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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”

#91

Post by hiq »

johnisgood wrote: post #75
barbazoo wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Good luck onboarding one's grandma to any of those.

> Good luck onboarding one's grandma to any of those. Huh? Just do it. Install it, then help her if you have to, similarly to how you introduced WhatsApp (or whatever else) to her, for example. They may not like change, but if they are capable of using another piece of IM software, they are capable of using any of the mentioned ones. I installed Linux for many people who have never seen Linux their entire life. On so…

> Just do it. Install it, then help her if you have to, similarly to how you introduced WhatsApp

I think the point is that you don't need to help her for apps like WhatsApp, they manage to figure it out because it's simple enough.

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

#92

Post by ciex »

maltalex wrote: post #88

This thread is full of people suggesting to just switch everyone, including grandma, to Signal/Matrix/Telegram/XMPP . This is naive. First of all, I'm a big fan of Signal and Matrix, but it is hard to overstate how much more polished WhatsApp is in comparison. There's just a lot more friction for grandma. There are also considerably fewer resources behind the alternatives, so things like this [0] happen (tl;dr - it t…

Reading this as an argument that more resources means bugs are fixed quicker I have to disagree, [there's][0] [many][1] [examples][2] of big bucks software productions with notable long-lived bugs in production.

[0]: https://www.socmedsean.com/solved-how-do-i-clear-the-faceboo...

[1]: https://www.techradar.com/news/ios-15-beta-still-hasnt-fixed...

[2]: https://www.reddit.com/r/beta/search?q=video+player&restrict...

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

#93

Post by johnisgood »

hiq wrote: post #91
johnisgood wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Good luck onboarding one's grandma to any of those. Huh? Just do it. Install it, then help her if you have to, similarly to how you introduced WhatsApp (or whatever else) to her, for example. They may not like change, but if they are capable of using another piece of IM software, they are capable of using any of the mentioned ones. I installed Linux for many people who have never seen Linux their entire life. On so…

> Just do it. Install it, then help her if you have to, similarly to how you introduced WhatsApp I think the point is that you don't need to help her for apps like WhatsApp, they manage to figure it out because it's simple enough.

Element, Briar, and Wire are very simple, too. You can use the same method you did with WhatsApp, even if it was just as simple as "Download X from the Play Store, sign up, login, and tell me what username you picked".

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

#94

Post by 2Gkashmiri »

labster wrote: post #56
xdavidliu wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

so does Meta.

Every post you make Every pic you fake Every mouse you shake Every proof of stake I’ll be watching you

the government has a secret system that spies on you ever hour of every day

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

#95

Post by yosito »

johnisgood wrote: post #78
yosito wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Signal, Telegram and WhatsApp, "just work", and it's zero effort to download, sign up, find contacts and start chatting. Matrix/Element is "good enough", but there's a lot of friction for each of those steps. Even I, as a technical person, get frustrated that there's some problem with my Matrix server every few weeks that I have to spend my time troubleshooting, sometimes missing timely messages because of it, or at…

> there's some problem with my Matrix server Yeah, but grandparents (or whoever you are trying to introduce to Matrix) are not supposed to set up and run a Matrix server. If you meant that as an end-user you are having issues with the server you are on, perhaps you should use a different one. I have been using Element for quite a while now with matrix.org as my server, and I did not have any problems with the server…

It's not that I don't know how to solve the problems I face, it's that using Matrix requires more problem solving and has more friction, and that's one big reason why it's not the most popular choice.

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

#96

Post by denton-scratch »

rakoo wrote: post #89
PennRobotics wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I chuckled when our daycare had a lengthy discussion about data privacy and, twenty minutes later, asked every parent to join the WA group.

I joined a few orgs fighting for a systemic change, understanding the decisions process and be a part of it, more collective life in support of all the discriminated people and a more ecological way of life. Left-leaning stuff. All the public communication happens on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Private comms are on whatever those platforms have, or Telegram and Discord. Only a minority have Signal and most don't…

Indymedia had a collection of global mailing lists, run using private mailservers with no logs, and a private (encrypted) IRC server (with a web interface, and also with no logs). Nearly everyone in Indymedia operated under a pseudonym. But over the course of the noughties, most activists moved over to Faceache.

I never understood why activists would adopt pseudonyms, but refuse to use the (relatively) secure communication channels we provided, in favour of Twat and Faceache. Being involved with Indymedia was risky - it was infiltrated by undercover cops, and some of the people posting to the newswire were probably involved in criminal acts (e.g. criminal damage).

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

#97

Post by johnisgood »

yosito wrote: post #95
johnisgood wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> there's some problem with my Matrix server Yeah, but grandparents (or whoever you are trying to introduce to Matrix) are not supposed to set up and run a Matrix server. If you meant that as an end-user you are having issues with the server you are on, perhaps you should use a different one. I have been using Element for quite a while now with matrix.org as my server, and I did not have any problems with the server…

It's not that I don't know how to solve the problems I face, it's that using Matrix requires more problem solving and has more friction, and that's one big reason why it's not the most popular choice.

Like I said: not necessarily. I did not have any issues with it for a very long time. I did no problem solving. It is achievable in most cases. Stick to well-known clients and servers.

Again, there may be bugs. They will get fixed. It happens all the time with any software. Element is maturing. It is really easy to just download and use without any problems.

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

#98

Post by p49k »

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 specifically and carefully made sure I opted out of this sharing in 2016, and when I requested my data years later, I was marked as "opted in". I don't trust that Facebook honestly honored or correctly tracked this option for anyone.

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

#99

Post by the_gipsy »

mPReDiToR wrote: post #82
duskwuff wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

I never accepted the ToS and still get the popup ~20% of the times I open the client. Everything is still working. I just hit "<" when it pops up.

Since 2016? I think you’re talking about the “business” popup which is much more recent.

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

#100

Post by denton-scratch »

maltalex wrote: post #88

This thread is full of people suggesting to just switch everyone, including grandma, to Signal/Matrix/Telegram/XMPP . This is naive. First of all, I'm a big fan of Signal and Matrix, but it is hard to overstate how much more polished WhatsApp is in comparison. There's just a lot more friction for grandma. There are also considerably fewer resources behind the alternatives, so things like this [0] happen (tl;dr - it t…

> Not being on WhatsApp isn't an option.

It's an option for me!

When they were launching, and for most of their first couple of years, Whatsapp spammed the bejaysus out of me. My mummy told me never to play with spammers.

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