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Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#411

Post by simplecto »

incrudible wrote: post #323
jbotz wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, I don't know where parent is located, but here in Brazil they are pretty much right. Everybody has WhatsApp... it's assumed that if you have a phone you have WhatsApp. A lot of financial transactions are conducted by doing a bank transfer and then sending the receipt via WhatsApp. The schools send essential messages to parents via WhatsApp. During lockdowns, stores were taking delivery orders via WhatsApp. What…

I like to think the problem is that "the nerds" have failed the rest of the people. People used to listen to us about computer stuff. Then computers became usable without us. Then smartphones arrived. We gladly were relieved of our obligations, but also of our influence. It's too late to go back. People are already used to the trade-offs, convenience rules above all. People may be "sort of concerned" about privacy, b…

Very well said.

Convenience > Privacy, which is an interesting conundrum.

This makes privacy a feature more than a USP (unique selling proposition). I predict that some "privacy" focused products and search engines will need to pivot to something more than just "we don't steal your data."

Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#412

Post by levosmetalo »

arghwhat wrote: post #32
damidekronik wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Downgrade in terms of privacy from WhatsApp? Some explanation is needed for such a bold statement.

Much worse protocol, but much better company.

... but still a company that you have to "trust". I'd rather have a protocol that will allow me to not trust anyone and still be secure/private by default.

Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#413

Post by sdfhbdf »

pdimitar wrote: post #388
sdfhbdf wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Telegram has a broken business model from the start. It doesn't make money and it's not sustainable. Somebody could take over telegram and start a pretty similar service to facebook since most of the chats are not encrypted. So if Durov were not to lead his vision of 100% free Telegram it might get really bad. A service ran on savings of the founder as philantropic as he is is not sustainable. They will either pivot…

They recently did pivot to ads but only in certain chats -- for most users nothing will change. And I am glad they did because I want them to survive. Also, Durov has been strongly resistant both to censorship and takeover attempts so far. Which is more than I could say for your average SV startup. I am siding with Telegram still. They have proven themselves many times over and I can only hope that this will continue…

Started with certain chats and will end with probably full on profiling since it's the most profitable

Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#415

Post by sambe »

tadzik_ wrote: post #118
llimos wrote: post #77

How many people answering this poll have the power to determine which platform all their contacts move to?

Surprisingly many, if you're bold enough to try. The only reason me and my circle of friends use Telegram is because one of us was using an Ubuntu Phone at some point, and that was the only acceptable messaging app he could use, so we all moved on. It requires a certain authority in your group, but people are likely to adapt to you if they care about you, even if your choices inconvenience them slightly. Of course it…

I also use Telegram because one of my friends was really stubborn. Like many here, I think it's a great service/client but probably has some security issues (although they are largely trade-offs). However, I don't agree that my example backs your view: there's no way I could get my other friends and family to switch en-masse. I still only use it pretty much with that one friend and a small group around him. And all the others say the same: they hate on the guy for being a pain despite liking the app.

Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#417

Post by kuriho »

Seb-C wrote: post #381

Here in Japan literally everyone uses LINE and it is far better than WhatsApp. Way more features, it's independent and the business model is sane and clear. I just switched my family to it, because that was the last reason for me to use WhatsApp. I'm sad not to se it as an option.

LINE seems to be the predominate messenger in all of Asia. I find it highly interesting to see even the Japanese rely on this Korean Plattform. Do they not fear a service blockage based on their countries political relationship?

Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#420

Post by GGMethos »

A lot of Russian people use Telegram, but a lot of Russian people are also using Whatsapp. Me personally, I use Skype/Whatsapp strictly for work and Discord for everything else. I have severe gripes with Whatsapp including a sub-standard desktop client. Signal is a pretty good replacement for Whatsapp I would say. We have recently been approved at work to start using a corporate version of Zoom but it is seldom used yet. We also heavily use Symphony at this point for group conversations that don't involve voice calling. I think LINE and Telegram are pretty ok. IRC is still always gonna be my favorite but obviously its lacking most of the features of a modern chat client such as Discord such as video/audio calls and screen-sharing.
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