I could move to Signal, open up a chat with myself and chat for a while but I think it would get pretty boring pretty soon.
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hemmes@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Why would anyone use WhatsApp when there’s Signal?
Geth@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I thought people on here of all places would understand the impact of the network effect.
cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
I agree, but the other people all use it 🫠
plutopos@lemmy.zip 4 months ago
because it’s the de facto sms replacement in many european and south american countries
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 4 months ago
So?
plutopos@lemmy.zip 4 months ago
sometimes you want to sent text messages to normal people
Wispy2891@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Because in my country historically the telecom companies are charging 0.30€ per SMS (text) and 2€ per MMS (text with photo).
So WhatsApp when they launched with their “1€/lifetime” offer on the iPhone 3GS they were the right app at the right time and became the de facto replacement for any kind of messaging. It’s insane how basically overnight they replaced msn messenger and Skype because it was so convenient (Microsoft never did a smartphone client for msn messenger, only unofficial ones. It was available on dumbphones but it used SMS from the plan to send/receive, nobody used it because you needed to be a millionaire to afford it)
SMS now in my country is only for receiving OTP codes, for the rest is WhatsApp, because still in 2026 the telecoms are still charging 2€ for each MMS sent and nobody wants to risk huge bills. This includes iMessage because if a chat suddenly goes green and you didn’t notice, it costs dozens of euro
tyler@programming.dev 4 months ago
Your telecoms are ripping you off. SMS messages ‘ride’ on the normal connection mechanism to cell phone towers. If your phone connects to a cell phone tower, it already has the space and data to attach an sms and requires nothing else. SMS are ‘free’ from the infrastructure point of view.
Maybe lobby your representatives to make charging for them illegal and you’ll get proper messaging back without selling off your data.
Scrollone@feddit.it 4 months ago
In Italy we don’t have the concept of “lobbying representatives”. It’s a US thing.
Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
Lobbying doesnt always have to include €€€.
It could mean as mich as writing an email to mKe your standpoint known.tyler@programming.dev 4 months ago
data.ipu.org/parliament/IT/…/contact-details/
There. 5 seconds to figure out how to email your parliament. That’s not an exaggeration.
colourlessidea@sopuli.xyz 4 months ago
iMessage because if a chat suddenly goes green and you didn’t notice, it costs dozens of euro
There’s a setting in iOS to disable that from happening btw
pineapplelover@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
Well Signal would be pretty much the same as WhatsApp, it sends over internet not mms or sms
Wispy2891@lemmy.world 4 months ago
The problem is that everyone assumes you have WhatsApp.
You take clothes to the laundry? The “your order is done” notification is sent via WhatsApp
Any kind of work stuff is also on WhatsApp
You order food delivery? WhatsApp
Amazon started to send delivery notifications via WhatsApp instead of email/sms
And luckily meta is charging businesses 5 cents for messages via API or otherwise even otp codes would be via whatsapp
At least here, being reachable only on signal means being a digital exile
irelephant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
Network effects
cerebralhawks@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 months ago
Couldn’t be me… but some people don’t care that Meta can read their messages. Or they still don’t know but I doubt it.
Mark Zuckerberg has a term for these people…
Nouvellalia@lemmy.world 4 months ago
“dumbfucks”
-Markie Zuc
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I know we’re all saying network effects, but I don’t know what the fuck network effects means.
Network effects dude. Network effects.
calcopiritus@lemmy.world 4 months ago
It’s a simple concept.
You need at least 2 people to form a conversation.
One of them has Whatsapp, Telegram, signal, MSTeams, smoke signals and those flags that ships used to communicate.
The other only has Whatsapp.
They are going to communicate over Whatsapp.
Even if the dude with 1000 communication methods meets another dude with 1000 communication methods, they are going to use WhatsApp, because they are used to using Whatsapp with everyone, so it’s just easier to have everyone on WhatsApp.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 4 months ago
those flags that ships used to communicate.
i think those are called semaphore and they’re cool as hell. i have a set of flags around here somewhere
calcopiritus@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Of course the random dude I replied to on Lemmy owns a set of semaphore flags. What else would I expect?
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 4 months ago
I don’t get to choose what app my European friends use
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 4 months ago
But you get to choose what app you use. And if they continue to support Nazis you have to decide if you want those kind of friends.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 4 months ago
random european “i use whatsapp because it’s kind of the default app for a lot of things in my country”
you “fascist”
you see why i might not take you seriously?
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 4 months ago
Don’t care. Using meta is directly supporting and funding environmental degradation, AI data centers, misinformation, and yes racism.
Can you see why I am tired of being delicate and senstive about it?
vaionko@sopuli.xyz 4 months ago
Let me just cut contact with most my friends, my parents and grandparents. Or have to call them. But still lose our group chats. That’ll surely improve my life.
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 4 months ago
It isn’t about the privacy though. It is about the direct funding of meta. You are supporting meta which means, you support AI, data centers, environmental degradation, political manipulation, and billionaires.
I can’t do it. Whatsapp is a non starter. Someone has to take a stand.
dektep@lemmy.world 4 months ago
signal is extremely popular across europe
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 4 months ago
i’ll get right on telling them that. again.
voodooattack@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Because it’s unfair to assume that everyone has the necessary education or awareness of what the internet is and what online privacy means that we take for granted.
Mac@mander.xyz 4 months ago
You genuinely don’t know? 😬
scutiger@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Because most of the world is already on WhatsApp, and changing to Signal would isolate you from most people and businesses.
sanguinepar@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Sounds great - if I wasn’t already using Signal, that just might persuade me 😁
Zeoic@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Must be more popular in your country, in Canada I don’t know a single person on whatsapp
bluesheep@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
It’s very big in western Europe. Here in the Netherlands everybody is on WhatsApp pretty much since it’s creation
Pechente@feddit.org 4 months ago
In Germany too and I remember how upsetting it was to me from the beginning. There were third party messengers that supported established (at the time) services like ICQ or live messenger but people got onto the hot new thing because it’s so much like SMS.
Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it 4 months ago
I think the whole europe except some countries
UnrepententProcrastinator@lemmy.ca 4 months ago
Yeah they’re all on Facebook Messenger which sucks. I’ve managed to switch a few in my surroundings to Signal but I still need to keep Messenger for holdouts.
Zeoic@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Thankfully I have managed to get everyone to switch from Messenger to Signal, atleast for talking to me haha. Two other family members being privacy oriented too really helped getting the rest of the family moved over.
OliMoli2137@piefed.social 4 months ago
Poland , and everybody is on WhatsApp, only a few people have Telegram. Searched a bit of saved phone numbers, none had Signal tied to them
NewNewAugustEast@lemmy.zip 4 months ago
So what? Don’t support fascism.
jaybone@lemmy.zip 4 months ago
Same thing with Twitter and mastodon I guess.
hemmes@lemmy.world 4 months ago
Damn shame