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Comment by 59percentmore | Hacker News Reader

If there are publicly-available records connecting you to a phone number, lack of immediate access shouldn't be a disqualifier.

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So, if there are publicly-available records incorrectly connecting you to a phone number, then you should be able to delete accounts under from the rightful owners?

If there are publicly-available records that link you to a phone number because you used to use it, then you should be able to delete the current account which is used by the current owner of it?

> If there are publicly-available records that link you to a phone number because you used to use it, then you should be able to delete the current account which is used by the current owner of it?

You're talking about someone who is using my whatsapp account because they managed to get a phone number I used to use?

Yes, of course I should have control over my account, regardless of who else happened to hack into it.

No, I think the parent is about a number you had, and then abandoned, and it's now somebody's else's number. Phone numbers don't come with the guarantee of only one user given enough time.

But if they tried to use whatsapp with that number, they would either be unable to register, or would be using someone else's whatsapp account which was set up with that number, until the original whatsapp account expires, right?

> Phone numbers don't come with the guarantee of only one user given enough time.

Whatsapp seems to think they do, based on the article, and their logic of making the phone number the account. Therein lies the problem.

Not sure I understand what you mean. X had the number, so the fact is reflected in some searchable dataset. Then abandoned it. Maybe there was no WhA registered, or it expired after 120 days. Now Y gets the number from a mobile operator pool, and registers WhA.

>their logic of making the phone number the account

I see nothing wrong with it. It's clear and long-established offer: number=account, and WhA definitely neither the first, nor the only one who does it. Of course, it has its disadvantages, but it's ok for the majority of users who don't want to show id, or fill a questionnaire to start texting.

> Not sure I understand what you mean. X had the number, so the fact is reflected in some searchable dataset. Then abandoned it. Maybe there was no WhA registered, or it expired after 120 days. Now Y gets the number from a mobile operator pool, and registers WhA.

What about before 120 days but after the phone number was "abandoned"?

Can you clarify? I really don't know what about, and why it's the question here

Sure, I'm asking what happens if you have whatsapp and swap phone numbers and the next day someone gets your old phone number.

Can they register for a different whatsapp account under the same number?

Can they access your whatsapp account?

Can you?

No, the other guy is correct. It's about any situation where someone has taken control of your number (abandoned or not), causing you to lose access to accounts associated with it. If you can prove that you owned the number during the period that you created and used the account, you should be granted access to those accounts. You're looking for an abundance of circumstantial evidence to overrule a technical issue for which you have an explanation. The person who owns the number should of course have an opportunity to rebut the claims.

Losing a number shouldn't mean you lose control of an account that can be verifiably connected to you by name, historical use, etc.

Like what? My guess is that the records must not only be available, but also tamper-proof, and from the top of my head I don't know what it could be.

People will have many options. They don't have to be tamper-proof, you should just be able to furnish a variety of them, and preferably some dated and government-verified.

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