whatsapp is owned by meta(facebook). I refuse to use their products. When they purchased whatsapp I immediately stopped using it and uninstalled it
Stallman would be proud. U did the right thing.
Do you have relatives or friends that you can only contact via WhatsApp? If no, then it’s not really a big deal. It might pose a problem if you meet new people, where I’m from we usually only exchange WhatsApp/Instagram info in order to stay in touch.
Install Signal and tell your friends to do so as well unless they want to use SMS to contact you. If they refuse to use Signal in order to stay in touch, you should ask why. My guess is that those people are exactly the type you should have blocked years ago, so this is also a good opportunity to clean your address book and start from a clean slate.
Edit: That was badly worded, so here’s a clarification.
I’m not telling anyone to block anyone because of the app they use or don’t use. I’m talking about an underlying cause that affects many things such as the apps they use, flexibility and social interactions. Perhaps that person is actually a jerk, but you just haven’t realized yet. Here’s your opportunity to find out. Perhaps there’s a good reason for not installing a new app, but you just haven’t thought of it yet. That’s why you need to ask.
If someone doesn’t want to install a new communication app, that’s ok. Explain why WhatsApp sucks and how Meta is exploiting and abusing the users. Explain how Signal respects your privacy. If the answer is still no, then you have discovered something important. Maybe your friend is a bit more inflexible than you previously thought. Perhaps you value the friendship more than they do. Is it really worth it to be in contact with a person who doesn’t value you and the friendship that much? Maybe this is the type of person who you should have abandoned a long time ago. Not because of their app preferences, but because of their personality.
Of course there’s always a possibility that there is a valid reason and you’re not dealing with a jerk after all. If that’s the case, you can always use SMS and email to stay in touch.
Asked, and only 2 of my friends installed signal
Did the others give any reasons? Did you tell them why you prefer signal over WhatsApp?
They say,Everyone is using WhatsApp; then why am I forcing them to use Signal? If I tell them it’s for privacy, then they say they don’t care and tell me to install WhatApp again.
Most of my friends are on Signal, fortunately. However it can be tricky to ask someone you just met to install a new app in order to stay in touch. Signal is still quite niche, WhatsApp is just something that the overwhelming majority of people have an account on, so it’s convenient. I wish it wasn’t the case, but that’s just how it is. Also I don’t feel that you should block, or avoid people based on their social media choice, it’s as dumb and pathetic as the blue/green bubble craze.
Yeah, well that’s the problem with writing short messages on a phone. It takes a lot of time to express your thoughts clearly. I’ve added an update.
Anyway, here’s a shorter version of it: I’m not telling you to block people just because they refuse to install Signal. Use this opportunity to find out more about your friends. If you find out that you’ve been hanging out with a jerk all these years, maybe it’s time to let that relationship go. That’s the idea I was chasing with my poorly worded message earlier.
I removed it for years but eventually had to get it back.
I used a spare phone though with non of my contacts in it and never connect it to my home wifi.
maybe give a bit of context?
Meta is a gigantic spyware,making Tik Tok look not that bad
That said, the difficulty is to find the right balance between privacy and social life.
I’m seeing more and more people using Signal, so that’s pretty neat. I encouraged all of my close friends to make the switch 2 years ago, but I’m constantly meeting new people (usually tech-savvy folks) using it too.
Depends. Do the people around you or your friends/family heavily use WhatsApp to stay in touch (Like, to the point of if you don’t have and use the thing, you’ve basically got no way to contact people)? If yes, well, I wouldn’t go as far as to call you stupid, but you did probably make your life harder for yourself unless you’re a hermit.
Sometimes ya just gotta bite the bullet and understand that absolutes aren’t possible. Or, they are possible, but they’re more impractical than they’re worth
Nop, not stupid. I’ve managed to get almost all conatcts to signal, butnalas, some distant relatives still have wa. (It hasn’t made a beep for months now)
