Telegram gains 1M users after Whatsapp ban • Hacker News Board

Re: Telegram gains 1M users after Whatsapp ban

#31

Post by exo762 » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 11:17 AM UTC

tazjin wrote: post #18

lorenzhs wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Signal has multi device sync now, and it's cryptographically secure. It works by sending Signal messages to the other linked devices. This enables Signal-Desktop (the Chrome app that is now in beta). Sync is only implemented in the Android client at the moment though.

That's quite literally multi-device >>sync Seems like a low effort solution and would not satisfy my requirements, but it probably works for some people.

This is false. I've tested this possibility by turning off phone and Signal Desktop still receives messages. Description of plan around which protocol was build is here [0].

[0]: https://gist.github.com/TheBlueMatt/d2fcfb78d29faca117f5

Re: Telegram gains 1M users after Whatsapp ban

#32

Post by caio1982 » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 11:20 AM UTC

What really happened: a drug smuggler with ties to a major criminal organization had been investigated and sentenced several months ago and since July Facebook and WhatsApp folks had not complied (actually they simply ignored all requests) with some users data the justice demanded to keep prosecuting the guy and his associates. Allegedly, according to the new https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_Civil_Rights_Framewo... if a company does exactly what they did, they can be temporarily blocked by a court decision as some sort of punishment for obstruction. Mark Zuckerberg complained saying it was just one judge who ordered this but AFAIK the block was requested by PA's office.

To be fair, some Brazilian judges are pretty stupid and have no idea how the internet works so it's quite possible the original users data request was super broad and that's why Facebook and WhatsApp just ignored it. On the other hand, it's only through very effective wires and digital data examination in recent years that the Brazilian justice is finally putting some big sharks into jail. That's why I have mixed feelings about all this (and I'm a Telegram user myself).

Source, in Portuguese: http://gizmodo.com.br/investigacao-trafico-droga-bloqueio-wh...

Re: Telegram gains 1M users after Whatsapp ban

#33

Post by jzwinck » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 11:20 AM UTC

dataker wrote: post #22

Interestingly, Fitch downgraded Brazil's Debt to junk yesterday. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/057c1240-a40f-11e5-b73f-95454... Anti-technology culture tells a lot about an economy, group or nation.

If you think this makes Brazil "anti-technology" I am curious to know your opinion about South Korea, which despite making a huge fraction of the world's smartphones and televisions has prevented Google Maps from working fully for their country. Point being, there are lots of reasons for countries to block certain things, and the notion that technology is inevitable and unquestionable does not carry water in many places outside the Bay Area.

Re: Telegram gains 1M users after Whatsapp ban

#34

Post by hudell » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 11:23 AM UTC

tazjin wrote: post #4

etiam wrote: post #2

Shame they went there instead of to Signal, but I guess it may still be a marginal improvement.

Signal, and in extension the other privacy-aware messengers (Threema etc), can not replace Telegram or iMessage because they lack basic features like multi-device sync. The hard problem of messaging has not been solved yet, what people should build is a service like iMessage but with the public key pool per account publicly auditable and verifiable.

I just wanted MSN Messenger back. That was the only messaging app that worked well for me.

Re: Telegram gains 1M users after Whatsapp ban

#35

Post by chungy » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 11:24 AM UTC

evook wrote: post #28

pedrodelfino wrote: post #24

I am from Brazil and I can say: we are almost becoming the new Argentina. And this is quite interesting because Argentina is becoming the new Venezuela (at least they were, but few weeks ago they had elections and the left wing lost). And Venezuela clearly is becoming the new Cuba.

How can one country become another?

They all swap names to confuse the rest of the world. :-)

Re: Telegram gains 1M users after Whatsapp ban

#36

Post by jpatokal » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 11:24 AM UTC

personjerry wrote: post #27

pedrodelfino wrote: post #24

I am from Brazil and I can say: we are almost becoming the new Argentina. And this is quite interesting because Argentina is becoming the new Venezuela (at least they were, but few weeks ago they had elections and the left wing lost). And Venezuela clearly is becoming the new Cuba.

Can you explain each of those statements in turn?

"Argentina is becoming the new Venezuela": formerly prosperous country adopts ridiculous economic policies (key industries nationalized and handed over as private fiefs to incompetent cronies, exchange rate controls, price caps), sees economy go down the toilet and inflation rocket out of control

"Venezuela clearly is becoming the new Cuba": Not content merely with wrecking the economy, leadership squashes all opposition and turns country into a straight-up dictatorship (of the proletariat!)

Fortunately both statements are hyperbolic, as both countries have just held reasonably fair elections where the electorates decided to kick the bums out, but there are still choppy waters ahead...

Re: Telegram gains 1M users after Whatsapp ban

#37

Post by Vivtek » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 11:26 AM UTC

rurban wrote: post #30

pedrodelfino wrote: post #24

I am from Brazil and I can say: we are almost becoming the new Argentina. And this is quite interesting because Argentina is becoming the new Venezuela (at least they were, but few weeks ago they had elections and the left wing lost). And Venezuela clearly is becoming the new Cuba.

And Cuba is becoming the new Mexico? :)

And Mexico will become the new Brazil, completing the cycle.

Re: Telegram gains 1M users after Whatsapp ban

#38

Post by antocv » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 11:26 AM UTC

caio1982 wrote: post #32

What really happened: a drug smuggler with ties to a major criminal organization had been investigated and sentenced several months ago and since July Facebook and WhatsApp folks had not complied (actually they simply ignored all requests) with some users data the justice demanded to keep prosecuting the guy and his associates. Allegedly, according to the new https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_Civil_Rights_Frame…

Had the same request arrived to FB/WhatsApp from any low US judge, do you think they wouldnt have complied?

Re: Telegram gains 1M users after Whatsapp ban

#39

Post by antocv » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 11:27 AM UTC

izacus wrote: post #10

gtf21 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Telegram has the same problem with "Secret Chats" which can only be read on the device from which they are initiated.

People don't use Telegram (or whatsapp) for secret chats, but because it's a UX friendly messenger that replaces paid SMS services.

Well me and my friends use it for Secret Chats, so, you're wrong.

Re: Telegram gains 1M users after Whatsapp ban

#40

Post by RottenHuman » Thu, Dec 17, 2015, 11:30 AM UTC

hudell wrote: post #34

tazjin wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Signal, and in extension the other privacy-aware messengers (Threema etc), can not replace Telegram or iMessage because they lack basic features like multi-device sync. The hard problem of messaging has not been solved yet, what people should build is a service like iMessage but with the public key pool per account publicly auditable and verifiable.

I just wanted MSN Messenger back. That was the only messaging app that worked well for me.

What I want is a messenger which has all my friends in it.

Sadly at the moment that's only WhatsApp and Telegram to some extent. If only there would be some protocol or standard that would allow me to communicate across different providers.

But unfortunately such a standard must be technologically impossible, otherwise it would be implemented and widespread already.