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Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#721

Post by blendergeek »

ColinWright wrote: post #706
blendergeek wrote: post #702

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But does it really do so in practice? If I'm using Element/Matrix and a colleague is using WhatsApp, or Signal, or Telegram, or Briar. Can they reliably send me messages? Can I reliably send them messages? Matrix is not the provider. Matrix is the protocol/idea. Element is both an app and a service. What is common, reliable, and achievable in practice: I decide I no longer like New Vector (who run the matrix.org ho…

But you're still only talking about apps that run on top of Matrix ... your initial comment made it sound like it was possible to interact with people on WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, etc. I know that Matrix isn't the provider, that's why I mentioned Element/Matrix. I know that you can communicate between services that are all running on top of Matrix. That's why I specifically asked about other services. As I say, you…

> As I say, your comment seemed to imply it was possible,

After re-reading my comment, I can see how one would think that. I apologize for the confusion. I was actually trying to draw a distinction be between messaging systems that are provider agnostic and those that aren't. SMS and Matrix both allow multiple competing providers to interoperate. WhatsApp does not. That is why, I believe that we must not consider Whatsapp "critical infrastructure". No one company should be "critical".

Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#722

Post by EduardoBautista »

pdimitar wrote: post #68

I use Telegram long before it became sort of mainstream and I haven't regretted that decision for a minute, minus their outages that started happening once every few months lately and are worrying. Tried Whatsapp once, hated it, never tried again. Viber is even worse. Telegram has been what an IM program should be, for years now (it gave me the vibe of my much beloved Miranda IM almost 20 years ago). I'd love it if t…

The fact that Telegram can give keys to begin with is what makes it insecure. WhatsApp and Signal can't provide any keys that would decrypt a user's messages.

Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#723

Post by jasdine817 »

mslack616 wrote: post #286

I wish I could switch to Telegram, sadly most people I know use it as a "secondary" chat app for random/funny groups rather than their main app. What's even sadder is that I think most of us can agree that most people really don't care about privacy issues when it comes to apps, most "regular" people just want to use them for the sake of it. It's just people really focused on their privacy or "techies" the ones that…

Whats the point of moving away from WhatsApp for privacy reasons only to go to Telegram that also has privacy and security concerns?

Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#724

Post by logifail »

tobib wrote: post #637
rauljordan2020 wrote: post #600

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Central America whatsapp also _is_ basically the Internet along with facebook. There is a person on the other end taking your order and payments are always done in cash, although some advanced delivery drivers now carry a credit card swipe machine. Everything is done through whatsapp: bills, ordering food, govt services, parent teacher communications for children in schools, business introductions (dont know anyon…

Thank you all for shining a light on this. I didn't know this was so bad. I'm simply annoyed that some social groups use Facebook to organize, our neighborhood group, the parenting class, so I just can't be a part of that and try to move individual people, like my immediate neighbors, onto other platforms. But "bills, ordering food, govt services, parent teacher communications", that's extreme. At least for bills and…

> parent teacher communications

Where we are (EU) schools have been told not to touch WhatsApp, so official school-parent communication goes via other channels.

However parents still end up creating WhatsApp groups for each class to exchange messages and chase lost bits of homework and so on.

Feels like it's almost like like a virus ...

Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#725

Post by IG_Semmelweiss »

apexalpha wrote: post #155

Where is the "Don't switch" option? Because as much as I hate that Facebook bought them, they're part of what I would call "critical social infrastructure." Asking to leave WhatsApp is like cancelling your contract with your ISP and going offline just because you don't like the company.

This is true in Ecuador as well. I was shocked.

This process was turbocharged by COVID19

Most unemoloyed people with no steady income turned to last-mile delivery of all kinds of random goods and services... All done via whatsapp

Its frictionless. Like a website chatbot. Except its free and you can do it on the move.

I dont think it will take off here becuase businesses here have built web infrastructure for e-commerce.

Whatsapp is to ecommerce what smartphones where to connectivity.

3rd world countries skipped fixed wires and laptops and went straight to smartphones over air

This is the same process.

Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#726

Post by dijit »

keraf wrote: post #610
tiagod wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nothing prevents Telegram from not implementing that architecture and reading every single group message and non-secret chat. Telegram is sketchy in many ways, I wouldn't trust that easily.

Genuinely curious to know why you think Telegram is sketchy in many ways?

Because the founder is Russian and Russophobia is very strong in the USA and Western Europe.

People find other reasons for this (“they made their own crypto”, “marketing says secure but it isn’t by default”) but the core of the argument is that Pavel Durov is Russian and he’s not trusted. If it had been Elon Musk who had created it- I have little doubt that it would be the hottest thing on the market.

Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#727

Post by oarabbus_ »

apexalpha wrote: post #155

Where is the "Don't switch" option? Because as much as I hate that Facebook bought them, they're part of what I would call "critical social infrastructure." Asking to leave WhatsApp is like cancelling your contract with your ISP and going offline just because you don't like the company.

It's not possible to be Indian and not use WhatsApp, assuming you want to have any contact with your family and friends whatsoever.

Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#728

Post by hordeallergy »

apexalpha wrote: post #155

Where is the "Don't switch" option? Because as much as I hate that Facebook bought them, they're part of what I would call "critical social infrastructure." Asking to leave WhatsApp is like cancelling your contract with your ISP and going offline just because you don't like the company.

You want change but without making any effort?

Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp

#730

Post by alephu5 »

pedrorijo91 wrote: post #408
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…

> What's more, several cell phone operators' plans include unlimited WhatsApp, but only a few GB of other data... meaning when your data limits are reached you can still use WhatsApp for the rest of the month, but not i.e. Signal or Telegram. That makes is rather hard to convince people to switch. isn't this illegal? Portugal had such a problem, but i don't think anything happened since this: https://news.ycombinator…

This is also the case in Peru and Colombia.
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