BNJMNBanksWhatsapp is going to run terribly...
TostiIf anything whatsapp is way more able to integrate we-chat like functionality and capture the “everything app” market is, then what Elmo wants to do with X-formerly-known-as-twitter.
Although I hope people just don’t want to have an everything app, and this fails horribly.
GenderNeutralBroBetter than Twitter, but still not great.
Anyone trying to reproduce WeChat in the west is insane. Nobody needs it. Nobody wants it. The conditions that allowed it to take off in China do not exist in the west.
The only company with a real chance of success is Apple, and their business model is a little more resistant to such corruption, at least for now.
The rabid duopolist that doesn’t even allow users to install whatever apps they want on their devices? The one that doesn’t even allow alternative browser engines? The one that outright refuses to use any and all open standards or to allow interoperability unless forced by governments? They might be one the worst companies in the world to do it.
Yeah. Apple basically has a captive market. Not to the extent of WeChat, but more than other western players.
The fact that Apple makes their money (mostly) on hardware sales, subscriptions, and their big-ass cut of App Store sales, instead of advertising like Google and Facebook, is why they are not likely to pull this crap in the near future. They don’t need to.
The online advertising ship is sinking, and Facebook is a rat desperately trying to find a way off.
EldritchCapitalists/fascists don’t need to do the things they do. They do them still. We don’t need yearly growth in markets or profits. Line doesn’t need to go up. And if you express those facts as an officer of a publicly traded company. You will be quickly unemployed.
If apple sees those possible profits out there, just within reach. They will 100% go for it. Whether or not they need to.
dymaFacebook is the best positioned by far, they just need a popular payment service
Well they tried, but they gave up before it even released.
Here in Spain everyone uses whatsapp. I clearly see people buying products through the app from local businesses. I don’t necessarily like it, but it has high chance of being successful (not like channels, which will for sure be discontinued)
TolstoyAre there any WhatsApp clients without all the crap noone asking for?
There soon will be because EUR turned their arm into opening the chat protocol. As soon as that happens expect other chats to be able to talk to whatsapp without the oficial app. So hopefully… Soon.
That EU proposal is definitely not good. I don’t know what you’ve read but it practice it will require to ban all open source chat applications mullvad.net/…/eu-chat-control-law-will-ban-open-s…
I read an article about. Here is another one. Doesn’t seem to mention any of the effects on Foss software so I might be out of the loop.
miss_brainfartWhat you’re linking to is about their proposition of chat control for CSAM scanning, which is a completely separate thing from the Digital Markets Act that will force big Messengers to become interoperable.
you’re actually right. I had merged these 2 in my head because of the other issue that arises from this requirement which will affect the security of the apps, especially in apps that work with e2e encryption. e2e interoperability is kinda impossible to be implemented especially in the current deadlines. You can read more about it here eff.org/…/eu-digital-markets-acts-interoperabilit…
The EU Digital Markets Act’s Interoperability Rule Addresses An Important Need, But Raises Difficult Security Problems for Encrypted Messaging
The European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) allows new messaging services to demand interoperability (the ability to exchange messages) from the internet's largest messaging services (like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and iMessage). Interoperability is an important tool to promote competition...
If only there were good, open standards everyone could use, right?
lmao, no no, the proprietary standards that one company uses are much better than the proprietary standards of their competitor. Everyone knows that!
Check out Beeper beeper.com
Thanks I will take a look. It looks kind of similar to matrix
Yeah very similar to Matrix or the good days of Trillian
Beep
Great 90,000th on the waiting list.
Am I the only one who doesn’t want any, “do everything,” apps? I’d rather have 10 apps that each do one thing really well than have one app that haphazardly attempts to do 10 things.
NeatoI see you are rebelling against Web 2.0, where you only need 3-4 websites to do everything! Don't be afraid. The old days of dozens if sites is gone and now the oligarchy of megacorps will take care of you with your 2-3 apps. You'll have fewer apps that could go wrong and you'll ever need to keep up with your 1-2 apps! Eventually the FTC will see the error of their ways and your One App will truly simplify your life!
WhiteOakBayouVerification cans :(
Kalkaline At some point we’re just back to building web browsers with spyware built in.
Sooner or later there will be an API to build your own apps and systems. Then we just rebuild a webbrower, but made it worse
It sounds to me like they’re trying to go like Wechat did
Make each program do one thing well. To do a new job, build afresh rather than complicate old programs by adding new “features”.
Unix philosophy. 50 years old idea. Imo devs would love to work that way but they are never the ones making decisions. And every CEO wants to have the new everything app ala wechat.
I already have a “do everything” app.
It is called the Operating System.
Flying SquidIf I want to shop for something online, I’ll go to a website like Amazon.
If I want to transfer money online, I’ll go to a website like PayPal.
I don’t like the monopolizing those companies are doing, but they’re at least more transparent than doing it through a chat app. Can you even do returns for chat app purchases? I did a return with Amazon the other day and they just credited my account. They didn’t even ask for the book (I accidentally bought 2 copies) back.
I want out but no one in my group chats will leave. 😭
VeloxizationWhat I did was say I’m deleting my WhatsApp account in [insert sensible time] and if anyone wants to contact me, to use Signal. Lost contact to some, but many followed.
Whatsapp turning into WeChat should make Signal and Threema look even better.
PlutoniumAcidIf only people cared. Sadly, they don’t.
Source: am one of probably three people in the country that refuse to use Meta CRAPWARE. And thus, very lonely.
Some folk do. I’ve managed to convince at least 10 of my friends and family to install Signal and//or Threema.
It's not just friends; I cannot do my work in my past three jobs without WhatsApp, because that's how ingrained it is. And they were varied jobs too.
Client interactions? WhatsApp
External stakeholders? WhatsApp
Public enquiries? WhatsApp
No WhatsApp, no job, no income. That's how ingrained it is.
Me too and we’re very happy with it.
Even my employer is making us only use Threema work.
orcaI refuse to use anything Meta has its claws on.
Do you think 99% of the grannies and non-techies care? I support Signal and use it myself to communicate (with the 2-3 other people that use it…), but it’s not comparable with WhatsApp or Telegram which everyone has. It’s shitty but it’s reality. People even use Facebook Messenger over Signal.
Threema at 6€ is not really a good option for anyone anymore, a least not over Signal. Also they had an encryption obfuscation problem recently, read the longer comments at the bottom here and decide for yourself:
I know people who prefer Threema simply because they know what their revenue model is. Everyday I find that another person in my contacts has joined Signal. I don’t communicate with too many grannies besides my own two, both of whom have Signal installed on their phones ftr. My circle clearly isn’t your circle.
DocMcStuffinAt the company’s global Conversations event in Mumbai, WhatsApp introduced an in-app shopping feature for merchants and customers. Dubbed ”Flows,” […]
That name sounds more like a feminine hygiene product than a shopping platform.
I was recently in Brazil and it amazes me how the country adopted the platform. You can do everything in it. And it’s not that you’re always talking to someone on the other side. It’s all automated. Remember those gigantic labyrinths of menus you had to listen when calling a business? Now it’s all in WhatsApp, but with the advantage of being much faster to read. I asked for a service in a company, they gave me a protocol number. When I wanted to check on it, I just had to type the number on WhatsApp and it would tell me if it was ready. So, no need to develop GUI, sites, and so on. Everything is accessible through WhatsApp.
So, I understand why Meta rolled this out and started with Brazil.
In the end, it feels like we made full circle and we’re coming back to the Telnet era of doing business.
This is far more likely to become the Do Everything App for the Western World than X/Twitter is.
☂️-And I just know we will be forced to use it
I’m really interested how this is going to play out. I’m seeing this from a European perspective - Meta has show many times, that they shit on the GDPR. And while it seemed, that nothing really happened so far, that authorities are getting traction. Fines are racking up. The Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act are going to introduce more regulations, and I think that the future might hold even more surprises for Meta, especially if they succeed in build all these new things into WhatsApp.
Today, on “Features No One Asked For”.
“Features board members demanded because they increase value for shareholders”
*except nearly the entirety of India, but who cares about a country with nearly a billion customers
I feel like FOSS apps keep getting more viable while closed source apps keep getting worse. I feel like the next version of the internet is the one few know about. Even Mastodon is getting better, and Lemmy is pretty much a reddit equivalent now.
Because with nonlibre/nonfree/closed apps, user interest is never at the front. It is only considered at the beginning when apps need to gain userbase, then they can exploit it.
Every app that take away user ability to inspect, modify or share it is creating a path for abuse.
“Enshitification”
a new word added to my. dictionary
SynapseGreat, I can’t wait for Whatsapp to be the only way to reach customer support and make payments. I always felt the confused look of people when I tell them I don’t have Whatsapp wasn’t enough.
always felt the confused look of people when I tell them I don’t have Whatsapp wasn’t enough.
the worst part is that most people cannot fathom that you don’t have Whatsapp and you want to continue not having. The confused look is because their way of thinking is “ok you don’t have, so what, open an account, it’s taking 10 seconds”.
KekzkriegerSame argument for installing Signal
When contractors try to get me to communicate with them on what’s appropriate, I am happy to tell them that it’s forbidden on company devices.
Typically that conversation started on email, which they don’t want to continue using for reasons they usually can’t explain well.
WhatsApp is a shithole. Communities, Channels, Payments, Avatars all these destroyed the simple chat app. Meta is aiming for a monopoly here.
Signal and Telegram pretty much useless if you don’t have your needful people on the platform.
Thankfully I don’t have people I need on WhatsApp, but it took some convincing.
Nowadays I only have dentist and barbershop on WhatsApp, all my folks are on Telegram, including all work communications.
WhatsApp was always lacking features; WhatsApp web can’t replace a full featured desktop client which is a must have for me; and its mobile client is inconvenient in every possible way.
LUHGWA does have a desktop client. Fuck that though.
Last time I checked it was a 600-800Mb monster that is just a wrapper of the web page
Fr! only reason why I prefer the webapp over client