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Comment by chrisldgk | Hacker News Reader

I wouldn’t necessarily agree that WhatsApp‘s spam protection is that great. I’ve been invited to quite a lot of pyramid scheme/scam WhatsApp groups, however that’s mostly happened after having to expose my private cell number on the internet (thanks to app stores and GDPR requiring some kind of phone number for businesses of any size).

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afaik no businesses are required by the gdpr to collect phone numbers, and would like to see evidence otherwise

Sorry, I should have been more specific. In Europe (or Germany at least) it’s required by law that you provide an imprint with contact information for every site you host, as well as a privacy policy that includes contact information of your GDPR officer if you collect any kind of personalized data. Since I’m a one-person company, that includes my personal phone number since I don’t have a business phone. Also chrome webstore for example requires a phone number if you host an extension on there.

Edit: Also this wasn’t about collecting phone numbers, but about providing one for your business if you host a publically accessible site

There are no occurrences of "cell" or "phone" in GDPR, and the only relevant occurrences of "number" are about "national identification numbers", which phone numbers are not.

... always wondered if the cell phone requirements are not (also) tied to then wanting an actual, physical, person behind each account - as in most EU jurisdictions each SIM card is tied to an actual ID.-

In many EU countries, you can buy sim cards from some vending machine, in a grocery store or places where you can buy international telephone cards. No ID required. But phone plans are often tied to your home internet.

are you sure no ID is required to activate the cards? at least in austria and i believe in germany you can't get a sim card without an ID.

If you get a lyca sim card, even there you don't need ID to use it. There might be some restrictions after a month though.

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