntu touch), which is necessary for telepathy account creation.
>> And also supports all those x-whosthere-* fields.
>> But in the long run the ubuntu phone messaging menu on the phone/empaty/ KDE telepathy etc, may be better GUIs for actual conversations (when x-whosthere-* can be integrated into the telepathy spec)
>> 
>> The GUI is at https://github.com/mgehre/whosthere
>> The telepathy-cm is at https://github.com/mgehre/telepathy-whosthere
>> 
>> Best wishes,
>> Matthias
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 2013/3/13 Tarek Galal <tare2.galal@xxxxxxxxx>
>> Hello,
>> 
>> My name is Tarek, I'm author of Yowsup, and WhatsApp clients on N9 and BB10 (Wazapp and OpenWhatsapp). It's great to see you guys already working on a client for Ubuntu phone, which happens to be also based on Yowsup. I don't know if you are aiming for a standalone UI, or only a telepathy plugin. Although a telepathy plugin would integrate nicely with the system, I think it would however force dropping some main features in WhatsApp, for instance, display of receipts for sent and delivered messages. And that's why I went for a standalone UI on meego/harmattan even though it ships with telepathy. Perhaps a combination of both, a plugin, and a UI could work together? Anyway, I'm writing to you, in case you need any help using the library or writing a UI. If you're going for a complete UI, Wazapp is already in QML, and I can port it to use Ubuntu Components. So please let me know.
>> 
>> Best Regards,
>> Tarek
>> 
>> --
>> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-phone
>> Post to     : ubuntu-phone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-phone
>> More help   : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> Regards,
>> Tarek Galal
>> http://jadb.wordpress.com
>> -- 
>> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-phone
>> Post to     : ubuntu-phone@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~ubuntu-phone
>> More help   : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Regards,
> Tarek Galal
> http://jadb.wordpress.com


Follow ups

References