I am italian, and the main messaging platform here is WhatsApp. I didn’t completely quit, i just said “Hey, i want to not use it as much, so don’t expect me to instantly answer”, and that was the deal for a while. Then, i suddenly convinced the most important friends to switch including my mom, and now i can confidently say i could potentially delete my WhatsApp account and wouldn’t loose on much. However i’ve been thinking and i feel like an asshole for making them switch. They say it’s not an issue for them, but still feels like such a selfish thing to do. I am immensely against Meta, i do not trust their app, especially since it’s closed source and most of their revenue is literally data trafficking, but i also feel like a bit of a paranoid crazy guy. I love Signal and chose that as a platform mainly because they have no telemetry, no ads, no AI bs, it’s fully open source and incredibly user friendly (only annoyances are the centralization which is kinda necessary for the ease of use and the mobilecoin stuff, but it is not a biggie since it’s opt in and you’d have to specifically seek out for it unlike the Brave Rewards in Brave for example). What do you think?
OR carry on using WhatsApp on Beeper for now. https://www.beeper.com/ You can start using Signal and WhatsApp at the same time using Beeper, and start a slower transition by convincing your contacts to do the same.
However i’ve been thinking and i feel like an asshole for making them switch.
You should definitely not feel like an asshole for getting them on a safer app. You moved them off a predatory app. That’s good. I convinced my mom to get off Whatsapp because Meta kept trying to scam her into using the AI bullshit.
With Signal, it’s just messages. No ads, nothing trying to trick you into doing something against your benefit. It’s just messaging. That’s all she cares about.
It’s not selfish. Data protection protects THEM as well.
I’m on Signal, if someone wants to reach me they can find me there.
I’m okay with not being instantly available to dozens of people.
Its not selfish to convince your family to do what’s in their own best interests.
No you shouldnt.
End thread
why feel bad for suggesting objectively better software?
IMO it’s better in a sense that one may do damage vs one that would not
I’ve started replying to any meta site link with this sticker I found on signal
If people knew how meta treats their customers, then they won’t (I hope) stay there.
Cropped version.
Horrible resolution though…
Who are Meta’s customers though? I assume it’s the shareholders in which case I imagine they’re being treated just fine.
Don’t give up on Signal. I did the same with my friends and family years back (about 5 years ago) it’s been great
You can leave the install both apps and use them both independent of each other. Signal for private conversations. WhatsApp for utility.
I gave up on signal just because when I swapped none of my friends did, so therefore, there’s no reason for me to use it because I’m just partying by myself.
Being said if you got people to actually go with you then I wouldn’t feel bad about it because obviously they wouldn’t have swapped if they didn’t want to.
Why shouldn’t they feel like “assholes” forcing you to use WhatsApp umin the first place? I quit WhatsApp years ago. Everyone I know uses either Signal or Telegram (still better than Meta).
Don’t overcomplicate things. Just stick to what you feel is right.
In some countries, WhatsApp is the main tool of communication. When I visited Chile years ago, companies had WhatsApp logos on all of their ads, billboards and storefronts. So I get why it’s so difficult to ditch it in those places.
If no one starts the change, nothing ever will change. Someone has to go through the hassle so others can follow.
Yeah, gotta start somewhere. It’s just crazy how Meta got their claws in with WhatsApp.
You’re doing them a favor by displacing some of the data that Meta would otherwise have on them
If you leave them to choose between WhatsApp and Signal, they’ll pick what they already have and what they’re familiar with. I deleted WhatsApp after they introduced MetaAI, and told people close to me, that they could only message me using Signal going forward. Just make sure you support people that have difficulty installing and using the app. When removing malware from my grandma’s smartphone, I also made sure to install Signal, and she now comfortably contacts me through it for minor things. It’s not like you’re inconveniencing them much: it’s just an app installation and basic setup, while the workflow is nearly identical; especially if you allow them to find you through your phone number (which I have disabled).
over here in America, we had a friend in our group that outright refused to switch to signal. Not to make it seem like it’s the only factor, but that friend is no longer around, and we all use Signal.
