PINE64
KaiOS / whatsapp - Printable Version

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KaiOS / whatsapp - vanja - 06-15-2020

Hi,
I hear KaiOS is based on linux (but for feature phones)  and has whatsapp support
https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/22/20703872/whatsapp-kaios-nokia-8110-jio-phone-feature-phones

would it be possible to port that version of the app to linux OS in pine, or no? it is still closed source and KaiOS is not really linux right?


RE: KaiOS / whatsapp - Frexit - 06-15-2020

KaiOS is a clone of Firefox OS without touchscreen so without any interests.
Nothing to do with a whole GNU/Linux OS : it's just FIrefox with an intermediate layer for controlling the devices.
No idea for whatsapp.
I just know that Mozilla and Kai OS have recently work together to update the Kai OS web engine.
So why Mozilla gave up Firefox OS, if Kai OS is still alive ?


RE: KaiOS / whatsapp - SheldonLindsey - 08-11-2020

(06-15-2020, 02:24 AM)vanja Wrote: Hi,
I hear KaiOS is based on linux (but for feature phones)  and has whatsapp support
https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/22/20703872/whatsapp-kaios-nokia-8110-jio-phone-feature-phones

would it be possible to port that version of the app to linux OS in pine, or no? it is still closed source and KaiOS is not really linux right?
It's true ?


RE: KaiOS / whatsapp - tllim - 08-13-2020

(08-11-2020, 09:35 PM)SheldonLindsey Wrote:
(06-15-2020, 02:24 AM)vanja Wrote: Hi,
I hear KaiOS is based on linux (but for feature phones)  and has whatsapp support
https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/22/20703872/whatsapp-kaios-nokia-8110-jio-phone-feature-phones

would it be possible to port that version of the app to linux OS in pine, or no? it is still closed source and KaiOS is not really linux right?
It's true ?
Kai even means "open" in Chinese, but this OS considers as close source.


RE: KaiOS / whatsapp - mfashby - 12-27-2020

WhatsApp is unfortunately the messenger of choice with a lot of my friends and family, many of whom I would struggle to move over to telegram or signal, so not having WhatsApp is blocking me from even trying out my pinephone as a daily driver.

The KaiOS version is particularly attractive as it's designed for low-spec feature phones, which means if it runs at all on pinephone it should run very smooth.

I started trying to coax it into running on my laptop (PBP). So far:
- I've struggled to get an up-to-date copy of the app. I've failed to find a download from the official kaios store and also failed to get the KaiOS store to run in the official simulator.
- I've got an old copy from the jbjio store anyway.
- I've unzipped all the zips, and found that it's basically a website, as expected for an OS forked from Firefox OS. It's also minified and seems to be deliberately obfuscated as well, so reading the source is a little hard-going.
- I've loaded it up in a web browser, and patched out the obvious 'Expired app' version check so it'll at least try to load.
- Patched again to enable error logging to the browser console, which seems to be off by default.
- The app makes use of a few old Firefox OS APIs like `navigator.mozSettings`, so these would need to be re-implemented or polyfilled in some way. These seem to be documented, albeit archived, on the Mozilla Developer Network site.
- It also makes use of some undocumented (or at least not publicly documented) features, like fetching some built-in javascript libraries from the device, and a websocket server running on localhost to do some secret token stuff

```
...
            "http://127.0.0.1:8081/api/v1/shared/core.js",
              "http://127.0.0.1:8081/api/v1/shared/session.js",
              "http://127.0.0.1:8081/api/v1/libsignal/service.js",
              "http://127.0.0.1:8081/api/v1/tcpsocket/service.js",
...
              t.open(
                "websocket",
                "localhost:8081",
                "secrettoken",
                {
                  onsessionconnected() {
...
```

If I make any more progress I'll write it up somewhere. I suspect that modifying their code in any way violates their ToS, so a solution which requires no modification to the official application code might be necessary. I've seen on other efforts like Yowsup that they don't take particularly kindly to modification or reverse engineering, and are not afraid of simply permanently banning your number, so caution is advised.

https://www.jbjiostore.com/2019/10/whatsapp-2019-02-04gpkgzip.html#more
https://www.androidcentral.com/heres-how-whatsapp-tailored-its-app-kaios
https://sites.google.com/view/bananahackers/customizations/whatsapps-can-work-on-old-firmwares
https://developer.kaiostech.com/getting-started/env-setup/simulator
https://github.com/tgalal/yowsup/issues/2829


RE: KaiOS / whatsapp - ryo - 12-28-2020

(08-13-2020, 03:22 PM)tllim Wrote: Kai even means "open" in Chinese

Same in Japanese.