Behind the Messy, Expensive Split Between Facebook and WhatsApp’s Founders

Post by jshen » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 7:12 PM UTC

ChuckMcM wrote: post #164

jshen wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know how old you are, but phone calls were really expensive in the decades before 2000. It’s not something low income people could afford to do very often.

I expect this depends a lot on where you were living in the decades before 2000 and what you mean by "phone calls". In much of the US, in the 70's, 80's, and 90's a telephone had a fixed monthly fee and 'free' calling to any other phone in the local area. Phone penetration was over 90%[1] in 1970 and rose to over 95% by 1980 suggesting that even those at 50% below the poverty line in 1980 (roughly 6% of the US popula…

Post by tinus_hn » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 7:14 PM UTC

projectramo wrote: post #81

justaguyhere wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not a fan of his, but is the situation going change unless people are willing to pay for these services? Most people wouldn't even pay for something as useful/important as email, let alone social networking (I can never understand the need for something like Facebook)

Yes, someone should make a messaging app with end-to-end encryption that costs $1/year. I think it would do well. edit: this is supposed to be a WhatsApp joke.

Post by zaphod12 » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 7:14 PM UTC

satsuma wrote: post #145

chime wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to defend FB on this but I can see them doing this defensively. I've seen doctors offices using FB to keep patients updated with their activities (free 'Healthy Eating' seminar), which has unintentionally been used to sent messages like 'Hey Doc needs to reschedule your colonoscopy appointment'. I'm sure FB doesn't want to get involved with indirect HIPAA violations, even if the fault lies elsewhere.

wouldn't using facebook be a hipaa violation in and of itself? doesn't information like that need to be contained to pre-approved, secure methods?

Post by mmmBacon » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 7:18 PM UTC

krrrh wrote: post #116

innagadadavida wrote: post #20

Apple should port Messages app to Android and other platforms, this is a great opportunity for them to capitalize on. It is unlikely though, as the strategy is to get people to buy iPhones to get Messages.

There is already so much shame directed to the one family member that forces everyone else to use something other than iMessage. Sometimes they just get left out of conversations. Apple's taking this even further with improved photo sharing in iOS 12 (moving more families off Facebook/Instagram), and group FaceTime. As a user I wish that these apps were widely available because I prefer them to alternatives, but as a…

Post by ctrlaltdestroy » Tue, Jun 05, 2018, 7:19 PM UTC

Djvacto wrote: post #9

So, I use WhatsApp as my primary source of communication. Knowing facebook owned it always made me a little nervous, but given that it was end-to-end encrypted, I figured Facebook wasn't getting any more from me then they would from all my facebook-using-friends who would send me SMS's before. But I'm worried about how long I can continue to use the service moving forward, which is sad as this is my main way to commu…