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Mark Zuckerberg Plans to Make Facebook Messenger, Instagram Messaging, and WhatsApp Interoperable

KPandian1 said:
If they force a merger of the WhatsApp account to Facebook, FB gets my phone number.
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Like what @C DM said, FB has your number by virtue of owning WhatsApp. They may have the data "firewalled" between the apps, but Facebook, Inc. has your phone number because one of it's entities has your phone number.

KPandian1 said:
Doesn't FRAND apply here?
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None of VirnetX patents are Standard Essential so FRAND does not apply.
 
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nburwell said:
Agreed. I'd love to move to Telegram for all of the group chats I'm part of on WhatsApp. But that will most likely never happen.

This is definitely a response to Apple's iMessage. Zuck hopes to somehow convince Apple users to ditch iMessage in favor of his apps. Not going to happen, dude.
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You’ll be forced to if you want to talk with Android users.
 
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E3BK said:
There's a choice, it just makes things a little more difficult. I have told the small number of people I have left that use WhatsApp that I am no longer on WhatsApp but please use Telegram if they want to contact me. Otherwise, send a costly international text or use iMessage. They opened a Telegram account eventually or started using iMessage. Wasn't easy and not everyone did but those ppl email me if they need something. You just gotta put your foot down and be prepared to lose a few folks. Most everyone understands if you tell them it's because of Facebook privacy concerns.

And as for why we started using WhatsApp, well, they didn't start out as being owned by FB. When everyone started to move to iPhones, these apps were born out of trying to find an alternative to BB Messenger (pre-iMessage). And there were a few but WhatsApp was the best one and it won. Probably because it wasn't filed w/ crap from day 1.
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Although I care about privacy for me it’s not going work moving away from WhatsApp. Family, friends, work, school, invites to parties, planning a ski trip... In some neighborhoods there’s even WhatsApp signs in the street indicating they’re part of a group for safety control in the area. It’s so integrated into every part of most of our lives right now, I’d be completely isolated basically.

And that’s what I don’t like about it of course, Facebook has all of that data and control. And even if they’re not evil, they’ve certainly proven to be not capable of handling personal data.

I’ve said goodbye to my Facebook account over two years ago or so when it was still somewhat used by people my age, that was already kind of a ‘bold move’ then. Not knowing peoples birthdays and stuff... WhatsApp is the only platform I still use.
 
E3BK said:
There's a choice, it just makes things a little more difficult. I have told the small number of people I have left that use WhatsApp that I am no longer on WhatsApp but please use Telegram if they want to contact me. Otherwise, send a costly international text or use iMessage. They opened a Telegram account eventually or started using iMessage. Wasn't easy and not everyone did but those ppl email me if they need something. You just gotta put your foot down and be prepared to lose a few folks. Most everyone understands if you tell them it's because of Facebook privacy concerns.

And as for why we started using WhatsApp, well, they didn't start out as being owned by FB. When everyone started to move to iPhones, these apps were born out of trying to find an alternative to BB Messenger (pre-iMessage). And there were a few but WhatsApp was the best one and it won. Probably because it wasn't filed w/ crap from day 1.
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No one I have ever known has used BBM, likely all born of our hatred for Blackberry's servers being constantly down and having to field calls over it. No one I know uses WhatsApp either. It's either iMessage, green bubble people, Slack, or the occasional Hangouts message.
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Manatlt said:
You’ll be forced to if you want to talk with Android users.
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Or just don't talk to green bubble people?
 
tom.humphrey said:
Why not use Telegram?
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I love telegram. It’s so much better than WhatsApp. Plus when you start a “secret message” it truly is end-to-end encrypted. I’d never trust that statement by Facebook.

At least, according to telegram FAQ it certainly seems end-to-end encrypted...

https://telegram.org/faq/faq#q-how-are-secret-chats-different

Q: How are secret chats different?

Secret chats are meant for people who want more secrecy than the average fella. All messages in secret chats use end-to-end encryption. This means only you and the recipient can read those messages — nobody else can decipher them, including us here at Telegram (more on this here). On top of this, Messages cannot be forwarded from secret chats. And when you delete messages on your side of the conversation, the app on the other side of the secret chat will be ordered to delete them as well.

You can order your messages, photos, videos and files to self-destruct in a set amount of time after they have been read or opened by the recipient. The message will then disappear from both your and your friend's devices.

All secret chats in Telegram are device-specific and are not part of the Telegram cloud. This means you can only access messages in a secret chat from their device of origin. They are safe for as long as your device is safe in your pocket.
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cloudyo said:
They dont need the contents of the communication. They have the phonebooks of every whatsapp user. This gives them a clear picture of who knows who. The meta data they collect is just as valuable and a privacy concern imo.
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I have to use WhatsApp to communicate with some family members, but I didn’t give it access to my Contacts. So not every WhatsApp user.
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sunapple said:
And that’s what I don’t like about it of course, Facebook has all of that data and control. And even if they’re not evil, they’ve certainly proven to be not capable of handling personal data.
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They’re evil.
 
H3LL5P4WN said:
No one I have ever known has used BBM, likely all born of our hatred for Blackberry's servers being constantly down and having to field calls over it. No one I know uses WhatsApp either. It's either iMessage, green bubble people, Slack, or the occasional Hangouts message.
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Or just don't talk to green bubble people?
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I mean BBM on actual Blackberry phones before iPhones became ubiquitous. Before iPhones and Android, everyone I knew had a Blackberry with the exception of older folks like my mom. I think she had a Nokia. Though you've never known anyone to use it, that's what WhatsApp was invented to replace. We tested A LOT of apps on other forums and I think here as well. lol.

I'm not sure how old you are but there was a lot of "from my cold dead hands" talk about giving up their Blackberry phones. And really, it was, at that time, the only phone that allowed you to use a data messaging service with international recipients or get around text message limits. It's really the foundation for all these apps now.
 
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H3LL5P4WN said:
No one I have ever known has used BBM, likely all born of our hatred for Blackberry's servers being constantly down and having to field calls over it. No one I know uses WhatsApp either. It's either iMessage, green bubble people, Slack, or the occasional Hangouts message.
[doublepost=1548449597][/doublepost]

Or just don't talk to green bubble people?
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It might do you some good to talk to people outside your bubble
 
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sunapple said:
Although I care about privacy for me it’s not going work moving away from WhatsApp. Family, friends, work, school, invites to parties, planning a ski trip... In some neighborhoods there’s even WhatsApp signs in the street indicating they’re part of a group for safety control in the area. It’s so integrated into every part of most of our lives right now, I’d be completely isolated basically.

And that’s what I don’t like about it of course, Facebook has all of that data and control. And even if they’re not evil, they’ve certainly proven to be not capable of handling personal data.

I’ve said goodbye to my Facebook account over two years ago or so when it was still somewhat used by people my age, that was already kind of a ‘bold move’ then. Not knowing peoples birthdays and stuff... WhatsApp is the only platform I still use.
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I get and that's how they get you. Integration into your entire life. And that's what makes it dangerous. But it is still a choice. You've chosen connectivity over privacy and it's completely understandable. I don't knock anyone who can't shake it. It's really hard. I waited to delete my FB account long past when I actually wanted to do it. Same reasons. Family, friends, work, freelance contacts...I had to choose constant and easy communication...at first. I gave everyone a heads up and offered alternative options. In the end, I haven't missed anything that was actually important.
 
To bring up a point some are talking about, Facebook Inc own the message apps in question, Facebook the social media program does not, and more to the point, should not have access to the user databases of the other messenger programs. Instagram and WhatsApp are separate entities within the Facebook Inc.

If Facebook Inc say they are going to interpolate the user accounts of each messenger program they own, which would mean neither message app being it's own separate entity anymore, this would mean Facebook 'the social media program' will be able to incorporate the users database of WhatsApp and Instagram into its own one big user database. It would also mean all those who work on the social media software will have access to previously unobtainable user database of both messenger apps. This is a huge issue with WhatsApp because it's users who do not have an account with Facebook will be forced to make an account of some sort to be able to allow the cross messaging support of all 3 messenger programs.

People maybe happy to give Facebook social media employee's access to a user name and password but they will certainly not allow them to have access to their personal phone number, which would be a data harvesters dream, millions of 'live' phone numbers they would be able to sell to 3rd party companies and advertises because it will all come under the social media's T&C's.

After all that said and done, i think Facebook Inc will find themselves in deep trouble with the EU if they go ahead with their plans.
 
A friend suggested WhatsApp which a lot of former work friends were using.

To install, it demands access to your entire contact DB. I declined.

But the insidious problem is your friends have already surrendered their contact DB and that incudes me/you.

When you use a fake name on FB, they (FB) are sitting around laughing at you, as 10 of your friends have already betrayed your full contact details to them, keyed to phone number.

I lost contact with my work friends who laughed at security concerns. Brave new world.

I’ll stick to Twitter for now.
 
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That sounds like an awesome move. Sending messages from one app to another will be super useful and I bet will keep these services even more relevant.
 
Can I throw Threema in as a viable alternative?

The problem with FB, IG,and WA is that so many organisations use it. Schools, parent groups, sports clubs etc all use one of them. It’s difficult to get away.
 
tom.humphrey said:
Why not use Telegram?
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I tried, but it's not what others are using. I use iMessage whenever possible and WhatsApp is the one I use for non-Apple users. It doesn't cover all of them (as some prefer to use FaceBook Messenger, but I just let those know that either get an Apple device, or reach out via WhatsApp). And yes, I know Messenger/WhatsApp are both owned by FB.
 
KPandian1 said:
FB does not have my phone number. The merger will compromise that.
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Facebook have your number already.

Let’s say you have 200 contacts. Chances are the vast majority of them are on Facebook. The chances of just one of them choosing ‘upload contacts’ or ‘allow access to contacts’ just once over the past 10 years or so is almost certain.

Then it’s just a case of using their own “graph” to link that number to the right John Smith.

So, they have your number linked. They might not show it to you or use it, but they have it. Stop worrying yourself.

FWIW when I login to Facebook, I too get asked to provide my phone number.
 
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