This may sound a bit dumb, but eh.
So when that WhatsApp privacy policy change thing happened in early 2021, I tried switching from WhatsApp to Signal and Telegram. Telegram kinda stuck with me since i still get news from there, but Signal… not really because I didn’t care about privacy back then. Now, I want to make the switch from WhatsApp to Signal, and I have a few plans on how to do that. But, is it worth it, since most people in Türkiye use Whatsapp and even if I switch my family and friends over to Signal, they’ll still use WhatsApp since most people are on there.
So, yeah. Should i try, or is it not worth doing? Let me know, also, thanks in advance!
(Note: Most of my family and friends don’t really care about privacy.)
(Note 2: This was also posted in r/signal and r/privacy subreddits.)
I don’t use WhatsApp since 2017 If someone wants to talk to me it must download Signal or no deal.
Harsh, but effective. I chose a slightly softer strategy. I communicate with family/friends on Signal, and for work/with strangers on Telegram. WhatsApp is a thing of the past. Quit there and told everyone that I won’t answer there anymore. Trash.
I second this, highly effective method that I strongly recommend, deleted WA and I’m now only on TG
WhatsApp is such garbage. No normal privacy, no convenience, no normal backups, no features. Just such a mmmeeehhhhh
Indeed and they have been slowly copying TG, that’s good but it won’t make it a privacy-respecting IM app, also on the topic of backups unlike TG WA offers the option to E2E encrypt the backups but IMO they should enable it by default with no option to disable it, it won’t push users away and if TG were to make E2EE the default this would make the backup process less convenient not as “seamless” as TG want it to be, we would have to save the password of our backups or maybe we could use our fingerprint instead something like passkeys but this is a very minor inconvenience for us privacy advocates
You don’t need to, as facebook, messenger , whatsapp, imessage, and Telegram will be forced by the EU to interoperate with Signal and other messengers in about six months. (for now only text chat no voip in sight)
I didn’t know that :o
Would you have a relevant link to share so I can learn more about it please ?
Thank you
WHAT, I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS
Look up the DMA, it goes well beyond just messaging apps.
Well, Meta can still do their practices though. And I fear it will be even worse since they can know when you texted, who you texted, where you texted, for how long you texted in WA and i fear this will spread to other platforms too.
Removed by mod
I was in a similar spot and gave up before starting. This is due to several reasons: 1) My circle of relatives and friends, like yours, neglect their privacy and would not engage with me in a serious conversation regarding it; 2) educational institutions, businesses, organisations and even governmental bodies may rely on WhatsApp for communications; and 3) the two big telecom monopolies offer enticing mobile data deals for using WhatsApp.
While I am not saying you should give up, you should go for modest goals (e.g. converting your close family to signal when chatting together) and eliminate optimistic expectations so you don’t get crushed.
for the cause yes it is worth it
Here in the NL it’s almost like some kind of privatized utility. It’s used for sensitive things too.
A while ago there was an audit: Lo and behold the backups weren’t e2ee. What ever happened to warrants?
Well I just told everyone I’m switching a few years back and that’s that. And actually a lot of people switched because they preferred it over email and SMS.
It’s best to avoid trying to persuade others. Just say how they can contact you and leave it at that.
Exactly, just stop using it yourself and let others know how they can still contact you. If they aren’t willing to do that they aren’t worth talking to in the first place.
To be fair I did have to install discord to stay in contact with a good friend. It’s such a piece of junk I don’t see what she likes about it, but ahh well.
“I will only talk to you if you use discord” doesn’t sound like a good friend to me but if that works for you go for it.
Haha yea people can be all up in arms about nothing. And I’m sure my behavior appears the same to them. She’s one of the most amazing people I know, incredibly kind and patient, and has always supported me in many ways.
If they don’t care about privacy you don’t have any argument for them to switch. I don’t think you can argue that Signal is better functionally than WhatsApp, it just has better privacy.
They do still have an argument for them to switch. “if you want to message me here is how you can do it. I don’t use whatsapp”. No need to convince them, they can either switch or not send you messages.
