Boss won't stop WhatsApp messages, developer built an AI workaround
What's the story
An Indian developer has created a unique tool to deal with long and tiresome WhatsApp messages from bosses. The project, dubbed "whatsNot," summarizes messages using AI without triggering blue ticks. The innovative solution was shared by the developer on Reddit's r/developersIndia forum and has since gone viral among working professionals.
Issue faced
The problem of constant WhatsApp messages
The developer, who goes by the username Several-Virus4840 on Reddit, explained how he was tired of constantly receiving long WhatsApp messages from his boss. He said opening these messages every time was exhausting and at times he didn't want the sender to know that he had read them. Instead of ignoring chats or muting notifications, he decided to create a technical solution for this problem.
Technical details
How 'whatsNot' works
The tool is built on a Node.js service that listens to incoming WhatsApp messages via an open-source library called Baileys. When a new message arrives, it is captured through a simple HTTP server and sent to a free Grok large language model API. The AI then summarizes the message into something short and readable while analyzing its tone to determine whether it's urgent, neutral, aggressive, or something else.
Device operation
Hardware setup and functionality
Once the message is summarized, a NodeMCU microcontroller polls the server for new summaries and displays them on a small OLED screen. The device also has a touch sensor that lets you refresh or scroll through longer summaries. The entire hardware setup is simple and uses a NodeMCU, small OLED display, and touch sensor soldered directly together. It runs on a battery taken from an old selfie stick, making it portable and independent of the phone.
Privacy feature
'whatsNot' doesn't trigger read receipts
The best part about this setup is that it never opens the WhatsApp chat or sends a "seen" event back to WhatsApp's servers. This means that read receipts are triggered at the app's user interface level, so the sender never sees blue ticks. The developer has made it clear that this isn't a commercial product but just a practical and slightly humorous way to cope with modern workplace communication.