Flix's avatar
Flix flix@primal.net 3 months ago
The hardest surveillance app to quit is whatsapp. The network effect is very strong. So many family and friends groups that it would be hard to abandon. Still, I'm ready to do it as soon as I can get a decent alternative for private messages and group chat. It will take a lot of convincing, but I'm autistic enough that I can drag some of my contacts along and ignore the protest of others. Hopefully leading by example. It would really help if Nostr DMs and group chats worked!

Replies (22)

Hermes's avatar
Hermes 3 months ago
I thought a selfhosted matrix.org synapse server is the answer. And it still kinda is for me, but imho it is not for masses.. to selfhost you need not only a server with public ip and enough space for media in messages, but also a TLD.. did you try keet.io ? it has pretty cool architecture!
Flix's avatar
Flix flix@primal.net 3 months ago
I've used matrix. It's pretty good. But definitely not normie friendly. I very much doubt that I could get many of my contacts to use it. I have yet to try keet.
Machakos Bitcoin Academy 's avatar
Machakos Bitcoin Academy Machakos_Bitcoin_Academy@bitcoin.com 3 months ago
It really is a mental game. You can explain decentralized protocols and open networks all day, but the real final boss of switching away from WhatsApp is explaining to your aunt why she can't send her daily 'Good Morning' flashing GIF to your Nostr inbox. 😭 We'll get them here eventually, one node at a time.
Default avatar
npub1ah3a...l76e 3 months ago
You want to switch to something where you control both clients and servers. SimpleX and Whitenoise are both good. Molly (Signal) is okay as a backup option. People are still used to their phone numbers over random identifiers like SimpleX. What would be good would be a campaign. Not just one person trying to mobilize their netwirk, but different people mobilizing at the same time.
Bruno SlingshotVPN's avatar
Bruno SlingshotVPN 3 months ago
They blocked me... GrapheneOS for whatsapp with no Gulag services is dead... Well... I'm not using anymore and... Who cares...
exist270's avatar
exist270 _@exist270.com 3 months ago
It's open-source, so anyone can just audit it themselves. 💁‍♂️ I'm just trying to help a stranger. 🤷‍♂️ DYOR. 🤙
The Beave's avatar
The Beave TheBeave@GitCitadel.com 3 months ago
The biggest issue with simplex is device migration and the lack of a contiguous desktop integration. The plusses are that you can host your own server if you want to keep comms very discreet (though that does leave you open to other forms of tracking).
The Beave's avatar
The Beave TheBeave@GitCitadel.com 3 months ago
The current closest nostr equivalent is Vector. I had friends get very angry about me dumping WhatsApp, and, mostly, we don't communicate much anymore. I'm mostly ok with that.
Default avatar
npub1y7lu...qs2u 3 months ago
There are 3 alternatives to really consider nowadays that doesn't store your social graph and that you don't need any phone number nor email to subscribe. - SimpleX.chat - Delta.Chat - Keet.io (not yet open source, but will be)
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