Viber: has your number after removing the app

I recently had to install the Viber app on the smartphone I use to receive something from someone who didn't have any of the conversations that I have.

For those who know the application, the process is "simple". You enter your mobile number, a verification is done with a message, and immediately after the Viber application requests access to your contacts.

Here all good.

Viber

Over the past few years, Viber seems to have modified it of the company to increase the trust of its users.

However, unlike other apps that only scan your contacts, Viber continues to scan and store the phone numbers of your contacts on its servers.

This may not all concern them, but I personally worried when I noticed the specific behavior of the company.

Perhaps it is no coincidence that the EFF Foundation does not mention the implementation at all Surveillance Self-Defense Guide.

Again, you should not use this scorecard to evaluate the security of any of the listed tools, as many of them have been changed since the scorecard was last updated (some for the better, some for the worse).

Mention also that in the first of Secure Messaging Scorecard (it has expired, but there is still for the file) the Viber application is one of the worst in security. EFF's new updated Surveillance Self-Defense Guide does not mention it at all.

How can you see that Viber stores your contacts on the servers it uses?

Very simple: Uninstall the application from your mobile device. Removing the application will also not remove your phone number from the contacts of other application users. Your friends will continue to see you in Viber's contacts, and they will be able to send you messages, although the app reports that the message was not delivered.

This practically means that your number continues to exist on the company's servers even after removing the app from your mobile device.

Let's also look at the privacy policy:

We can share the information we collect about you with the Viber family, including our parent company, Rakuten Inc., and its affiliates and affiliates (To learn more about Rakuten Inc. follow this link: http://global.rakuten.com/corp/about/).

Rakuten Marketing;

Update: As you'll see in the comments below, the app has a setting to disable the account before removing it from the mobile device.

I add the "Update" because during my experimentation with the application I did not notice the above function.

However, the privacy policy remains the same.

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Written by giorgos

George still wonders what he's doing here ...

2 Comments

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  1. The article is inaccurate and misleading. Uninstalling the application does not mean removing the account, as it works like any other application with an account (eg Facebook, LinkdIn etc.)

    To unsubscribe from Viber, there is the option in the general settings "Deactivate Account".

    It is good to look better before we publish such articles.

  2. Remember that we must disable an account in such services. Eg you switch off the Facebook app but you are still in the service and can find you.

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