O WhatsApp é das apps que mais cativam os utilizadores e é uma das mais usadas opções no momento da troca de mensagens. Este serviço está debaixo da alçada do Facebook desde que foi comprado e isso obriga-o a ter regras muito estritas.
É provavelmente por isso que o WhatsApp está agora a começar um processo em que está a comunicar aos programadores que parem de aceder aos dados das suas apps, sob pena de haver processos judiciais se não fizerem.
Não se sabe a razão desta tomada de posição, ainda mais agora que o WhatsApp está a dominar o mercado dos serviços de mensagens instantâneas, mas a verdade é que todos os programadores que têm apps publicadas e que acedem aos dados do WhatsApp estão a receber cartas de Cease and desist (cessar e desistir).
Nessas missivas a empresa pede aos programadores que têm apps que permitem o acesso às mensagens, muitas vezes as que permitem recuperar mensagens eliminadas, que as terminem e que deixem de prestar o seu serviço, garantindo assim o funcionamento desta funcionalidade.
A maioria dessas apps recorre ao acesso das notificações para ler as mensagens e armazená-las, dando acesso posterior às que foram eliminadas e a que não teria sequer acesso.
As primeiras queixas desta nova posição do WhatsApp surgiram recentemente no Reddit e mostram a forma como este serviço e a sua empresa de advogados estão a perseguir os programadores. Por agora sabe-se que as equipas por trás das apps Can’t Talk e DirectChat foram contactados.
Carta de Cease and desist enviada pelo WhatsApp
$GREETING,
We represent WhatsApp Inc (WhatsApp). We write you to provide notice that your operation of $APP_NAME+FOOTNOTE1 (‘Your Service’) violates Whatsapp’s legal rights and must be discontinued immediately and permanently. Specifically, you charge $CURRENCY $AMOUNT for Your Service and advertise it as follows:
$APP_DESCRIPTION
Pursuant to WhatsApp’s Terms of Service, you are prohibited from using (or assisting others in using) WhatsApp’s apps, services, features, software, or website (the “WhatsApp Services”) in ways that:
- Violate, misappropriate, or infringe the rights of WhatsApp or its users, including privacy, publicity, intellectual property, or other proprietary rights; or
- Involve any non-personal use of the WhatsApp Services unless otherwise authorized by WhatsApp.
In addition, you must not (or assist others to) access, use, copy, adapt, modify, prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, transfer, display, perform, or otherwise exploit the WhatsApp Services in impermissible or unauthorized manners, or in ways that burden, impair, or harm “WhatsApp”, the “WhatsApp Services” or systems, or WhatsApp’s users, including (as relevant here) that you must not directly or through automated means:
- Reverse engineer, alter, modify, create derivative works from, decompile, or extract code from the WhatsApp Services;
- Gain or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the WhatsApp Services or systems;
- Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the WhatsApp Services;
- Create accounts for the WhatsApp Services through unauthorized or automated means;
- Collect the information of or about WhatsApp’s users in any impermissible or unauthorized manner;
- Sell, resell, rent, or charge for the WhatsApp Services; or
- Distribute or make the WhatsApp Services available over a network where they could be used by multiple devices at the same time.
By way of non-exhaustive example, Your Service violates each of the above provisions. You agreed to these Terms of Service by installing, accessing, or using the WhatsApp Services.
WhatsApp demands that you immediately cease all development, distribution, promotion, operation, sale, and offering of Your Service at all distribution points – including websites and social media accounts – and confirm you will not in the future develop, distribute, promote, operate, sell, and/or offer Your Service or any like code, products, services, or resources. We request that you notify us of your compliance within $UNDERLINEseven days$/UNDERLINE of the date of this letter by responding to this e-mail.
To avoid confusion, WhatsApp hereby revokes your limited license to access the WhatsApp Services for any reason whatsoever. This means that you, your agents, employees, affiliates, or anyone acting on your behalf (collectively, “Your Parties”) shall not access the WhatsApp Services for any reason whatsoever. Any activity by Your Parties on the WhatsApp Services is intentional and unauthorized access to the WhatsApp Services and systems.
This letter is not a complete list of all of WhatsApp’s rights you may have violated. This letter is not intended by WhatsApp, and should not be construed by you, to be a waiver, relinquishment, or limitation of any other rights and remedies that WhatsApp may have against you in this or any other matter. WhatsApp specifically reserves all such rights and remedies, whether at law or in equity, under applicable laws (including domestic and foreign laws).
Finally, please note that you are legally required to preserve all documents, tangible things, and electronically stored information in any way connected to the issues addressed in this letter.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Em sua defesa, estes programadores alegam que estão apenas a usar as APIs que o Android disponibiliza e que por isso as suas apps não estão a violar qualquer regra do serviço.
Esta não é a primeira vez que o WhatsApp tem posições destas e que procura limitar a forma como os programadores acedem aos dados da sua app e ao que os utilizadores comunicam. Este será um caso interessante de seguir uma vez que a API usada é pública e é até a mesma usada tanto pelo WhatsApp como pelos programadores e as suas apps.