WhatsApp's new privacy policy is so bad it might be illegal
androidpolice.com
WhatsApp's new privacy policy is so bad it might be illegal
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Re: WhatsApp's new privacy policy is so bad it might be illegal
#2In Jan, there was a big outcry, i thought all would move to signal.
I have about 25% of the conversations in signal, but especially for groups, whatsapp is so sticky, that they seem to have broadly failed in signal, and are back to whatsapp.
I continue to have individual conversations on signal with most friends, but the idea of being able to leave whatsapp seems to be much tougher than I thought.
Re: WhatsApp's new privacy policy is so bad it might be illegal
#3In Jan, there was a big outcry, i thought all would move to signal. I have about 25% of the conversations in signal, but especially for groups, whatsapp is so sticky, that they seem to have broadly failed in signal, and are back to whatsapp. I continue to have individual conversations on signal with most friends, but the idea of being able to leave whatsapp seems to be much tougher than I thought.
You're the glue creating the stickiness. Leave. Either they follow you, or they don't value you or themselves.
Re: WhatsApp's new privacy policy is so bad it might be illegal
#4As someone who has never held a WhatsApp account / Instagram, I do see the network effect that wants to pull me into the conversation but I have always resisted. Even before, I had telegram, there were like 3 contacts total. Then with the recent mass migration, I quit that as well because "people" joined.
Now im a happy matrix camper. Didnt even bother with signal because meh mobile requirement and their dishonest Foss policy.
Re: WhatsApp's new privacy policy is so bad it might be illegal
#5I was really hoping these privacy concerns would dissuade people from using WhatsApp. But I have a hidden agenda: I hate their web app. I just want a chat software I can use from anywhere.
Re: WhatsApp's new privacy policy is so bad it might be illegal
#6In Jan, there was a big outcry, i thought all would move to signal. I have about 25% of the conversations in signal, but especially for groups, whatsapp is so sticky, that they seem to have broadly failed in signal, and are back to whatsapp. I continue to have individual conversations on signal with most friends, but the idea of being able to leave whatsapp seems to be much tougher than I thought.
If we're doing anecdata: All my contacts are on Signal now. I uninstalled WhatsApp back in Jan.
Re: WhatsApp's new privacy policy is so bad it might be illegal
#7In Jan, there was a big outcry, i thought all would move to signal. I have about 25% of the conversations in signal, but especially for groups, whatsapp is so sticky, that they seem to have broadly failed in signal, and are back to whatsapp. I continue to have individual conversations on signal with most friends, but the idea of being able to leave whatsapp seems to be much tougher than I thought.
And Signal saw that movement, and decided instead of focusing all their development effort in making sure the user experience for all these new users was top notch and developing in the open, instead to push a cryptocoin that no one has heard of before but one which their principals likely have a stash of.
Given Signal's behavior, I am not going to waste any friendship capital trying to convince my friends to switch to Signal.
Re: WhatsApp's new privacy policy is so bad it might be illegal
#8In Jan, there was a big outcry, i thought all would move to signal. I have about 25% of the conversations in signal, but especially for groups, whatsapp is so sticky, that they seem to have broadly failed in signal, and are back to whatsapp. I continue to have individual conversations on signal with most friends, but the idea of being able to leave whatsapp seems to be much tougher than I thought.
Throwing in my anecdotal experience.
I noticed something very similar. About 25% of one-on-one conversations are now in Signal. Another 25% are in iMessage, which is a very easy sell for iOS users.
I've had a terrible time with group chats. One large chat is occurring in iMessage (very poor experience). Another large chat is occurring in Discord, which has been fantastic, but it changes the dynamic and caused a few friends to ghost (the onboarding to Discord is harder for newcomers vs. iMessage, WhatsApp or Signal IMO).
Re: WhatsApp's new privacy policy is so bad it might be illegal
#9In Jan, there was a big outcry, i thought all would move to signal. I have about 25% of the conversations in signal, but especially for groups, whatsapp is so sticky, that they seem to have broadly failed in signal, and are back to whatsapp. I continue to have individual conversations on signal with most friends, but the idea of being able to leave whatsapp seems to be much tougher than I thought.
Similar experience here, except most people who moved to Signal were tech-savvy, while all my family and closest friends have stuck with WhatsApp.
Given Signal's recent changes in direction, I'm considering just giving up on it and sticking with WhatsApp.
Re: WhatsApp's new privacy policy is so bad it might be illegal
#10In Jan, there was a big outcry, i thought all would move to signal. I have about 25% of the conversations in signal, but especially for groups, whatsapp is so sticky, that they seem to have broadly failed in signal, and are back to whatsapp. I continue to have individual conversations on signal with most friends, but the idea of being able to leave whatsapp seems to be much tougher than I thought.
Similar experience here, except most people who moved to Signal were tech-savvy, while all my family and closest friends have stuck with WhatsApp. Given Signal's recent changes in direction, I'm considering just giving up on it and sticking with WhatsApp.
I set up a Matrix server for my family, and then bridged in everyone else I know who uses iMessage. Now at least I'm chatting in a single app.