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WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

nautil.us

141–150 of 306 posts

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I drink Dunkin' Donuts coffee because I don't give a damn about the taste and it's cheap. I like the process of drinking coffee... it's a habit of sorts. Not so much an addiction as I have no problems going without coffee.

May I then suggest drinking water instead? It's healthier and even cheaper.

Coffee isn't a replacement for water. You would still drink water (I hope).

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>But among the available addictions it’s one of the best. Why do you feel that way? I've never been a big coffee drinker (for this reason specifically), but everything I've heard about caffeine withdrawals for people who have been daily drinkers for a while is that they are awful - headaches, irritability, extreme fatigue, etc...

The withdrawals are unpleasant but certainly manageable. A good week and you're effectively detoxxed, two and your brain is reset. Moreover, as long as you refrain from adding sugar/sweetener to your coffee it's closer to a benign habit than an addiction, as black coffee has little to no downsides if your heart is ok. This is coming from a pot/day drinker who's 'quit' multiple times. In the end it's not worth it, bec…

Coffee helps me with fasting. It turns what is a semi uncomfortable experience to an easy thing.

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m curious, do people even enjoying drinking nice / real coffee anymore when drinking from Starbucks or have it delivered and sipping it at your desk or in the elevator, or is this just some kind of habit like smoking? Why not just wash down a caffeine pill with warm glass of water for the kick and move when time pressed?

If such a pill was ever created, I surmise that the coffee industry would collapse overnight.

"if I had fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked, I should walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water"

From 'The Little Prince' referring to the merchant who sold pills to quench thirst.

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#144

A while ago I ran a thought experiment, Facebook could also track things like this. If my phone spent the night not at home, it can probably surmise that my relationship with (person who I've been exchanging FB/WhatsApp messages with increasing frequency the last few weeks) has progressed to the next level. Especially if it can see the phone spent the night connected to their SSID, but with both of us having zero int…

Where there's a way there's a will.

So say US has interest on country X, can you 100% guarantee that none of the following data could be used to target some individuals of said country: - Facebook social graph - WhatsApp conversations - Skype voice and video chats - Google location history - visa credit card transactions

IMHO it's just a matter of how big is the interest. Maybe it wouldn't happen to use this data for personal reasons but it would be very strange to imagine an army leader citing foreigners personal data protection when the country is at war.

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#145
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you went to the coffee shop yourself, it would probably be on your own electric scooter anyway. And you'd take your coffee away in the same paper cup.

You could use a reusable cup.

No reason the delivery couldn't also be delivered in a reusable container, to your own cup

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#146
Why isn't anyone worried about TikTok?

Yes, WeChat is largely contained to China, but TikTok/ByteDance is global and a top 10 app in the U.S. It would be naive to think that there isn't a backdoor to that app. And it's video.

There's also precedence for this e.g. the U.S. forcing Grindr's Chinese owner to sell.

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually find Alipay easier to use for payments and it is easier to set up. If you don't want to chat I would use it instead.

Can you set up Alipay with a non-Chinese bank account or card? It works great for Chinese people and foreign residents of the PRC who have a bank account. However, my experience as a tourist was that it was impossible to link my US credit card using the PRC version of the app downloaded while in China.

You cannot link foreign cards to Alipay account. Best way is to ask Chinese colleagues to transfer you Yuan and you pay them via cash. You can then use the wallet amount in shops.

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#148
post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First hand living experience in a communist, and then authoritarian post-communist, country. And before you say not all communist are alike and you can't generalize… yeah no, they are quite alike and you can generalize. Anyone who lived in any of them knows exactly what guanxi and other social concepts mean, the cultures are remarkably cookie-cutter.

Americans, and people living in American colonies, also have first-hand experience with American imperialism. I'm not sure why you think your experience trounces theirs?

You sort of prove my point. And don't generalize people suffering from bouts of anti-Americanism to all Americans or all the West.

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#149
post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The wallet option only exists if you have a Chinese Wechat account (using a Chinese phone number).

It also appears if you somehow end up with a positive balance (e.g by receiving a red packet). I haven't tested whether you can actually spend that balance without having linked a Chinese bank account, though.

I have tested the red pockets but I couldn't actually receive them. It's been year back or so.

Re: WeChat is Watching: Living in China with the app that knows everything about me

#150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m curious, do people even enjoying drinking nice / real coffee anymore when drinking from Starbucks or have it delivered and sipping it at your desk or in the elevator, or is this just some kind of habit like smoking? Why not just wash down a caffeine pill with warm glass of water for the kick and move when time pressed?

I might do that if companies started putting pills in the break room instead of Keurig. I consider coffee and cream a benefit like health care at this point.

You would get a resistance not too long after. I quit caffeine pills because even if I only ever took them once a week they would do nothing but have bad sideeffects. Now I take 5 hour energies/redbulls or else I feel tired by noon after sleeping for 13 hours.
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