SMSPool updates their ToS and will now require more data for certain services

Privacy and Security News
,
1

TL;DR: To prevent abuse and stay compliant, limited additional data is now collected for high risk services. For now, this only applies to WhatsApp.

SMSPOOL_Twitter_New TOS
SMSPOOL_Twitter_New TOS748×565 52.2 KB

Full article.
Twitter / Mastodon post.

Questions that remain:

  1. What specific data will be required to provide?
  2. Why is WhatsApp considered high risk?

I have little doubt that this is a response to the SIMCartel story and I fear that whatever new requirements SMSPool has, it will likely expand to more services.

I’m worried and disappointed by this news. :pensive_face:

2

As far as I can see by clicking their “whitelist” link :

  • First Name
  • Last Name
  • E-Mail
  • What is your intention on using the proposed service?
  • Service (dropdown menu where you can only choose WhatsApp for now)
3

Hmm. Maybe because WhatsApp is a tool used by some scammers to spread their scams? Google “WhatsApp scams” and you will see a hell of a lot of scams. If my assumption is true, I won’t be surprised if SMSPool will add Telegram because it’s just the best heaven for cybercrime AFAIK.

4

It doesn’t make sense to ask for your email when SMSPool already has it. You need an email to create an account. So why ask for it again when it’s information they already have?

Does this mean they will block aliases if you used one as your account email?

Also, why ask for our name? Especially if the name can be easily faked? And if it can’t, it means they may ask for ID.

All this is very alarming.

I don’t know about WhatsApp scams, but I have definitely received WhatsApp SPAM from random numbers a few times. Though that is extremely rare. WhatsApp caters also to businesses who have business accounts, so I would not be surprised if that facilitates scams and SPAM.

Telegram is the 2nd most popular messaging app after WhatsApp, so I wouldn’t be surprised either. That said, it’s possible that WhatsApp surpasses Telegram on scale when it comes to scams. I still have an anonymous Telegram account that I created with a virtual number. I don’t know if those still work, but my account is still active.

5

AFAIK It’s optional.

Edit : Just checked it, it’s optional.

That’s a question only SMSPool can answer :confused:

1 Like
6

Creating an email

As for the question yeah only SMSPool can answer
My primary concern is the real name