WhatsApp's new privacy policy is so bad it might be illegal

Post by crossroadsguy » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 1:21 AM UTC

lmm wrote: post #43

nopato wrote: post #13

To be honest I feel a bit disenfranchised. I’ve used all my energy to convert all my friends to signal when the WhatsApp privacy policy fiasco happened and now they’re saying it was a waste of time since they don’t want anything to do with bitcoins.. I can’t blame them as I also don’t want this on my messaging app. I feel like I will just give up and use WhatsApp and assume that I only had privacy pre-internet.

Any time there's a project that's almost open-source, almost open standards, that's how it ends up going. If you'd gone for Matrix you wouldn't have that problem, because even if their developers decide to embed some bitcoin nonsense into the official client, the protocol and ecosystem is much bigger than that.

Post by saagarjha » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 1:24 AM UTC

themacguffinman wrote: post #49

godelski wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I talk to my friends, parents, and family about it a lot. They don't understand it, but they do care. Problem is that they don't understand how to fight back. They do not want to give up on Facebook. They also are afraid to switch to a service like Signal because "no one is there." So I think they care, but there's a big sense of helplessness. Honestly that's why I like projects like Signal. There's no way I can get…

A distinction without a difference. It matters little how much they say they care if the few taps to download a new app and some nonsense "but what if my friends list isn't totally full, the horror!" fear is what's stopping them, especially when they clearly know someone who can and is willing to help them (ie. you). I wonder how quickly they would switch if WhatsApp started requiring a monthly fee to use it. I get t…

Post by jonplackett » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 1:29 AM UTC

paxys wrote: post #33

mwambua wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Its peak revenue, disclosed by Facebook at the time of acquisition, was ~$1.5 million/year Not sure where you got that number, but in 2013 (before aquisition) they reported ~$10 million in revenue. ( https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326801/000132680114... ) They brought in $15 million in the first half of 2014. ( https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326801/000132680114... ) They only had 55 employees at…

This was my source - https://www.investopedia.com/articles/personal-finance/04091... (which points to that same document but somehow draws a different conclusion). Also that document shows a net loss of $230 million in that same period, so not exactly on a strong path to profitability.

Post by paulcole » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 1:45 AM UTC

goldenchrome wrote: post #16

purplecats wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I feel like I will just give up and use WhatsApp and assume that I only had privacy pre-internet. Yup, this is it. The point they've been waiting for us to cross. It was inevitable imo to not give up and surrender to it. It feels like we as a society are slowing transcending from the 4th to the 5th stage of grief.

I don’t think non-nerds really think about privacy online all that much. This privacy catastrophe is only felt in places like HN.

Post by 1MachineElf » Wed, Apr 14, 2021, 1:58 AM UTC

crossroadsguy wrote: post #52

lmm wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any time there's a project that's almost open-source, almost open standards, that's how it ends up going. If you'd gone for Matrix you wouldn't have that problem, because even if their developers decide to embed some bitcoin nonsense into the official client, the protocol and ecosystem is much bigger than that.

That’s true. But there’s another problem with something like Matrix. It’s not to be adopted by the masses by design. The clients/apps are miles away from a nerd/tech savvy person would like to use and another few miles away from the UX non-nerds would want to see. So that’s dba anyway - dead before arrival.