PSA: Using WhatsApp on a rooted Android device or running a custom ROM? No crypto for you. faq.whatsapp.com/en/android/260
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You're misinterpreting this. They're saying that their end-to-end encryption won't be able to protect people on alternative OSes, because they roll back many security features, break core parts of the security model and rarely ship full security updates even when available.
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It's hard to disagree with that overall but they're presenting it poorly in an attempt to dumb it down. Still, it's quite disingenuous for them to say this while not saying anything about all the devices with unmaintained vendor forks of Android and lack of security updates.
They aren't disabling end-to-end encryption on alternative operating systems. That's simply not true and easily debunked. It's definitely not what they are trying to say there. They're just washing their hands of the responsibility for ensuring security on alternative OSes.
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