Live data from Hacker News

E2E encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May

help.instagram.com

61–70 of 220 posts

Re: E2E encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May

#61
post #50

There's a general trend right now against privacy and in a more general sense against freedom. More and more companies are on board with it. I'm not sure if anyone in HN has any useful advice in this regard. I feel like I don't know what to do about the internet for the next 5-10 years. Does this particular measure matter very much? No, but it's another brick in the wall.

As a California resident I request to download my personal data from every service I can, and I’m constantly surprised. We each have scores for all kinds of things. The local power company keeps a “Green Ideology” score on me.

How is that even legal?

Re: E2E encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May

#62

There's a general trend right now against privacy and in a more general sense against freedom. More and more companies are on board with it. I'm not sure if anyone in HN has any useful advice in this regard. I feel like I don't know what to do about the internet for the next 5-10 years. Does this particular measure matter very much? No, but it's another brick in the wall.

If you’re a good boy then you have nothing to hide right? Not even your passwords…

Re: E2E encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May

#63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i don't understand this doomer mentality regarding the internet. internet is a service that you choose what to engage and how. don't like a platform? find another, build it or stop using it altogether. personally, i find these things really great has it helps nudge people into the more decentralized web. a few years ago those who were pushing for privacy respecting apps and platforms were deemed too paranoid.

Network effects will keep a person on a platform until a critical mass of their social circle decide to leave all at once. I'm no expert, but I suspect that that critical mass is pretty high, maybe more than 50% of a person's circle. So it's not exactly vanilla free-market competition. Entrenched players have a pretty big advantage.

what does your social circle being on Instagram bring to you? seriously, this picture-sharing app has evolved into this content spread machine that brings very little value.

Re: E2E encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May

#64
post #37

Never rely on a platform used by the masses to perform E2EE. It is far too easy to strip away E2EE for targeted users without their knowledge as they maintain the server and client code. This advise is to protect from corporations gobbling up and ultimately leaking sensitive data. Spooks can target the device itself via debug access for nation state level threats. Consider instead using a code word or phrase to move…

People catch the spooks and their exploits all the time though.

It is possible to defend against them. Maybe not on your phone though.

Re: E2E encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May

#65
Socials are caught in the innovator's dilemma.

Given the dependence our society now has on the internet, it's bonkers to me that more VCs aren't rethinking their investment strategy. Privacy is not some niche concern anymore, check out the response to Flock for example.

Re: E2E encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May

#66
post #37

Never rely on a platform used by the masses to perform E2EE. It is far too easy to strip away E2EE for targeted users without their knowledge as they maintain the server and client code. This advise is to protect from corporations gobbling up and ultimately leaking sensitive data. Spooks can target the device itself via debug access for nation state level threats. Consider instead using a code word or phrase to move…

People catch the spooks and their exploits all the time though. It is possible to defend against them. Maybe not on your phone though.

Agreed. I just mentioned that for the spooks who don't like I am suggesting moving sensitive conversations elsewhere using basic opsec. I assume the farm recruits on HN are probably just as concerned about AI taking their jobs. Surely someone has bought AI a coffee unprompted by now, maybe even flirted with the AI.

Re: E2E encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May

#67
post #50

There's a general trend right now against privacy and in a more general sense against freedom. More and more companies are on board with it. I'm not sure if anyone in HN has any useful advice in this regard. I feel like I don't know what to do about the internet for the next 5-10 years. Does this particular measure matter very much? No, but it's another brick in the wall.

As a California resident I request to download my personal data from every service I can, and I’m constantly surprised. We each have scores for all kinds of things. The local power company keeps a “Green Ideology” score on me.

It makes me curious what other scores (I would call them labels) there are.

Re: E2E encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May

#68

There's a general trend right now against privacy and in a more general sense against freedom. More and more companies are on board with it. I'm not sure if anyone in HN has any useful advice in this regard. I feel like I don't know what to do about the internet for the next 5-10 years. Does this particular measure matter very much? No, but it's another brick in the wall.

unfortunately, since the messaging/trend isnt "we are against privacy" (it is "we are protecting children, which reluctantly means we all have to sacrifice a wee bit of privacy"), it is really hard to fight back without being labelled as someone who is against protecting children.

but the advice is basically the same as it always has been:

- talk to your friends and family about it. do it with passion, but without hyperbole or conspiracy or aggression. any person you can convince to care is a win. organize with like-minded people.

- talk to your representatives in government. vote for representatives that are pro-privacy (when possible). convince your like-minded friends and family to do the same.

- to the greatest extent possible, dont purchase/use products/services which are facilitating the trend. (but, you also need to be realistic or you will burn out! and that is a bigger loss overall).

- if you are a decision-maker at work, or have any sort of input, leverage it as best as you can to make pro-privacy business decisions. however, similar to the above point, recognize that you still need to be realistic and dont get yourself fired arguing some decision. it is better to make 1,000 nudges in the right direction than it is to be fired/burn out trying to make 1 big nudge.

- support organizations that align with your beliefs. this can be monetarily, or by volunteering, or by spreading awareness of the organization itself. for example, many people have never heard of the electronic frontier foundation and have no idea what they do. lots of people dont know of the ACLU either (or, maybe they have heard the name, but dont know what they do or why it matters).

Re: E2E encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May

#69
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep hearing this one. But at least for EU, the eCall system requires external communication to be disabled until activated during serious accident. It cannot be used for tracking the vehicle in real-time. Some parts of the legislation ( https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32... ): > 2. The personal data processed pursuant to this Regulation shall only be used for the purpose of handling the e…

This is such misdirection. Your car if new enough, IS reporting its diagnostics including GPS via cell. All the time. This isn’t exactly personally identifiable so they get away with it just fine. This is unrelated to the microphones and assistance systems.

It becomes personally identifiable through correlations with other datasets.

That is the kind of thing people allow when they click accept or decline on those pesky ”we and our 195735 partners would like to…” dialogs.

Re: E2E encrypted messaging on Instagram will no longer be supported after 8 May

#70
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is such misdirection. Your car if new enough, IS reporting its diagnostics including GPS via cell. All the time. This isn’t exactly personally identifiable so they get away with it just fine. This is unrelated to the microphones and assistance systems.

Which is exactly my point. Cars are reporting on you, but tying that to remote assistance is disingenuous.

[deleted]
Post reply on HN