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WhatsApp has removed answer to “how do I choose not to share data with FB”

faq.whatsapp.com

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Re: WhatsApp has removed answer to “how do I choose not to share data with FB”

#41

Post by [deleted] »

neckardt wrote: post #24
unobatbayar wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Signal seems too good to be true. If anything is perfectly private/secure it won't be allowed to exist due to regulations or government agenda(which creates these regulations). Just like any crypto with anonymous protocols never get listed on exchanges.

> If anything is perfectly private/secure it won't be allowed to exist due to regulations. Why? I was under the impression that these days the NSA and other government agencies prefer perfect security since if they can crack the security then other governments could too. By forcing imperfect security the US would give up a large part of its advantage.

[deleted]

Re: WhatsApp has removed answer to “how do I choose not to share data with FB”

#42

Post by duskwuff »

toast0 wrote: post #17

I worked at WhatsApp between 2011 and 2019. This FAQ had very specific instructions for how to opt out of sharing that were only available for a limited amount of time. The FAQ serves as documentation of the product and there's no need to keep online specific instructions that can no longer be followed. In order to opt out, you needed to have an existing account and take specific actions around the time you agreed to…

> I don't recall specific deadlines for accepting the 2016 TOS

Based on what I see in the archived article, it looks like accepting the TOS was a "roadblock" popup in the app -- you couldn't continue using the app without accepting the terms. Any accounts which hadn't accepted the terms after two years could have simply been closed for inactivity.

Re: WhatsApp has removed answer to “how do I choose not to share data with FB”

#44

Post by BLKNSLVR »

zaptheimpaler wrote: post #25
1cvmask wrote: post #2

Old habits and mindsets never seem to change despite corporate pronouncements and PR puff pieces written by stenographers. The regulators (and legislators) are either the biggest dupes, or much more likely in on it. Let’s not forget the FTC hookup for Netflix by Obama and the eventual payout when he left office. Or Ajit Pai who came from Verizon to run the FTC and undid the Obama era changes favorable to Netflix and…

I sometimes wonder whether there is any purpose to it in the long term. If/when Signal becomes big enough to be used by a lot of people, they will want to monetize too and the governments will become interested in monitoring messages there too. It just feels futile. As long as companies need to turn a profit and governments can surreptitiously surveil their citizens there's no long-term solution. We can move to the n…

A decentralised, trustless future perhaps?

I'm semi-conspiratorial, semi-fatalistic about society's ability to change politics politically / non-technically. There are too many who are too apathetic (and I might even be one of them by already being semi-fatalistic) that anchor the current system in perpetuity. My conspiratorial side says this is by design, whilst my fatalistic side says it's human nature (essentially Hanlon's razor).

Revolutionary change is often a case of "it" getting (a lot) worse before it gets better, but with the inevitability of returning to the previous status quo just with different bums on the same seats. (I've previously stated my desire to write a novel based on this concept in order to try and explore the inevitability, or otherwise, of this 'revolution for nothing' and the changing priorities of individuals as their levels of power increase from zero to monarch and how that may just be a limitation of civilisation).

Re: WhatsApp has removed answer to “how do I choose not to share data with FB”

#46

Post by themitigating »

snakeboy wrote: post #37
kingcharles wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ajit also undid the new tariffs that were about to be implemented for jails and prisons to avoid some inmates paying $50 for a 15 minute call to their family. Fuck Ajit.

I'm all for hating on Ajit, but from a cursory look at the prison case, the FCC just never really had the jurisdiction to regulate intrastate calls and repeatedly lost in court on that question. There was already a 50 cent cap on interstate calls under Pai, and this year under Rosenworcel it's been lowered to 14-21 cents[1]. Am I missing something? [0] https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/07/ajit-pai-urges-s... […

That he still probably did it to benefit one or more companies.

Re: WhatsApp has removed answer to “how do I choose not to share data with FB”

#47

Post by invalidname »

littlestymaar wrote: post #14
1cvmask wrote: post #2

Old habits and mindsets never seem to change despite corporate pronouncements and PR puff pieces written by stenographers. The regulators (and legislators) are either the biggest dupes, or much more likely in on it. Let’s not forget the FTC hookup for Netflix by Obama and the eventual payout when he left office. Or Ajit Pai who came from Verizon to run the FTC and undid the Obama era changes favorable to Netflix and…

Earlier this year, when the change was announced and the media talked about it, I saw a ton of people starting to use signal (non-tech neighbours, my plumber, headhunters I still have in my contact list, etc). At this point I asked my mother to install it and to my surprise a lot of her friends where actually on Signal. It's still not the majority but at this point there is a significant user base for signal, much mo…

Yes. But the whatsapp groups are impossible to move. I created the same group on signal. Nothing, two people move. Even in my office, a technocratic environment for sure... People won't move. We need a stronger motivator to move them or we need to make moving "seamless".

Re: WhatsApp has removed answer to “how do I choose not to share data with FB”

#48

Post by 0xy »

Bran_son wrote: post #18

According to archive.org, it was removed sometime between Apr 20th and May 5th, 2018. Last snapshot: https://web.archive.org/web/20180420190834/https://faq.whats... Even when the option was there, it was hidden behind the 'read terms and conditions' link. If you missed that, there was an opt-out in Settings > Account > Share my account info. But the site implies that option is only available for the first 30 days. An…

Even then, they're likely lying. Facebook collected phone numbers ostensibly for 2FA security purposes only, then immediately used them for ad purposes.

Those terms are written by engineers with good intentions, but you have to remember your data is subject to the whims of unscrupulous PMs with targets to hit ;)

Re: WhatsApp has removed answer to “how do I choose not to share data with FB”

#50

Post by AnonHP »

This is old news. When this change happened, there was a lot of outrage and anecdotally many people started using Telegram and Signal. But my guess is that at least some of the people who switched went right back because of network effects and because FB and WhatsApp started putting up advertisements about how this is only about the “WhatsApp business” platform and that it doesn’t impact users’ personal chats.

It seemed like a lot of people weren’t aware that this had already been happening, before the announcement to make the opt out unavailable.

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