It’s owned by meta, which is notoriously bad with your privacy.
Saved you a click.
This article didn’t really give any new reasons not to use WhatsApp. All the reasons stated in the article are already known. I thought this article was about a new breach or something, but it’s a rehash of info that’s been around a while. The article is also a few months old, dating back to April.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, people will use whatever app they’re most comfortable with and whatever app their friends use, regardless of security (“I got nothing to hide!”) or features (“I don’t care about x or y!”). Then you end up like me, using several different apps. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as I like using different apps and seeing how features differ from app to app, like how an app shows link previews, or if it can display a meme by pasting the link in the text box vs having to download the image and attach it in-line. But it’s hard to get people to switch when a lot of people don’t care.
Then you end up like me, using several different apps. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as I like using different apps and seeing how features differ from app to app, like how an app shows link previews, or if it can display a meme by pasting the link in the text box vs having to download the image and attach it in-line.
I want to thank you for this comment. You made me think of something that felt like my mind was expanding a bit. You’re mentioning a kind of personal decentralized attitude towards what apps we use.
Why stuck to just one? Why put all eggs in one basket? Yeah, I know it’s more comfortable. But being comfortable does not make it safe, failure-proof. With this I’m not trying to point out some faux-pas on your thinking. Rather the reverse. You’re hinting at something that bears a lot of meaning.
Instead of me being frustrated because other people won’t change their platforms, I can see that as an opportunity to decentralize my own practices. I can embrace other people’s immobility as both an example of what I should avoid and of being forced to keep a lot of channels open. While they’re stuck into the centralization trap, I’m federating between different instances.
Again, thank you for your comment. It was really eye opening.
The problem is everybody is using it and its impossible to move to signal etc
Dang, I’m feeling pretty lucky that no one in my life uses WhatsApp. Sounds like that’s not the norm.
In europe literally everybody uses whatsapp you wont be able to do anything without it (docotrs, food delivery, literally every person like friends and familly, corona test results, company customer support, the list goes on)
It’s not nearly as common in the US as it seems to be in many places in Europe.
EVERYONE in my backwater country of residence uses WhatsApp and they can’t be bothered to use anything else.
When I say I don’t have that service then they are stumped and can’t think of a way to message me. Fucking morons.
Adults in Austria… Sigh.
Not only everybody, but companies, banks and goverment instances are using it too. Some apps that sends their OTP via WhatsApp. Some companies and instances only reachable.via whatsapp bot and whatnot.
Thats smth that i forgot, corona test results per whatsapp and a lot of companies also just have a whatsapp kontskt on their “kontakt us” page
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I mean yeah, but i would have no contacts to anyone, here in germany we literally use nothing else, contact to teachers for assignments is lost, couldnt text with my family, would have no contact to my friends etc
But what if you messaged them via SMS, would they refuse to reply back?
Idky most people dont eaven have that on their contract i think
When I send sms to these folks, they don’t even notice that they got a message. “Oh, you sent sms? I don’t use that.”
When I send sms to these folks, they don’t even notice that they got a message. “Oh, you sent sms? I don’t use that.”
in my immediate family (brother and parents) we use signal, but everyone else in my life still uses whatsapp. sadly the zucc has a monopolyomn messaging in europe.
For some “everyone” not talking to you is a perk.
The people I most care for use Discord. I worry I will lose constant with most of them if I stop using that too but I’ve never tried to get other to use something else.
As someone from Latin America. FUCK!
It’s literally what everyone uses for business, family/friends groups. Don’t know if any country around here is an exception, but we started using it because greedy telecoms were charging so much money for SMS at the time. So, it was a great way to circumvent that.
Then Facebook bought it when it was already established, so it’s improbable that people will move away from it.
The article isn’t very, uh, articulate in its reasoning. Nothing here is an actual real life problem it’s all just what-ifs, and 2 billion people aren’t going to quit using it
A teen in Nebraska was sentenced to 3 months in jail because Facebook turned over her “private” messages but sure, no real life problems with trusting meta with your “encrypted” messages.
I do not disagree with your basic premise and I completely disagree with the Nebraska prosecution but I think people need to understand that everything we do online it’s monitored.
If they can’t get the actual message data, they will use meta data (e.g. two parties sending and receiving data packets that match in size and time of occurrence and protocol and are known to each other) or whatever.
If you are doing something you are worried about other people knowing about, do not use any digital form of communication. Full stop. There is no privacy online.
You’re absolutely right, there’s no privacy online. But there are significantly better alternatives that offer end to end encryption and sometimes digital communication is required.
Yes, I agree, for example credit card transaction processing or business communication with trade secrets in it. For most people doing things they want kept private but which is not illegal, basic encryption is great.
If I were going to plot the overthrow of a government, I’d try to as much as possible offline.
If you wanted something unforgivable Whatsapp is proprietary software and thus restricts your freedom. Using nonfree software is an abuse in of itself.
Time to move to Telegram/Signal
Its simple. Just make a discord server?
Not a lemmy user uncritically endorsing centralized, proprietary software. :( , be better than this please!
I hate to break it to you.
The day it was bought by Meta(Facebook) people should have moved away if you ask me.
Then again that’s easy for me to say as someone who doesn’t talk to anyone and so doesn’t need any messenger apps. However I hear Signal is good.I haven’t used it since it was purchased by Facebook.
I seem to remember that the former owner of Whatsapp recommended people NOT use it after he sold it to Zuck.
He financed Signal app after walking away from meta and an addition 3/4 of a billion or something like that. He publicly stated that they’re evil. When financing Signal App his one stipulation was don’t do that
It’s it not the case that Meta has escrow encryption keys for Whatsapp? This used to be a thing, right? It was never trustworthy because they could always decrypt your comms.
Meanwhile literally everyone uses it here. Choose between forfeiting your privacy or isolation. I’ve already left Instagram and that cut me out of a good portion of online interaction here. Leaving whatsapp would eliminate most forms of contact I have with people here. The only thing left is mobile calling, and SMS, which is basically forgotten by everyone. The shit that happens when one platform rules over all.
Embrace the void
Kidding. I hear you. I don’t have facebook/insta/WhatsApp but my partner does, and it’s painfully obvious how much we’d miss out on if she didn’t
Ungh, my family all uses it. So I’m kind of forced to use it only for one chat as were all far away. I seriously DON’T want it on my phone though.
Try to see if they are open to switching to Signal or Telegram. I got a couple people I know to switch to Signal and they have been using it since.
I’ve been onboarding people to Signal for years now. Yay Signal!!
Despite all of its privacy concerns, one can’t really get rid of it if everyone around is using it as the default communication mode, unless you’re a social outcast. The thing with communication apps is that they aren’t a personal choice.
It is possible without beeing a social outcast. Element, Signal, Telegram and Threema cover most of my contacts. If there really is someone with only Whatsapp, I write a SMS.
In my experience everyone has at least one alternative to Whatsapp.
Anymore? I’ve literally never used it. Refused to, even.
I used to not use it. I still don’t. But I used to not use it too.
And lose the ability to interact with all those people that won’t be convinced to switch to less of a software gore?
Yeah, definitely great idea, so rebel & stuff…
Weak sauce. If they value you, they’ll get in touch. If they don’t, they never cared in the first place so what does it matter?
This article was AI generated.
This comment was AI generated.
Huh, I didn’t realize WhatsApp was still around.
It’s pretty much ubiquitous in the UK. Say you don’t use it and you get a very funny look
It is the default mode of text communication here. My dad insists on using normal texts and that’s a bit weird…
I’m that dad, I’m afraid. The fact that the app demands full access to all contacts on your phone to work nicely is just evil. And people happily give meta the full contact details of their family, doctor, bank, boss etc. - without those people’s permission. The value in the harvested social graph is huge
Fair enough, but my Dad sends normal texts because he thinks WhatsApp is too complicated to use, or just because he forgets he has it, not for any security concerns… So you’re not quite the same!
