For important apps like WhatsApp, it is recommended to have a backup ready. If you severely restrict WhatsApp permissions, you also limit the scope of functionality. WhatsApp may then no longer work as intended.
But you can't break anything. You can then easily grant the permissions again if you're too restricted. WhatsApp needs network access, and this must be clear, otherwise no messages can be sent or received. But this alone is not enough. What is also important are the notifications. Otherwise, you will no longer notice when others call you.
What causes trouble are communications. WhatsApp gets it every day for comparison. This way you can see your contacts prominently in WhatsApp, and if a new contact is added, they will appear automatically. In principle, you can use WhatsApp without sharing contacts, but this is tedious because then only mobile phone numbers are listed and new chats are only possible via detours. In this article we show how it can work. But this is definitely not a solution for everyone.
But perhaps that was the case. However, it is difficult to give a general recommendation because there are of course other jobs that may also be important to you. For example, access to your microphone and camera is essential for audio and video calls, and access to photos, media, and files is also likely important to most WhatsApp users because you can then share content. Classic prank filters are contact lists or nearby devices.
This list can be expanded depending on how you use WhatsApp. For example, if you want to share your location with contacts, you must also allow location access. Our advice: less is more, try the suggested permissions and spend more if that's not enough.
