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WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

nytimes.com

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Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#341

Post by ensignavenger »

eddythompson80 wrote: post #308
Groxx wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why not just try it and if it's sucks throw it away, the same way you might with a new food item? That argument doesn't work on them for some reason. Even mediocre food is still functional, and usually still enjoyable. Quite a lot of paid software does not meet that bar. It's far more likely to both cost you money and waste a few hours (much longer than that food demanded, unless you got food poisoning). I generall…

> Even mediocre food is still functional, and usually still enjoyable. That's not even remotely close to being true. Plenty of people would order a $25 dish at a place and not like it. Not finishing the dish, or throwing a way a half eaten candy bar or bad-tasting-$6-cup of coffee is very normal. Plenty of (if most) food is meh or not enjoyable. It just serves a purpose and fills you and you move on.

I can't speak for others, but it is absolutely true for me. If I spend $1-3 on some item of food and it is so bad I can't or don't want to even eat it- it is pretty bad... and I am incredibly bummed out over it.

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#343

Post by dh2022 »

hiq wrote: post #167
scrivanodev wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would you replace YouTube with? To my its educational value is unmatched. I owe so much of my learning to it.

What did you learn thanks to it?

I did learn how to diagnose car problems and how to fix them. these were relatively minor tasks - replace the spark plugs and replace light bulbs. Also Subaru Forester has a problem if the battery gets disconnected too long-I found out about that and what to do about it on YouTube. I also learned how to cook some foods.

That being said, lately YT has way too many ads for my liking; thus I am using Reddit more and more for these things.

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#344

Post by eviks »

andrepd wrote: post #3

Would be nice if these kinds of articles would at least take a paragraph to plug some alternatives, such as Signal.

Where you can't even do message backups properly, and risk of losing messages is a much bigger issue for the average issue than ubiquitous ads becoming slightly more ubiquitous

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#345

Post by rhines »

bigstrat2003 wrote: post #335
filoleg wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t have the actual stats, but, sadly, it seems like a gigantic chunk of the “i would rather pay a small fee to use a service rather than paying for it with exposure to ads” crowd is mostly all-talk. And I am saying this as someone who genuinely believes in the “small fee instead of paying with ad exposure” approach. The one specific example of this that made me think so is the Youtube Premium situation. So many…

The problem with YT premium is that they simply do not have content worth paying for. Even the very best content (say, videos where people give music lessons) is not actually something I would pay for. I don't mind paying for a streaming service - I pay for Netflix and will for the foreseeable future. But that's because Netflix has stuff where I actively want to watch it and would miss it if it was gone; YT does not.

Depends on your perspective I guess, personally I find YT far more valuable than any streaming platform. University lectures from hundreds of professors, conference recordings, music videos, millions of independent creators covering nearly any niche you could think of - YouTube's service of hosting that and making it available is worth so much more to me than whatever shows Neflix currently has on rotation.

But since I have the option to not pay, I don't. If it was paywalled I'd be willing to pay probably 3-5x what a normal streaming service charges though.

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#346

Post by sneak »

perks_12 wrote: post #35

WhatsApp has S-tier status here in Germany. If I had access to a proper API I would pay them per message, without them needing to make their UX worse. If anything, if I had to pay per message, I'd be incentivized not to send too many messages, keeping the distractions for the user at a minimum.

I live in Germany and manage fine without it.

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#347

Post by stevage »

tiluha wrote: post #33
stevage wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't find there is much network effect for one on one messaging. I have to use a few different apps to talk to all my friends, it's not a big deal to switch to/from Signal or Whatsapp. With groups it's more effort.

This does not match my experience in Germany. If somebody gives you their phone number it is just expected that you can reach them on WhatsApp and i have yet to meet anyone that doesn't use WhatsApp.

Yeah, it's true that almost everyone has WhatsApp, but that doesn't by itself create a network effect. Do people refuse to use other platforms?

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#348

Post by eviks »

angry_octet wrote: post #13
jraby3 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WhatsApp has long promoted itself as a safe alternative to apps like Telegram and Google’s Android messaging. Users flocked to the app globally, finding it a cheap and secure alternative to texting, particularly people in unstable political climates and authoritarian countries, since its messages cannot be easily intercepted without access to personal devices.

This reply screams LLM. Not really responding to the parent comment, nauseatingly anodyne in content. Not wrong, but not right. Will HN be overwhelmed with LLM trash?

Your llm detector needs serious calibration

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#349

Post by sneak »

Tijdreiziger wrote: post #332
cherryteastain wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can instead install a FOSS fork of Signal like Molly [1] built by F-Droid directly from the source code [1] https://molly.im/

Isn’t that against Signal’s terms of service? Won’t they ban you?

It is neither against the signal software’s license, nor it is against the signal service’s terms of service.

This is a false meme spread because the Signal founder (who is no longer with the company) didn’t like people making forks without changing the API server URL and running their own servers.

Open source software doesn’t work like that, however.

Re: WhatsApp introduces ads in its app

#350

Post by sneak »

charles_f wrote: post #30

Whatsapp used to be paying (and pretty cheap) before it was bought out, and I was happy to pay for it. I'd much rather have that than starting to get ads. They're going to be hidden in a feature no-one uses, they're not going to use private data, but given Facebook's invasive behavior, how true is it and how long will it last?

Paying money to abusive companies isn’t how you get rid of corporate abuse.

Delete your WhatsApp and Instagram and Facebook. Delete the apps from your devices.

Every time you launch the app you vote willingly for more abuse and surveillance and censorship.

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