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WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

reuters.com

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Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#101

Post by Mediterraneo10 »

pmlnr wrote: post #71
egwor wrote: post #14

I'm so disappointed in this. Whatsapp is a functional tool. It was successful since it worked. Facebook has entirely failed to utilise it - to allow external systems to connect in so that businesses can do business on there. The voice calls are also a disaster. They've now come along to start messing with the privacy to start selling ads. It is insane that they're able to make such a mess of this. Is there a word for…

> I'm so disappointed in this. Whatsapp is a functional tool. It was successful since it worked. One decade ago: s/Whatapp/Skype/g s/Facebook/Microsoft/g

The niche that Whatsapp filled and which brought it to massive adoption was not the same as Skype's. In South America (and Asia, too, if I understand correctly), Whatsapp was a way to avoid SMS charges on your mobile phone. Because now it is the only way many acquaintances and businesses can be contacted, it will remain entrenched even with this hostile new privacy policy.

Skype, on the other hand, was about audio- or videoconferencing from a computer, and so it wasn’t quite as much a part of the ordinary person's life as Whatsapp.

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#102

Post by PeterisP »

Symbiote wrote: post #56
PragmaticPulp wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People aren’t going to pay for simple services like WhatsApp in 2021. It’s as simple as that. Tech people with a high degree of suspicion and high disposable income are the exception. Even within that group, most people won’t put their money where their mouth is when given the option.

How much money is it? I remember WhatsApp being £1/year, or something like that.

Facebook can get much more than £1/year ARPU from Whatsapp being privacy-invasive, so charging a price like that isn't competitive. We don't have good numbers from Whatsapp alone, but Facebook earns more than 150 $/year for each US/Canada user on average; and users who are willing to pay for such services probably are worth more than average, so an adequate replacement for invasive ad targeting would be quite a large monthly fee.

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#103

Post by secfirstmd »

fartcannon wrote: post #94
tambourine_man wrote: post #41

It's really hard for me to understand why and how something fails or succeeds to grab the public's attention. I've been complaining and refusing to use WhatsApp for years, mostly because it's centralized at the worst possible company. But a boycott of one is not a powerful move and no one cared. Now, for whatever reason, nothing has effectively changed and millions suddenly care. I mean, I'm glad they finally do, do…

You're not alone. I have been doing the same, but not just WhatsApp, also Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple.. Any company that abuses it's power to lock down, sell data from or attempt to control their users. It's often pretty lonely. Ive had friends simply stop talking with me. Ive been left out of weddings, birthdays, etc. I guess it's like trying to be a vegan at a BBQ. Worst part is that when what Id feared come…

Dont you think that maybe you are taking things a bit far if you are losing lots of friends over it? What's your threat model?

You can bridge a number of these services if you want. Or use a locked down device for them. FAANG privacy crap causing you to lose friends is kinda letting them win a bit too much.

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#104

Post by staz »

pmlnr wrote: post #71
egwor wrote: post #14

I'm so disappointed in this. Whatsapp is a functional tool. It was successful since it worked. Facebook has entirely failed to utilise it - to allow external systems to connect in so that businesses can do business on there. The voice calls are also a disaster. They've now come along to start messing with the privacy to start selling ads. It is insane that they're able to make such a mess of this. Is there a word for…

> I'm so disappointed in this. Whatsapp is a functional tool. It was successful since it worked. One decade ago: s/Whatapp/Skype/g s/Facebook/Microsoft/g

or Google Talk and Hangout

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#105

Post by ulzeraj »

I would be interested in non creepy or elitist ways to convince your colleagues to migrate to another platform. People who do not care about privacy and all.

I thought I was free from Whatsuck but then I've changed jobs and the only way that I can keep in touch with my remote team outside of the corporate communicators which are separated by a 2FA Citrix Workspace login is through WhatsApp. So WhatsApp is like a lifeline where you can send a message stating that you've dropped from the Teams meeting because your power went down or your computer crashed.

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#106

Post by przmk »

pmlnr wrote: post #90

A group of my friends asked to set up a groupchat recently, our requirements varied. Among them: - needs to be simple (not all of them are techies) - need to be possible to run on desktop without any mobile need - not Facebook (my requirement) So I went and set an XMPP server up on the same machine I have my email and webserver, and wrote a quick guide on how to install blabber.im (a Conversations fork), and register…

There is history delivery on first connect on Matrix whenever I set-up a new device.

I don't think XMPP has any future. It's a hassle to set-up and I have yet to see a really modern looking client. Blabber does not fit that at all.

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#107

Post by pmlnr »

secfirstmd wrote: post #100
pmlnr wrote: post #90

A group of my friends asked to set up a groupchat recently, our requirements varied. Among them: - needs to be simple (not all of them are techies) - need to be possible to run on desktop without any mobile need - not Facebook (my requirement) So I went and set an XMPP server up on the same machine I have my email and webserver, and wrote a quick guide on how to install blabber.im (a Conversations fork), and register…

Life probably would have been much easier for you if you had just used a Matrix server.

LOL, no. I've been trying to run my Matrix server for a while without serious hiccups, with audio/video support, federation, irc appservice, and it's a clusterf*ck.

Plus if you cared to read the whole entry, I have the reason there why not matrix.

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#108

Post by pera »

saddlerustle wrote: post #3

It's absurd this article doesn't try to describe what the changes actually are . The privacy policy change doesn't functionally change anything about what data is collected or shared with Facebook. Metadata collection for ad targeting has been allowed by the privacy policy since 2016.

In 2016 WhatsApp let users opt-out of Facebook data sharing with third parties by just checking a box in Account Settings [1]. Most of my friends and family did opt-out. Now, as far as I understand, they are being "forced to opt-in" by accepting the new ToS and Privacy Policy or, otherwise, getting locked out.

1 - https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/25/whatsapp-to-share-user-dat...

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#109

Post by pmlnr »

przmk wrote: post #106
pmlnr wrote: post #90

A group of my friends asked to set up a groupchat recently, our requirements varied. Among them: - needs to be simple (not all of them are techies) - need to be possible to run on desktop without any mobile need - not Facebook (my requirement) So I went and set an XMPP server up on the same machine I have my email and webserver, and wrote a quick guide on how to install blabber.im (a Conversations fork), and register…

There is history delivery on first connect on Matrix whenever I set-up a new device. I don't think XMPP has any future. It's a hassle to set-up and I have yet to see a really modern looking client. Blabber does not fit that at all.

> There is history delivery on first connect on Matrix whenever I set-up a new device.

Not for encrypted rooms.

--

EDIT: XMPP has https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0313.html which can deliver history for the clients that support it. I just haven't set it up.

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#110

Post by comfyinnernet »

smhg wrote: post #72
tambourine_man wrote: post #41

It's really hard for me to understand why and how something fails or succeeds to grab the public's attention. I've been complaining and refusing to use WhatsApp for years, mostly because it's centralized at the worst possible company. But a boycott of one is not a powerful move and no one cared. Now, for whatever reason, nothing has effectively changed and millions suddenly care. I mean, I'm glad they finally do, do…

Over here (in Belgium and The Netherlands at least) so many neighborhoods have signs promoting local WhatsApp groups, complete with the logo [0]. Often to 'prevent crime'. Local municipalities install and pay for them. It is so awkward to see. [0] https://cdn.nieuws.nl/media/sites/305/2016/05/14195316/Borde...

Someone should paste Zuckerberg's face in the middle of the logo whenever they see one of those.
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