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Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by teekert on Monday January 25, 2021 @03:34AM (#25900839)
I have 3 (!) groups that haven't moved because of 1 person out of 5 or so that refuses and has a "I have nothing to hide, I don't mind targeted ads."-attitude (and tbh a majority of people that care just a little bit). The network effect is strong. It's annoying. I ask them to use another (almost exact copy of an) app, they ask me to share my address book (among others) with FaceBook (probably also among others).
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by jalk on Monday January 25, 2021 @03:52AM (#25900975)
That doesn't sound like the network effect, but rather granting a single person veto right over the privacy preference of the others. Just create the Signal group between the 4 of you and the network effect will ensure that democracy prevails
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by faichai on Monday January 25, 2021 @06:19AM (#25901958)
Taleb's thoughts on this kind of effect are quite interesting [1]. There's a kind "Tyranny of the Minority" where the group goes with the minority decision on something like this simply because the majority doesn't care _enough_.

[1] https://medium.com/incerto/the-most-intolerant-wins-the-dict...

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by jpdus on Monday January 25, 2021 @08:55AM (#25903099)
But that doesn't fit with this example, the minority here is definitely ppl who switch to signal or want to use Signal as their main communication app.

Talebs arguments are more fitting in instances in which the cost of providing a different solution for a minority is too high and the cost (for some central provider) of just complying with minority demands for everyone is lower. Doesn't apply here at all.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by faichai on Monday January 25, 2021 @09:24AM (#25903392)
I was referring to the friend who refused to leave WhatsApp not the broader global effect of migrating to Signal. For small group sizes the minority group’s preference will vary.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by teekert on Monday January 25, 2021 @03:56AM (#25900994)
Well I could do so, but as said the majority won't really see the benefits of pushing so hard. They're willing to switch but not willing to advocate.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by victords on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:10AM (#25901507)
So, in other words is not one person who is pushing to remain on Whatsapp, but instead only one person pushing to leave.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by black_puppydog on Monday January 25, 2021 @07:42AM (#25902481)
I read that as "only one person who is pushing to remain on Whatsapp, and only one person pushing to leave."
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by MrDresden on Monday January 25, 2021 @04:59AM (#25901438)
Long before this recent flurry around Whatsapp (and Facebook in general) I duplicated one of my primary Whatsapp groups on Signal after getting most there to at least created an account.

Slowly, by only replying in that group and sending my messages there, I was able to move more of them over and finally the other group died which lead to the last individuals to come over to Signal.

It takes time, but can be done.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by m000 on Monday January 25, 2021 @06:34AM (#25902036)
Whether it's doable depends on the time you can wait, and ultimately your objective.

Is it enough to stop using WhatsApp within one year?

Or should we be striving to migrate and delete our accounts before the policy change takes effect, to also prevent our historical WhatsApp data to be linked to our FB account?

I don't have a clear answer myself. Anyone more informed, please elaborate.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by piyush_soni on Monday January 25, 2021 @06:20AM (#25901959)
I have seen the same problem. I got 6 to 7 of my groups migrated (completely or partially), but some outspoken people who don't care (and arguably don't know better) prevent the 'upgrade' for everyone.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by reader_mode on Monday January 25, 2021 @04:34AM (#25901253)
Signal is privacy focused at the cost of functionality and IMO the UI looks like programmer art - you might like the tradeoffs but I suspect most people won't.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by monopoledance on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:25AM (#25901624)
As a long term Signal user, I also came to really hate it for all the bugs and flaws it has. All the encryption warnings become meaningless at some point, because someone is always having issues and refreshes the session or something like that. Does that mean we're getting MITM'ed?

You can't delete Signal contacts, like, ever. My signal address book and synchronized chats are flooded with plain numbers, or self-titled user names (which also invites for identity fraud...), because I deleted those contacts in my phone (which ofc I need to do, because it's used for privacy settings in other apps...). That's a problem for many years now, the github issues get closed by maintenance bots.

I am a somewhat tech-savvy person, but even for me the user experience leaves me annoyed and uncertain about some basic functionality you expect from messaging apps these days. I stopped recommending it to people some time ago. Don't want to blow my chances to migrate people to something fundamentally better.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by cpach on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:34AM (#25901691)
Just out of curiosity, do you use iOS or Android?
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by monopoledance on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:44AM (#25901756)
Android primary, iPad and desktop clients linked.

Comically, every platform has different issues with "deleted" meta-info popping up again. Like "deleted" groups, "deleted" contacts, "deleted" chats... meta links I can't get rid off whatever I do. The worst is legacy groups I left, "deleted", can't even use or join anymore, but also can't get rid of. They reappear every time I refresh the iPad app. Mind you, the group members are still visible, so I am really happy whistle-blowing, terrorism or crime isn't my profession.

This made me really distrusting of Signal, when years old meta data popped up again. Like, have they lost some pointers or something? Can I even expect the data to be gone, when I delete my account for good? Doesn't feel like privacy at all...

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by benhurmarcel on Monday January 25, 2021 @04:36AM (#25901268)
> the UI looks like programmer art

The UI looks like iMessage. So it doesn't seem it should be any issue there.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by brainerazer on Monday January 25, 2021 @04:57AM (#25901428)
iMessage has shitty UI though. Always strange being reminded it is used extensively in US, but then I remember people in US still send non-robot-made SMS (even robot-made are shifting here to messaging platforms though)
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by georgyo on Monday January 25, 2021 @07:13AM (#25902275)
I don't really understand... Does WhatsApp have a better UI? Why?

To me signal is the best UI, and WhatsApp looks like a child designed it. Especially with the horrid default colors and backgrounds.

But I don't really see a difference in UIs in most chat programs. There are only two types of UIs. Point-to-point (signal, WhatsApp, imessage, etc) and room based (irc, matrix, slack).

Their all so similar, I don't understand what is better or worse in Signal compared to WhatsApp.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by reader_mode on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:18AM (#25901571)
How many people would use iMessage if it wasn't bundled with the phone ?
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by pmiller2 on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:35AM (#25901699)
What's wrong with iMessage?
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by reader_mode on Monday January 25, 2021 @07:00AM (#25902195)
Nothing, but there's nothing really compelling about it either. Don't get me wrong - the unassuming system design works great for OS app - but you wouldn't attract many users to it with the feature set it has
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by pmiller2 on Tuesday January 26, 2021 @01:46AM (#25913243)
I don't really find that a very compelling criticism, to be honest. When I think about what kind of features I'd want in my messaging app, there are really only two things I can think of that iMessage doesn't have: encryption, and the ability to easily leave a group text. Add those two things in, and I'm there for life.

On the other hand, both of these things are essentially limitations imposed by SMS, at least when one end of the conversation is not an iPhone. Both can be fixed, at a small cost in complexity, and if they did that, I think it would hit a good balance between features, usability, and architectural complexity.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by reader_mode on Sunday January 31, 2021 @12:56AM (#25976451)
But you're a fraction of a percent of users who care about this. I guarantee you 10x more people are interested in having animated stickers.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by cassianoleal on Monday January 25, 2021 @04:39AM (#25901293)
Funny, most of my contacts that have migrated seem to be of the opposite opinion.

UI in general feels pretty much the same, but things like actual desktop apps with decent UX make a massive difference.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by dunefox on Monday January 25, 2021 @04:54AM (#25901406)
At least 90% in my WhatsApp don't even know what a desktop client for a messenger is...
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by Angostura on Monday January 25, 2021 @04:04AM (#25901062)
One way I have got doubters to move a bit is to simply say "You don't have to use it, just install it on your phone and enable it - that way you aren't forcing people to use Facebook who don't want to".

I got quite a few people to put it on their phone using that line.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by bipson on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:58AM (#25901825)
Look at it this way:

I never used WhatsApp. Friends and even businesses I dealt with always asked me if I had it, and why I didn't, and I was apologetic, but firm. Of course I was left out of oh-so-many groups and discussions in the past years, but I was never going to install or use that, I don't trust Facebook regarding privacy the tiniest bit and I think they always lied regarding which data they use and how.

Now I suddenly have so many people appearing on Signal, my wife was asked by their friends: "Hey, you weren't on WhatsApp, but I am now on Signal, so would you consider talking there?".

I admit, I did not push anyone anywhere, not even my wife. I'm past being an "influencer" and having to deal with "... but you told me to use this?!" - particularly my wife.

But just referring to the "network effect" and continue doing something you are uncomfortable with is being complicit IMO. You can control what you do, and do the right thing.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by sschueller on Monday January 25, 2021 @04:16AM (#25901143)
If I hear "I have nothing to hide, I don't mind targeted ads." I ask them to unlock their phone hand it to me.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by eznzt on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:00AM (#25901448)
Which is not the same thing at all, so it proves nothing.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by sam_goody on Monday January 25, 2021 @06:32AM (#25902025)
> so it proves nothing.

Which, unfortunately, does not matter. You don't win arguments with proof, you win with persuasion.

Proofs are but one tool that can be used to persuade the other party, but if the proofs are not clear and quick, usually the other side will feel they are right - "they have won the argument"

On the other hand, a quote like this may well be persuasive to many, and they will feel you are right - "you have won".

This is not "the ends justify the means" - this is understanding how people argue.

There are those that argue on a purely intellectual level; Richard Feynman describes such a conversation with Einstein Oppenheimer and Bohr. But that was noteworthy enough for him to recall it twenty years later!

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by psychoslave on Monday January 25, 2021 @07:24AM (#25902343)
Hmm, didn’t Feynman have eidetic memory anyway?
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by waterhouse on Monday January 25, 2021 @09:29AM (#25903451)
I don't think so—I've read several of his books and it was never mentioned; neither his Wiki page nor the first several results for googling "feynman eidetic memory" support the claim. There's also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_claimed_to_poss... , on which he is not.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by psychoslave on Tuesday January 26, 2021 @11:23AM (#25917629)
Thank you. Obviously, I’m not on this Wikipedia list. :D
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by dunefox on Monday January 25, 2021 @04:56AM (#25901415)
Not the same thing: you're a person they know, so it's privacy. Facebook, Google, 3 letter agencies do that invisibly.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by type0 on Monday January 25, 2021 @06:45AM (#25902102)
The better way is to put that info on some private forums where some strangers will discuss it, since it's private by the same definition that's privacy.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by javagram on Monday January 25, 2021 @08:20AM (#25902788)
Sounds like /r/relationship_advice on reddit or any of the many forums where people do post anonymized questions or stories.

Although “tracking” for ads is far less invasive than even that, the only particularly annoying thing is when it bugs out and shows you ads for stuff you just purchased and no longer need, it would be nice if they could track a little better and know once you’ve bought something.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by hliyan on Monday January 25, 2021 @03:48AM (#25900937)
I have multiple family members who made the transition from WhatsApp to Signal without any issue. I think the 1 in 5 stragglers are best left behind.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by 74d-fe6-2c6 on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:59AM (#25901829)
family is easier b/c of different social dynamics. there's no risk of losing a relationship to a family member over a messenger. you can just play it passively saying you're not using WA anymore but they are welcome to contact you via EMail, SMS or Signal, Telegram. with friends or rather acquaintances it's more difficult. you're easily being framed as a weirdo who tries to gain control over how people are communicating. soon you'll be "accidentally" skipped at invitations.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by jeffrallen on Monday January 25, 2021 @07:28AM (#25902372)
The great philosopher Groucho Marx considered that problem and came up with an elegant solution. If there was more room in the margins here I would include it.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by 74d-fe6-2c6 on Monday January 25, 2021 @07:52AM (#25902556)
Well, he wouldn't have that problem to begin with as he'd not be interested in being part of a group which would accept him as a member.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by Normille on Monday January 25, 2021 @10:51AM (#25904567)
Whoosh!
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by 74d-fe6-2c6 on Monday January 25, 2021 @03:55PM (#25908738)
"If you see a dumb comment that completely misses the point of the subject (for example someone not getting/taking a joke), then you type "whoosh" which means it went way over their head!"

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Whoosh

for real? :D

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by fsflover on Monday January 25, 2021 @06:11AM (#25901921)
> "I have nothing to hide, I don't mind targeted ads."

This is completely missing the point of why one should fight surveillance. Surveillance harms journalism and activism, making the government too powerful and not accountable. If only activists and journalists will try to have the privacy, it will be much easier to target them. Everyone should have privacy to protect them. It’s sort of like freedom of speech is necessary not just for journalists, but for everyone, even if you have nothing to say.

Copied comment from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25824334

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by teekert on Monday January 25, 2021 @07:06PM (#25910684)
Preaching to the choir, shall I give you my friends' numbers so you can preach to them ;)
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by yarcob on Monday January 25, 2021 @03:58AM (#25901015)
I think this mostly affects small groups. If the group is just 5 people, then one individual can prevent it.

For bigger groups (eg. the parents groups of my kids school) nobody cares if one or two people don't want to move. Especially since there most likely were a few people who already opposed WhatsApp in the first place.

So before there were a few people who weren't part of the group because of WhatsApp, and now there might be a few different people who aren't part of the group because of Signal.

You just need to convince a majority that your choice is better, and the terms of service change along with the constant bad press of Facebook was enough to tip the scales for many many groups.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by teekert on Monday January 25, 2021 @04:13AM (#25901121)
For the big groups (30+) I didn't even try. I heard nobody talk about. I feel that these groups will treat a message about this as pure spam. These are not in any way tech interested people btw, just parents from the kid's school.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by yarcob on Monday January 25, 2021 @04:28AM (#25901213)
It probably makes sense to find one or two allies in the group (by talking offline) before proposing the change. I think that's how they did it for my older kids WhatsApp group.

(I'm not sure because I was one of the obnoxious parents who refused to install WhatsApp in the first place. I was a bit surprised when the group suddenly decided to move to Signal)

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by brnt on Monday January 25, 2021 @04:42AM (#25901310)
Any group treating my sincere concern and opinion as spam is no group I feel like I need to stay part of.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by EastSmith on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:54AM (#25901800)
"I understand you have nothing to hide, I have nothing to hide too, but I still do not like giving my data to Facebook. Since in order to communicate we need to be on the same platform, and we both have nothing to hide, but I do not like Facebook, can we please use an app I am comfortable with?"
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by sneak on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:43AM (#25901745)
Just stop using it yourself, and don't concern yourself with who does or doesn't use WhatsApp.

Remaining on the service makes it more attractive and useful to the other users.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by znpy on Monday January 25, 2021 @07:05AM (#25902234)
> moved because of 1 person out of 5 or so that refuses

move anyway, that people will eventually move because of the network effect

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by darau1 on Monday January 25, 2021 @06:48AM (#25902128)
I've decided to finally roll my own matrix server, and configure bridges for the apps that fit into this "I have to use it because person x is too stubborn" category. It'll be a learning experience, and will skip all the "what do you have to hide, though?" conversations.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by lukeitup on Monday January 25, 2021 @04:43AM (#25901317)
I must admit, I've been slow on the ball here as well. I just decided to move out, but I do struggle with having to persuade friends etc. Same attitude as you're referring to.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by pmlnr on Monday January 25, 2021 @05:11AM (#25901522)
Leave that person behind.
Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by TLightful on Monday January 25, 2021 @06:15AM (#25901939)
Again, this is broken technology.

Data should be free to use whichever platform. The platforms should compete on features.

Imagine not being able to call your mate or family because they are on another telecom provider?

Someone fix this bullsh!t.

Re:WhatsApp loses millions of users after terms update by nojokes on Monday January 25, 2021 @06:17AM (#25901947)
Leave them behind.