I am italian, and the main messaging platform here is WhatsApp. I didn’t completely quit, i just said “Hey, i want to not use it as much, so don’t expect me to instantly answer”, and that was the deal for a while. Then, i suddenly convinced the most important friends to switch including my mom, and now i can confidently say i could potentially delete my WhatsApp account and wouldn’t loose on much. However i’ve been thinking and i feel like an asshole for making them switch. They say it’s not an issue for them, but still feels like such a selfish thing to do. I am immensely against Meta, i do not trust their app, especially since it’s closed source and most of their revenue is literally data trafficking, but i also feel like a bit of a paranoid crazy guy. I love Signal and chose that as a platform mainly because they have no telemetry, no ads, no AI bs, it’s fully open source and incredibly user friendly (only annoyances are the centralization which is kinda necessary for the ease of use and the mobilecoin stuff, but it is not a biggie since it’s opt in and you’d have to specifically seek out for it unlike the Brave Rewards in Brave for example). What do you think?
Its not selfish to convince your family to do what’s in their own best interests.
It’s not selfish. Data protection protects THEM as well.
However i’ve been thinking and i feel like an asshole for making them switch.
You should definitely not feel like an asshole for getting them on a safer app. You moved them off a predatory app. That’s good. I convinced my mom to get off Whatsapp because Meta kept trying to scam her into using the AI bullshit.
With Signal, it’s just messages. No ads, nothing trying to trick you into doing something against your benefit. It’s just messaging. That’s all she cares about.
Why shouldn’t they feel like “assholes” forcing you to use WhatsApp umin the first place? I quit WhatsApp years ago. Everyone I know uses either Signal or Telegram (still better than Meta).
Don’t overcomplicate things. Just stick to what you feel is right.
In some countries, WhatsApp is the main tool of communication. When I visited Chile years ago, companies had WhatsApp logos on all of their ads, billboards and storefronts. So I get why it’s so difficult to ditch it in those places.
If no one starts the change, nothing ever will change. Someone has to go through the hassle so others can follow.
Yeah, gotta start somewhere. It’s just crazy how Meta got their claws in with WhatsApp.
wife: I hate that every time we talk about stuff I get ads about it, it’s too creepy.
me: move to signal, here’s my singal ID
wife: *sigh mabye tomorrow
REPEAT ABOVE 30 times
wife ok, let me install it
wife: adding you
we never text, or fb, or anythig, just signal
no more creepy ads.
Don’t give up on Signal. I did the same with my friends and family years back (about 5 years ago) it’s been great
over here in America, we had a friend in our group that outright refused to switch to signal. Not to make it seem like it’s the only factor, but that friend is no longer around, and we all use Signal.
How about Matrix? (Element X)
I had everyone move to matrix and it was really a struggle to keep it working and usable, and now we switched to Signal which is a much easier user experience.
What was your main problems?
Mainly recovery key issues, notifications which suddenly didn’t appear as they used to, and downtime. But I can’t say eactly what it was, I just know that everyone is more happy with Signal.
How long time ago was this?
A couple of months back? Maximum 6.
Thanks for list!
Fossify isn’t encrypted. It looks worse than RCS.
It’s not like you cut their phone wires, should they need it for something they can just use it (as sometimes it’s unavoidable). But this way important and private stuff will remain as such, we don’t want Zuckerbot to get a hold of grandma’s secret recipe, do we?
Signal is good. In the meantime, check out Prav.
I think XMPP is great, but if we can’t get those closest to us to even use Signal, I don’t think an even more convoluted system will be easier. What makes Prav different from all the other XMPP apps? Edit: Never mind. The convenience of using a phone number is the difference. Which is no doubt easier.
No way
End thread
Whatsapp: Meta
Signal: CIA
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It doesn’t matter, tho. After decades of psyops, false flag terror, and both state and para state corruption, Italy became the most loyal vassal state in Europe for the US. The data you could protect from them are already in their hands.
If you leave them to choose between WhatsApp and Signal, they’ll pick what they already have and what they’re familiar with. I deleted WhatsApp after they introduced MetaAI, and told people close to me, that they could only message me using Signal going forward. Just make sure you support people that have difficulty installing and using the app. When removing malware from my grandma’s smartphone, I also made sure to install Signal, and she now comfortably contacts me through it for minor things. It’s not like you’re inconveniencing them much: it’s just an app installation and basic setup, while the workflow is nearly identical; especially if you allow them to find you through your phone number (which I have disabled).
It isn’t an argument, because there are almost 50 chat alternatives out there, it’s like saying you have to use VW or BMW. To communicate with unknown people there are forums or an fediverse instance like Lemmy or Mastodon, If you want to communicate with your friends or family any of the above proposed chats is enough, or use your phone for what it is, to make a call (yes, this finction still works in smartphones without any app).
It’s your right to avoid for-profit and invasive platforms (especially from companies famous for causing addictions and mental health problems), and it’s their choice to switch if they want to communicate with you more easily. I’m in a similar boat with Discord.
