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 (18)

Machakos Bitcoin Academy 's avatar
Machakos Bitcoin Academy Machakos_Bitcoin_Academy@bitcoin.com 3 months ago
The WhatsApp network effect is basically an economic hostage situation disguised as a convenience. We don’t just need better apps; we need to completely shift people’s mental models away from walled gardens entirely. Protocols over platforms is a tough pill to swallow until the legacy silos start cracking open.
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PobreBoomer's avatar
PobreBoomer PobreBoomer@coinos.io 3 months ago
Fully agree. Besides technical barriers, mental barriers are the toughest thing to deal with 😒 “There’s no worse blind than the one who doesn’t want to see”, as the 🇪🇸 saying goes
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.
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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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