Preferred Messaging Service?

[Saracen999]

So, Facebook appear to have shot themselves in the foot with how they handled (*) their recent changes to privacy for WhatsApp. And Signal and Telegram can't stop grinning about their increase in download count and userbase.

Which got me to thinking? Is this just another example of just how fast the 'trendy' internet tool, app or fad can become faded and jaded and users move on? Or are the privacy concerns over the Facebook announcenment mmisinterpreted and overblown?

I mean, my concerns over privacy are no secret and while, yes, I use WA, I have to say that FB's ownership of it nearly caused me to decline even trying it. And that privacy update just magnified that.

But, a closer look at what's really happening makes it seem as if, for me, nothing will change. Nonetheless, the badly mishandled announcement, and the high-handed tone of it has already done the damage. Their arrogant tone, the ultimatum, accept our new privacy stuff and Facebook, or close your account resulted in "Okay, close account it is". My family members have all already installed Signal and switched. The last few friends and contacts are almost all in the process. WA is coming off my devices by WAs 8th Feb ultimatum deadline.

Part of me says "Over-reaction" but the other part is relieved at de-FBing my life again.

So, messaging apps .... your preferences? This FB privacy debacle a storm in a teacup, or a concerning "writing on the wall" of the direction of travel?

What is certain is that Covid has massively, hugely boosted the presence of these 'net tools in our lives. Hell, even my 86-year-old mum-in-law got to use WA as an anti-Covid measure. They are, for better or worse, a central feature of just about everybody's lives.

But ... better or worse? Boon, or deal with the devil, I mean, Facebook? Or was I right the first time?




(*) I'm not convinced what they're actually doing is too bad, but the cack-handed way they did it was incredibly, stupidly clumsy.

[Terbinator]

Or are the privacy concerns over the Facebook announcenment mmisinterpreted and overblown?

This will ultimately depend on your friend/colleague pool more than anything, I'd have thought. And more generally, people don't seem to be concerned with their privacy + data.

Whilst I don't use Facebook at all (I do have an account), I do use IG semi-regularly (haven't posted a picture in nearly a year) and WhatsApp has been part of my daily life for nearly 10 years - long enough ago that I paid to use it!

None of my friends are in tech so haven't piped up about it, and the few colleagues I have in tech-related jobs know about it but won't be moving anyway.

Signal et al would need to offer something useful beyond privacy concerns (general consensus seems to be I'll only be moving my data from one place to another, and half of my posting is memes) for people to jump in much the same way WhatsApp did over FB Messenger, BB and MSN and whatever else came before.

[[GSV]Trig]

This is a rehash of the privacy vs convenience thing again..

Personally, I don't care, I use WA still..

[Jonj1611]

I uninstalled whatsapp due to privacy etc then installed Signal, now I get to talk to myself because no one else I know has it

[Ttaskmaster]

I have one friend who refuses to use WA, as he already has text messaging so why would he need another app that does the exact same... Oh, photos? Useful tutorial videos? Links? Yeah, you can just import them into your computer and email it, right? He doesn't view images on his large screen smartphone anyway... only the small screen iPhone that work gave him, and only because it's work.
Generally he'd rather you print the photo off and post him a copy, or record the YouTube thing onto VHS for him.

For the rest of humanity, WhatsApp has a lot of features that work well, which helped secure enough users to make it a default app. Most people love that you can just send a photo or video immediately, rather than faffing about with MMS and the costs involved.

Whatever replaces it needs to be as good, if not better, as that seems to be the greater concern over and above data/privacy.

[Zak33]

SMS still works on 2g...... with one bar,...

#justsaying

[Zak33]

joking aside though....

Once Elon Muscovitch told the world to use Signal.... not only Signal benefitted

"Musk's Twitter endorsement also incidentally led shares in the biotechnology company Signal Advance to soar, despite the fact that it is completely unrelated to Signal, which is not a publicly traded company. "

The world is in a rut of sillyness isn't it? I mean, if you're gonna invest in something, give it a quick read first, yeah?

Meanwhile I think WA are looking at reading the content of WA messges between customers and retailers..... rather than between me and my sister.

[Spud1]

This will ultimately depend on your friend/colleague pool more than anything, I'd have thought.

This is the defining factor for me. I don't have major concerns on data privacy other than common sense measures...that ship sailed a long time ago for me and i've made peace with how much Google/Samsung/Microsoft et al know about me. It no longer worries me.

I have a bigger issue with functionality & accessibility - what features does the messaging tool have, who can I talk to on it, how does it work as i move around devices etc.....so as a result, my friends and I all migrated away from WhatsApp to telegram well over a year ago.

Whats app is far too limiting - stuck to one device, the "on the web" PC app is just awful and still relies on your phone...and for a long time it had limited features and still lags behind it's competition. The multi device compatibility is the big one for me - I can use telegram on my PC, then swap to my phone, back to tablet etc with no issues. That is not currently possible with WhatsApp.

I still have to use WhatsApp for some of my family where it would be hard to get them to switch over.....but for most situations, I try and avoid it.

[Saracen999]

Addressing some of the above points :-

As I understand it, Signal offers more or less identical features and is pretty similar in how you use it. If you understand WA, you understand Signal.

Both are also supposed to offer end-to-end encryption of message content, so both still offer privacy in that regard. But Signal's whole ethos, and their tax-exempt status as non-profit-making, is a very different focus than FB/WA.

The power and domination of the likes of FB, Google, and Amazon is now really starting to gain focus from legislators. .... not least as a result of allegations of election interference, etc, and the way Trump used direct communication. Even on Radio 4 this morning the question was asked about whether social media operations like FB are "a threat to democracy", because of the degree and scale of their influence. An example was that having banned Trump, however much we might approve, it sets a dangerous precedent that they can restrict the ability of any elected politician to access that mass communication media, when colleagues or opponents still can.

[spacein_vader]

Addressing some of the above points :-

As I understand it, Signal offers more or less identical features and is pretty similar in how you use it. If you understand WA, you understand Signal.

Both are also supposed to offer end-to-end encryption of message content, so both still offer privacy in that regard. But Signal's whole ethos, and their tax-exempt status as non-profit-making, is a very different focus than FB/WA.

The power and domination of the likes of FB, Google, and Amazon is now really starting to gain focus from legislators. .... not least as a result of allegations of election interference, etc, and the way Trump used direct communication. Even on Radio 4 this morning the question was asked about whether social media operations like FB are "a threat to democracy", because of the degree and scale of their influence. An example was that having banned Trump, however much we might approve, it sets a dangerous precedent that they can restrict the ability of any elected politician to access that mass communication media, when colleagues or opponents still can.

For me my preference has been Signal but I have so much family who won't move due to sheer intertia (and in some cases technophobia.)

The AWS dropping Parler thing is interesting. Most US attention to date has been on Section 230, but removing it would have no affect on AWS as I understand it.

[jimbouk]

Yeah, yet to broach this with the few circles I have on WhatsApp - but I can see myself being out of the loop as some (including informal work group which is handy sometimes when locked out...). I don't know if I delete my account, recreate it without giving it access to any information on my phone (e.g. contacts) exactly what it will take from me?

Tricky. Might try and float signal and see where it goes...

[AGTDenton]

The problem is for me and likely others, you will have family & friends that don't know enough about what they're doing on a phone that to introduce a new app causes chaos & confusion for them. It's only recently that some of my family have adjusted to WA, to convince them to change again is just a waste of time.
You end up with 100s of chat apps unfortunately.

It's worth noting that Signal employs one of the original founders of WA. So you will see similarities.
When Signal started it didn't automatically use the phonebook to add all your friends, a feature I hate. I dont like it when people can immediately see you on an app because of your phone number. So I preferred the old Signal.

[Ttaskmaster]

Isn't Signal ultimately owned by Twitter, anyway?
I know it has an element of Google Play, so I'm guessing your data finds its way to the 'tech giants' regardless of which app you use.

The issue is in those who do not fully understand those apps they are already using, so a general switch will take the population far longer than you might hope... during which time more stuff will happen and more apps will rise to the fore.

[Saracen999]

I probably have it easier than most, because my WA circle is pretty small. Mainly, two close family members, both of whom are tech-aware, and have switched. The rest is a few friends, again technically savvy. They're certainly capable of switching. How easy it will be for them to convince their contacts, I don't know.

But, I'm stopping using WA before the deadline regardless. If they switch to Signal, Great. If they use it as well as WA, okay. If they don't, then it's back to phone, because WA is coming off my phone before the deadline either way.

[pp05]

I've had signal on my phone for months but without much use, it was only this week that I got a few messages on it from close family. Something is clearly happening...

[ik9000]

I've not used wa ever. Downloaded the app, read terms. Refused to accept our create an account. What bs are they trying now? I thought the previous terms were bad enough