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Today, I installed WhatsApp, and I know that it wants to upload my complete contact list to its servers to see who else has WhatsApp, so it can create a contact list. I don't like this, and I prefer to give it just what it needs, maybe only five contacts for now.

I have LBE Privacy installed, and it blocks the contact list for WhatsApp. The result is that WhatsApp doesn't work. Now I can of course remove the entire contact list except for those five contacts, then unblock it, let WhatsApp connect, then block WA again, and hope it works.

If I open the contact list, and go to the setting which contacts to display, I see several options: all contacts, whatsApp, gmail-account, and phone. Choosing one of these, only these contacts are listed in the contact list. But I guess whatsApp won't bother and use all contacts anyway. In the contact list I have hundreds of contacts with email-addresses and no phone number. Will it upload those as well? And if I take a closer look at those lists, they are not properly organized, so limiting

If I add a contact later, will whatsApp know?

Is there a way to handle this properly, let whatsApp have the addresses it needs, without giving it all?

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I looked into this some time ago and at least then it was not possible super easily.

The best tip I found (which I haven't tried out myself as it applies to rooted devices only and I haven't yet taken that plunge) was from a Reddit thread that discussed the question.

The thread points to an Exposed Framework module called DonkeyGuard. The developer explains it in the xda-developers forum quite well.

Would be nice to hear if this works! .. And I'm also all ears if there would be a class-action case against WhatsApp(=Facebook) for the blatant intrusion of people's privacy that WhatsApp practices by uploading all of every single users' contacts to its server and exposing that information to other WhatsApp users (even if semi-covertly, sort of).

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