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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

#261

Post by TheJoYo »

sprkwd wrote: post #96
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…

That doesn't feel simple. I installed Signal.

Signal is the bare minimum and can run along side Element and ActivityPub just fine.

If you want to avoid Google Play-Services then Element and ActivityPub are much easier to use.

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#262

Post by mgdev »

pera wrote: post #233
dillondoyle wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I don't understand the outrage? It brings more functionality like Messenger to interface with businesses - which I have found value in. For instance United service there was quicker and better than using the phone line to change/re-book flights. Maybe I'm missing something?

WhatsApp users who in 2016 opted out of sharing data with third parties are now being asked by Facebook to either accept a privacy policy that states their metadata can be shared with third parties or stop chatting with friends and family through their app. A poster bellow in this thread quoted a Wired article where some FB representative says they will "honor" the opt-out, yet this is not stated anywhere in the priv…

I believe the sharing only applies when talking to those third parties. E.g., if you only ever talk to friends and family, there is effectively no change.

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#263

Post by zwaps »

lxgr wrote: post #248
justusthane wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it's legitimate to be a WhatsApp user and to not want Facebook to have more of your data.

How is Facebook having more of my data in this scenario? Only if I'm talking a business on WhatsApp (which is optional and will hopefully stay that way), and only if the business I'm talking to uses Facebook as a service provider (instead of, say, Twilio or a self-hosted solution) does something change for me. Facebook has indicated that businesses processing chats through Facebook will be clearly indicated as doing…

But it this the TOS you are signing here?

No it is not.

Does it say there is some sort of opt in to a business conversation, not only now but in the future? No.

So, you are giving Facebook the right to sell your private conversations to third parties in the future, but you think it’s not an issue because you trust ... checks notes... Facebook?

Really?

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#264

Post by m463 »

pmlnr wrote: post #218
korijn wrote: post #209

Honestly, as an engineer, looking at the way FAANG are becoming middle-men in just about every part of human life, I would rather ban all social media and more generally mass communication software outright than try and regulate it. It feels to me like it's gotten to the point where this type of software is doing more harm than good. I know that the software itself is not the issue, the tech has potential to do good,…

I blame smartphones, the hardware. Without them, social media, the software would be MUCH less invasive.

I think they made people powerless to control their experience.

Before that, people bought firewall software for their computer.

After that you had to rely on the phone manufacturers to "protect you" which was a blatant conflict of interest. To attract app makers, they needed to give them incentives, which basically boiled down to data after the price of apps plummeted to zero.

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#265

Post by Bakary »

qznc wrote: post #259
Bakary wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But we just got proof that backlashes can be ignored, so what's the point?

Ignored? Lots and lots of people installed Signal or Telegram. Some of them will stay.

If Fb is going forward with the change, then they've realized that those people are a rounding error.

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#266

Post by lxgr »

zwaps wrote: post #263
lxgr wrote: post #248

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is Facebook having more of my data in this scenario? Only if I'm talking a business on WhatsApp (which is optional and will hopefully stay that way), and only if the business I'm talking to uses Facebook as a service provider (instead of, say, Twilio or a self-hosted solution) does something change for me. Facebook has indicated that businesses processing chats through Facebook will be clearly indicated as doing…

But it this the TOS you are signing here? No it is not. Does it say there is some sort of opt in to a business conversation, not only now but in the future? No. So, you are giving Facebook the right to sell your private conversations to third parties in the future, but you think it’s not an issue because you trust ... checks notes ... Facebook? Really?

> So, you are giving Facebook the right to sell your private conversations to third parties in the future

Where in the new TOS does it say that?

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#267

Post by secfirstmd »

fartcannon wrote: post #186
secfirstmd wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Bah, what friends are they that ignore someone because they don't have Facebook or believe in a better future for everyone. Better off without them, in my opinion. As I mentioned, they just move on to the next worse thing and the cycle of stupid choices continues.

Eh what about maybe they have a different threat model to you? Maybe they have elderly relatives who just about switched from SMS to Whatsapp and they want to talk them in an easy way?

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#269

Post by warkdarrior »

smashah wrote: post #252
hansel_der wrote: post #200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It is the main communication infrastructure for the majority of the planet. sure? afaik whatsapp is "only" domniant in five-eyes, europe and latin-america but thats not where the majority of ppl live.

What is five eyes? I think the bounds of your knowledge are deceiving you as to the extent to which WhatsApp is used all over the world. It is the dominant communication app in the entirety of the middle east, Africa and Asia (not including China) also.

The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Eyes

Re: WhatsApp to move ahead with privacy update despite backlash

#270

Post by oever »

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…

Could you share your XMPP setup? What server? What clients for the various operating systems and what setting?
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