WhatsApp cannot see Google account for cloud recovery #1122
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Make sure to install WhatsApp after Google Play. |
I did, and just incase I uninstalled WhatsApp and then installed it again from Google Play |
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This can be fixed by giving additional permissions. Though I'm not sure the precise workflow, I force stopped whatsapp and play services.. gave whatsapp all the permissions it could have. My play services has contacts, files, nearby, network, phone, sensors, sms and ask location. Then it worked. |
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To restore your chat history from a Google Drive backup, WhatsApp needs Contacts and Media permissions |
I must admit that I am surprised and confused to find someone doing either one of these things, let alone both, while running GrapheneOS. |
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Thank you for informing me of this! Finally was able to fully switch. |
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I don't think it should be surprising, but here's why: An org I work with is evaluating grapheneOS for use by many non technical human rights activists and are testing every app they commonly use to understand the workflow and limitations. The alternative is them using the same apps on stock android/ios. Not all have the same security preferences and tradeoffs. Many use GMail with Google Advanced Protection on chromebooks and this is the #1 most common use case along with MacOS/IOS. Many live not only on Signal but where the public is -- Twitter, Telegram and Whatsapp based on regional differences (whatsapp is used for many things in latin america unlike in the US). For years we recommended alternatives to these apps only to see people using them anyway. So a weaker graphene workflow is better than nothing for them.
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A lot of people want to use GrapheneOS as essentially the stock OS with much better privacy/security. They don't necessarily care much about privacy from Google in particular. Sandboxed Google Play is largely as functional as the privileged Google Play so it works well for that use case now. Some people would be happier with both privileged Google Play for functionality that doesn't work with them as regular apps yet along with the exclusive Pixel OS features but that's not happening since we aren't making alternate builds of the OS with it. Sandboxed Google Play aims to gradually reduce the few things which don't work yet and aren't inherently privileged functionality. |
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I've had the same problem (still a thing at this date) and solved it using a slighty different workflow. The problem is somewhere in between google drive and google play servers.
In my estimation this issue should be reopend. @thestinger |
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@arnekos There's nothing to reopen. You have to give it permissions like how any other app you install works. There's nothing to fix. |
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Play services likely needs Media permission and perhaps others granted for this to work. There's no indication of any issue right now. |
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@obnoxiousAntidote @thestinger I just uninstalled the Play Store and it failed again. Google Drive wouldn't see my google account. So I think there is an issue, because I didn't change any permisssions. |
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None of the standard runtime permissions is granted by default. It's up to you to grant the required permissions to Play services for niche functionality depending on it. |
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@thestinger My previous post should read at the end: 'any permissions back'. So after doing what I did in my first post I did not change anything back to default and then I did what I said in my second post and it stopped functioning again. So appearantly you need the Play Store to operate Google Drive. And even now my whatsapp (with all the permissions from my first post) still does not see a Drive backup option. It did see that I had a backup on my drive. My position is that there is an issue, because you shouldn't have to install play store for google drive work correctly. |
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@arnekos Play Store is required to actually initialize and make Play services functional. That's how it works on stock OS. It also says this in the GrapheneOS usage guide. Your position isn't valid and the issue does not need to be reopened just because you're not using sandboxed Google Play correctly. If an app needs permissions, it needs permissions. If an app needs Play services, it needs Play services which requires to be accompanied by Play Store because Play Store is far more than just an app store as it provides the initialization for Play services to even be functional, app license checking, Play Feature and Play Asset delivery, etc. All of what I said can be found here: https://grapheneos.org/usage#sandboxed-google-play |
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@obnoxiousAntidote Thank you. Did not know that Play Store does more then just be a store. Apologies |
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For me on a clean install, just need to add Contact permissions on Google Play Service to make it works. |
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To recap this issue, you'll need:
Ungranting one of these won't restore your Google drive backup |
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You can use Storage Scopes instead of the permissions. Contact Scopes may also work for this Google Play services functionality already. It likely won't work to provide this functionality for WhatsApp right now since it seems to use it to make use of the Google account. |
I can confirm that Contact Scopes don't provide this functionality right now. Might that change in the future? |
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Has anybody got WhatsApp backups working when using Google's advanced protection program? I can't seem to get the WebAuthn window to show, so that I can sign in with my security keys to my Google Account through WhatsApp. |
Maybe related: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/5318-webauthn-discoverable-credential-doesnt-work-correctly |
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Whatapp connects to google drive through google play services, giving permissions like file access contact access worked for me. |
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I've been attempting to recover a WhatsApp backup from Google Drive. Unfortunately I do need it for work, when I try to select a Google Account in WhatsApp to restore from, it does not recognize my Google Account which is logged in elsewhere, and when I try to login it says it is already added.
If I log out from Android settings, then login the WhatsApp app, the same process occurs except it logs in but then doesn't recognize it once done.
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