The problem with signal is also no buttons, carousels or bots etc. I mean if we switch anyways, it would be nice to have something that can compete with wechat, nut just be a better sms application.
Poll: Switching from WhatsApp
741–750 of 972 posts
Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp
#742Olvid for me
https://olvid.io
Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp
#743The answer is "none of the above": instead, antitrust regulators in the US (after Jan. 20) and the EU force the breakup of Facebook, restoring WhatsApp's status as an independent company focused on privacy. The WhatsApp users get to keep their preferred platform and Facebook doesn't get the data.
Yes. Good.
So until that happens, what messaging app would you recommend switching to?
Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp
#744[deleted]
Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp
#745The answer is "none of the above": instead, antitrust regulators in the US (after Jan. 20) and the EU force the breakup of Facebook, restoring WhatsApp's status as an independent company focused on privacy. The WhatsApp users get to keep their preferred platform and Facebook doesn't get the data.
And where does that independent company focused on privacy get its money from?
Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp
#746Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think it’s simpler. Boycotts don’t work at an individual level. I have been boycotting nestle for decades. Can’t say they’ve become less evil. That’s because the marginal effect is negligible for them and strongly negative for the individual (assuming you’re a fan of Kit Kat’s). Network effects amplify the marginal impact on the individual, because they lead to a monopoly with no true competition. Sure, you can lea…
I wish the EU would force messaging systems to also support interactions with XMPP or other similar open standards. There's nothing in their way to expect such a thing, except the lobbyists.
The EU cannot force anything. It would be enough for the company that provides WhatsApp to not have any business in the EU (today that's FB, it could be a spinoff tomorrow).
The only, weak, solution would be to force the EU ISPs, on an European level, to block FB. Blocking on itself will not be easy (technically speaking) and good luck to have a consensus on that among our countries.
I completely fail to understand why many US companies, operating on US grounds care about GDPR at all. I would not and, please, sue me. Even the ones that block access from EU are overreacting.
Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp
#747Where is Wire? Open source, free personal accounts available, can deploy on-prem (or in your own cloud), and can be used in a web browser rather than needing an installed client like Signal. Best of all: you don't need a phone number to set up an account!
Check it out for yourself; set up a free personal account at this link:
Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp
#748Where 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.
I ask this as a non-Whatsapp user. I have read the comments and I understand in some countries (Brazil, Netherlands, etc.) that Whatsapp is the main tool for person to person and person to business communications. What I can't figure out is why did it displace "plain SMS" or other tools. What drove the adoption? I'd love to hear more about that - was Whatsapp just the first mover?
Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp
#749[deleted]
Re: Poll: Switching from WhatsApp
#750Earlier 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…
I disagree with where and how this industry failed the rest of people. I can quote you numerous "nerds", such as the esteemed (/s) Eric Emerson Schmidt that told us on a public podium that it is unreasonable to have "an expectation of privacy "(a technical legal phrase, btw) when using the internet. So let's not blame this on the "smart phone" and usability.
In the late 80s and 90s, we had influential technologists that sold what became the Panopticon as a liberating force that would unleash creativity and usher in a new era of freedom. Most now work for one of the FANGs. The rest made a face saving effort via EFF.
> If privacy was high-value, any privacy-conscious competitor would've taken the market by storm.
Which VCs would fund them? VCs, even our gracious hosts YCombinator, are gate keepers of who & what gets funding.
Has YCombinator, with genuine educated and well informed geeks at the helm, ever supported a decentralized proposal?
Consumers can only choose from what is on the menu.
And "privacy conscious" competitors were not on the menu. Or maybe I did miss these. This is possible, so can you point out which VC funded "privacy conscious" startups failed against competing venture funded centralized systems?
To this day, non-geeks are not aware that it is possible for them to have their social apps while insuring their privacy.