Beware of WhatsAppNoData!

Please note that the WhatsApp corporation does not encourage the practice of spamming to get new features. Legitimate features that come from official updates are usually automatically provided via the Google Playstrore or manually updated for those that use the Apple Appstore. So there is never a need to post anything to a number of people before any 'feature' is unlocked.

There has been a rise recently in phishing applications in the cloud that are attempting to steal data from users, such as phone numbers, that can be used for later nefarious purposes. WhatsApp is one application that uses telephone numbers as the key field so has been a target for copycats apps. In the light of this, there is a new 'service' encouraging users to register, then 'invite' others to also use it before they can access the features. It is called 'whatsappnodata', promising to allow users to use WhatsApp outside of a data plan or Wifi.

My Review

Upon my investigation into the 'whatsappnodata' app, users are directed to a domain called 'whatsappnodata.com' and are asked to provide their phone numbers.

Red Flag #1 - the domain name is not the official Whatsapp.com. 
Red Flag #2 - if the app was from WhatsApp, there would be no need to re-enter your phone number. 
Red Flag #3 - if it was a 3rd party company that partnered with WhatsApp to provide this service, then the app should be able to integrate via an API, so again no need to enter phone number.

Investigation into the details behind the whatsappnodata.com domain shows that the registration owners information is hidden, which is not typical of official legit companies such as WhatsApp. The domain was only created on 15 Jun 2015 with expiration in 2016, on a hosting service called DigitalOcean.com, so very new but not much longevity planned. In contrast,Whatsapp.com was created in Sep 2008 with expiration in Sep 2023. Huge difference in longevity for that domain.

Confirmed Phishing App?

That being said, so far there are no definite confirmations that the 1-month old 'whatsappnodata.com' app is in fact a phishing app. However any information about the app being legit is also scarily unavailable, except from the site itself, which does not even give any information about the company behind it nor any contact info.

My Recommendation

So The ComputerGuy's recommendation is to avoid the temptation to try out this app. If you have been induced to click on the link and an app is downloaded, uninstall if possible.