The EU wants to decrease reliance on American technology. Hereโ€™s what happened when a POLITICO reporter tried to live and work without it.

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[โ€“] 61 points 2 months ago (20 children)

I'll never understand the hold whatsapp has on people

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  • [โ€“] 59 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    The network effect: If everyone you ever message is there and stays there, it's hard to leave...

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  • [+] 18 points 2 months ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (2 children)
  • [โ€“] 3 points 2 months ago

    I think it's more that Lemmy folks assume a lot of universal context from what they know. So maybe get out more and need to interact with humans, but also experience more of the world.

    Some American that only uses iMessage will have no idea what entire continents of people use Whatsapp more than anything else, including to just make calls.

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  • [โ€“] 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    It's not even whatsapp specifically. I used to live in a place that only did Viber. Which is just Whatsapp with ads, themed purple. Everyone was on it, and people on whatsapp were maybe 50/50 at best. But without Viber, you didn't exist and couldn't message anyone and expect a response.

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  • [โ€“] 4 points 2 months ago* (8 children)

    It's physchology I think.

    People who feel they need to have regular communal celebration of their every thought and act really struggle to consider losing a few contacts who refuse to move to better alternatives. People who are happy to recieve the same ego strokes through fewer closer peers are ok with the move.

    Same with leaving Facebook, Twitter, etc..

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  • [โ€“] 6 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (6 children)

    With messaging apps unless the new app does something new they want, people won't even think about it. Here in Spain the only other app is telegram because it has a bunch of extra things, if the new app does the same why bother. A year ago I installed Signal, only three of my contacts were there and no one else has appeared since.

    Edit: I just checked, now I have 8 contacts on Signal. Yay! Maybe there is hope

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  • [โ€“] 3 points 2 months ago (5 children)

    Here (Netherlands) basically all our family and friends app groups moved to Signal. Only some groups with parents of the kidsโ€™ school class, or colleagues, stubbornly keep clinged to whatsapp. For most cases, some negative news items about whatsapp/Meta/zuckerberg with regards to privacy and/or Zuckerbergs Trump-fetisjism, created enough momentum to move at least half of the group to another app (signal in this case). Afterwards, FOMO usually does the job in getting the other people over as well.

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 2 months ago (4 children)

    The issue with Signal is that it is US-based.

    If Trump learns he can break it, he will consider it.

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 2 months ago* (3 children)

    True, but Signal is quite clear theyโ€™ll leave the US if necessary. (And Mark โ€˜privacy-is-deadโ€™ Zuckerberg on the other hand, is quite clear his highest priority is to fulfill all trumps wishes)

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 2 months ago (2 children)

    Do you really think they cannot find a way to take over Signal, if they really want?

    Thet seem to already control the Supreme Court, wouldn't be suprised to see them take over Signal at some point.

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 2 months ago (1 child)

    So what solution are you proposing? And by that I donโ€™t mean things that โ€˜the marketโ€™ or something similar would, in an ideal world, sort out for us, but measures that individuals can take today?

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  • [โ€“] 1 point 2 months ago

    Use decentralised communication.

    https://joinjabber.org/

    Nobody has full control over all emails or phone calls in the whole world, this should also be the case for messaging.

    Avoid single points of failure. A decentralised system cannot be broken, even if all countries agreed to fight it, it would likely still continue to exist.

    If a single provider closes shop, the rest continues to exist.

    We need resilient infrastructure, especially in these troubling times.

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