If I could message from out iMessage with WhatsApp I would use iMessage. But since there are about 8% iPhone users here and iMessage is strictly compatible with apple devices… I’m left out from friends, colleagues and family. Apple opening up iMessage is too late. Like iTunes lost to Spotify… Apple’s restrictions forced users to look for alternatives. Those alternatives have become on par or better than what Apple has to offer. Lost opportunity for Apple.
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WhatsApp Reaches 100 Million Monthly Users in the United States
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Texting is included in my plan, and in most plans in the US, that’s why we use it. I have unlimited voice, text, and data in my plan. I don’t know anyone who pays extra for texting In the US.
It's a different comparison. You don't need to use an iPhone to communicate with someone that uses an iPhone.
WhatsApp is a cross-platform app, so if an acquaintance uses WhatsApp, there's a good chance they'll send you an invite. If 1/3 of the U.S. population are active WhatsApp users, someone would have to be pretty socially isolated to not even have heard of WhatsApp or use it.
Asia is very big with over 50 countries including Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia.
For example, WhatsApp is #1 in Indonesia with nearly 300 million people.
We should’ve been using WhatsApp here in the US all along to avoid these stupid blue bubble vs green bubble BS. It’s end-to-end encrypted and platform agnostic.
Probably just "others" really now and understand what a Beta IS supposed to be.
Laws are probably different in different countries/states. I remember doing an FOI with Scottish Power a few years back here in the Uk. They sent me everything they had. Documents and recordings.
Your phone's GPS knows where it is. You can choose to send your current location to someone. That information is processed on-device and isn't revealed to Apple, only sent encrypted to your recipient.
The Secure Element in your iPhone stores your payment info, but yes, Apple has that information too as it's required to set up an account.
The JPG you quoted shouldn't necessarily scare you, but it does reveal what those apps siphon from your device.
Meta can take a flying leap into a pit of spikes and broken glass for all I care.
Two different hotels wanted to communicate with us re: checkin/checkout, luggage portage, etc., via WA. "When in Rome...", and all that.
I've used Whatsapp for years (since before it was purchased by Faceberg) to communicate with people for free around the world, as I am a heavy international traveler. However, I have never installed it on an actual activated phone (tablet or SIM-less mobile handset) and it doesn't have access to my browsing history or domestic contacts.
However, I did register it under my actual phone number years ago (you need to confirm a SMS text from a phone # to begin using it) and I suspect that much of the spam calls and texts I get are coming from Meta selling my #.
I know this is true, because after spending a good bit of time in Latin America, after returning home I would get a bunch of spam telemarketer calls speaking Spanish.
Whatsapp is a great way to message businesses abroad or foreign friends, but I would never install it on my primary phone. Same goes for Facebook Messenger (I have both installed (Well, Messenger Lite; no way I'm installing the massive bloated one) on a Xiaomi Android phone with no SIM).
However, I did register it under my actual phone number years ago (you need to confirm a SMS text from a phone # to begin using it) and I suspect that much of the spam calls and texts I get are coming from Meta selling my #.
I know this is true, because after spending a good bit of time in Latin America, after returning home I would get a bunch of spam telemarketer calls speaking Spanish.
Whatsapp is a great way to message businesses abroad or foreign friends, but I would never install it on my primary phone. Same goes for Facebook Messenger (I have both installed (Well, Messenger Lite; no way I'm installing the massive bloated one) on a Xiaomi Android phone with no SIM).
You know, one does not need WhatsApp (or other apps) to be “socially active”, to say that one is “socially isolated” because they are not using WhatsApp, is quite shortsighted
It was created by Russians - but Russians that aren’t on particularly good terms with government (anymore).
iMessage isn’t “stealing” that data - it’s willfully provided to them by users.
I don’t believe it’s been Meta selling your number. I’ve never received any spam calls or texts that are even remotely relevant to me. But I “trust” Meta enough to at least use my data for marketing something that’s at least somewhat relevant to me.
Anyone you’ve given your number to could “sell” it. And anyone you’ve communicated with over WhatsApp can see your number - just like anyone you called or texted.
There are other ways to associate your number with having been in Spanish-speaking countries.
Such as? Whatsapp spying is the only thing I could blame it on. The phone has no SIM and its cellular network was never active abroad.
You booked something with your cellular number - or communicated with someone over WhatsApp, and they know your number. Your personal data may have been matched elsewhere - e.g. two data points were matched, one of which contains your mobile number, the other one your stay in a Spanish-speaking country.
Could have been Facebook, could have been someone else.
I mean, I can well imagine Facebook/Meta keeping tabs on you and serving you targeted ads.
I have a harder time believing they would sell your number outright to advertisers.
First, telemarketer calls are less tolerated than targeted internet ads.
Second, selling your number outright would cut out the middlemen (Meta themselves).
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The EU have strict rules for privacy. WhatsApp so far isn’t in trouble for privacy concerns by the EU. I also don’t receive ads and have nothing to hide.
Also many companies use WhatsApp for contacting them. Since more than 90% here is on android. I need a cross platform messaging app.
Before Apple introduced iMessage it had iChat. iChat was able to communicate with other messengers. Somehow Apple doesn’t support cross platform compatibility and forced me to use an other. If Apple supported other open standards with iMessage I think I would be still using it. By opening it up now is too late. WhatsApp offers the same if not more capabilities as iMessage and I’m able to speak to everyone cross platform.