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WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using app

arstechnica.com

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Re: WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using app

#471

Post by contradictioned »

frereubu wrote: post #22

I'd love to give up WhatsApp, but network effects are key here. I tried moving my extended family off WhatsApp onto Signal a couple of years ago and it failed miserably because the app wasn't nearly as easy to use, and they had all their friends on Whatsapp. Has anyone here had any success moving a large group of people onto something like Signal or Telegram? If so, do you have any tips?

I managed to get a part of my family to Threema. Just the part of "you are paying for the product, thus you are not the product yourselves" was reasonable enough.

In my friends circle we are all on telegram (after trying wire which is just buggy as hell), but I think this is mainly due to its multi device story and then fact that it is not WhatsApp.

Re: WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using app

#472

Post by eecc »

Many comments are about how people would love to jump ship and switch to whatever other service.

Well, there’s an IM service already deployed to all mobile systems and it’s called SMS.

All that’s needed is some sanity in the pricing, some modernization of support for multimedia and cross-device sharing/archiving.

This whole industry exists for 1 sole reason: telco ineptitude

Re: WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using app

#474

Post by detaro »

bashwizard wrote: post #470
holler wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I've moved all my friends and family to Telegram and it's been great. I communicate with them daily since many months.

I hope you're fine with Telegram sharing your location data.

Not turning that on is pretty easy.

Re: WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using app

#475

Post by avh02 »

misiti3780 wrote: post #165
bigiain wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the opposite point of view, in the last hour I’ve been added to 3 different group chats on Signal that were all previously WhatsApp chats (in which I did not participate, in spite of many of those friends repeatedly asking me to). That’s added at least 20 or 30 friends/acquaintances into my signal contact list that I’m 99% sure downloaded signal for the first time this morning.

Why not just use SMS/iMessage groups ?

I've lived in several places and nobody really uses SMS unless it's for 1) someone you don't really know or 2) notifications of some sort...

My impression is the US/Canada are one of the only places where SMS is still frequently used for casual text communication and i'm horrified that Apple's iMessage is the one to somewhat challenge that.

Re: WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using app

#476

Post by graposaymaname »

eecc wrote: post #472

Many comments are about how people would love to jump ship and switch to whatever other service. Well, there’s an IM service already deployed to all mobile systems and it’s called SMS. All that’s needed is some sanity in the pricing, some modernization of support for multimedia and cross-device sharing/archiving. This whole industry exists for 1 sole reason: telco ineptitude

Well, is it encrypted?

Re: WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using app

#477

Post by godelski »

frereubu wrote: post #22

I'd love to give up WhatsApp, but network effects are key here. I tried moving my extended family off WhatsApp onto Signal a couple of years ago and it failed miserably because the app wasn't nearly as easy to use, and they had all their friends on Whatsapp. Has anyone here had any success moving a large group of people onto something like Signal or Telegram? If so, do you have any tips?

I've had success and you're right that it is about network effects. So you gotta take into account who you can convince first. But also consider that Signal hasn't been fully featured until about last month. So it isn't a good idea to just try to convert random non-techy people. For them you'd need to use current events that highlight how important privacy is (which there have been quite a few this year). But also focus on generating a critical mass. Now it isn't hard for me to convert people because we'll be planning things and 4/5 people have Signal so you just strong arm the fifth person and then they start using it more because they realize a fair amount of their friends are already there. It takes time though and let's be real about that Signal hasn't been fully featured. Until recently it has been more a geeky app.

So tldr target the people you want to convert to develop a critical mass.

Re: WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using app

#478

Post by avh02 »

aabbcc1241 wrote: post #440
dijit wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I contact the majority of my friends with telegram, the UX is similar enough and people get on board quite quickly- the difficult part is convincing someone to install /another/ messaging app- if they have network effects too then it's a hard sell. But once most people have both it gets easier. Signal (UX wise) is not really super great for my family, I burned a lot of my "technical expert advisor" capital and reputa…

Another bonus of telegram (as compared to WhatsApp) is you can access the messages even when your phone run out of battery.

This is the case in telegram by default when messages aren't E2E encrypted so they (I assume) sit on a server somewhere.

Re: WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using app

#479

Post by godelski »

mister_hn wrote: post #464
MattPalmer1086 wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've used Signal for years, and for most of that time only had about three people who also used it in my contacts. My wife recently got her entire extended family to use Signal. She has always refused to use WhatsApp. They all love Signal now, and use it all the time. However, this was during a family crisis. During the Covid lockdowns, many companies I know used Signal as their preferred non corporate communication…

but can you do video calls on Signal?

Yes, and in groups! This is a new feature though.

Re: WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using app

#480

Post by frereubu »

baxtr wrote: post #419
frereubu wrote: post #22

I'd love to give up WhatsApp, but network effects are key here. I tried moving my extended family off WhatsApp onto Signal a couple of years ago and it failed miserably because the app wasn't nearly as easy to use, and they had all their friends on Whatsapp. Has anyone here had any success moving a large group of people onto something like Signal or Telegram? If so, do you have any tips?

This is changing rapidly. Many people I know are moving Signal. Also, don’t delete WhatsApp right away. Do a “silent” move: whenever people send you a WhatsApp answer on iMessage if they’re Apple users and actively push the Android friends over to signal. Works well in my case.

I like the simple idea of replying on another service, thanks for that.
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