WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebook or stop using app • Hacker News Board

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

#61

Post by bilal4hmed » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 10:41 PM UTC

throwbacktictac wrote: post #59

bilal4hmed wrote: post #11

WhatsApp has such a strong network effect, that a wholesale move off is very difficult. I asked my immediate family to move to Signal and they agreed. Then came the question - can we talk to people on whatsapp using signal because friends, aunts, uncles, cousins who live international all live on whatsapp. Moving your network, their network and their networks network becomes quite the task.

Naively it seems like the problem that will make progress at both ends with the right spark. As I image it, soon enough someone else will have already convinced part of your network to make the move. People, in general, don't have a qualm about installing another app when it's recommended by someone they trust.

Hopefully, it is however a slow process. In India, whatsapp is so dominant, I cant imagine what it would take for them to move to anything else

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

#62

Post by utf_8x » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 10:41 PM UTC

Once again - Signal[0] as an alternative. It's fully Open-Source (including the backend) and their crypto is public and independently verified[1][2][3]...

[0] https://signal.org/en/

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_(software)#Encryption_p...

[2] https://threatpost.com/signal-audit-reveals-protocol-cryptog...

[3] https://eprint.iacr.org/2016/1013.pdf [PDF]

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

#63

Post by nowzarifarhad » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 10:41 PM UTC

That's a dumb move from facebook unless they are planning to buy every other chat applications and ask their users to share their data with Facebook. I'm amazed that they are asking for it and not doing it already.

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

#64

Post by ObsoleteNerd » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 10:43 PM UTC

dijit wrote: post #46

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 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 vote for Telegram here. I tried to get at least the core group of family/friends on Signal or Wire and to their credit they tried but it never stuck. They loved Telegram so much that we now have the entire extended family/friends on it.

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

#65

Post by utf_8x » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 10:44 PM UTC

DiederikvandenB wrote: post #36

Does this also apply to European customers, given GDPR?

European user here - I got the notification today so... I guess it does?

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

#66

Post by netizen-9748 » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 10:45 PM UTC

stainforth wrote: post #45

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?

Network effects as a emergent principle has been discovered to violate the promises of capitalist economics. We have a right to come together and set the limits and terms by which a few can extract from the many.

Why must there be extraction at all? Even trade seems like it would be better for the majority of parties involved, including having the effect of not having a bunch of pissed off people down the line.

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

#67

Post by ObsoleteNerd » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 10:46 PM UTC

foofoo4u wrote: post #54

I'd like to move my family off of WhatsApp due to these concerns. I've used Signal before, but I am not a big fan of it. I often have to re-register my devices to sign in, syncing takes a long time, and conversations do not persist across devices. I am perfectly happy using a paid service. Does anyone here think Discord or Slack would be a suitable replacement?

Try Telegram. It’s as easy to use as WhatsApp for non-tech family and friends, yet has all the features you want out of an IM without too much of the bloat. It has native apps on all major platforms, and for the techies it has a solid API so you can do fun stuff like write your own bots.

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

#68

Post by sneak » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 10:46 PM UTC

Wasn't that Facebook's main promise when they purchased WhatsApp?

Forget whether or not they can, legally; if I recall correctly they explicitly promised not to.

People who work for those without integrity are baffling to me.

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

#69

Post by frereubu » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 10:47 PM UTC

dijit wrote: post #46

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 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…

Interesting that you had such a different result with Telegram. I'd prefer to use Signal for privacy reasons, but like you I burnt a lot of social capital trying to get my extended family to use it!

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

#70

Post by gsich » Wed, Jan 06, 2021, 10:47 PM UTC

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?

Probably depends on you. Do people want stuff from you? If yes chances are good.

Don't expect people to uninstall Whatsapp. Having multiple messengers is fine.