Alternatives to get off the whatsapp crack-pipe, say NO to whatsapp!

After long years of development Tox is getting better and better. There are clients for every plattform too. Somehow Tox is often overlooked.

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Here is an overview of IM apps from Rob Braxman: Best Secure Instant Messaging Apps for 2021 , with recommendations which one fits which user case.

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So they did indeed publish it. Here you can find information about the Threema/Open Source topic:
https://threema.ch/de/open-source

And here specifically is the source code for Threema Android:

Licence is AGPL 3.0. However signing a CLA is required if you want to contribute, which personally I find discouraging, but it’s a relatively common procedure.

You still have to pay to use it, since the self-compiled one cannot be used to generate Threema IDs, which is a bit of a let-down. Personally I don’t have a problem with paying for it, but it will still limit distribution, since there are many people who will not get it if they have to pay for it.

Anyway, the closed source argument against Threema does not seem valid anymore. The only real argument against is the price, I guess.

Here’s an interesting tool to aid in having others move away from WhatsApp.

Watomatic - IzzyOnDroid Repository - https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/com.parishod.watomatic

Hi,

I was wondering if somewhere in the forum there is a survey to understand how the switch went 
 perhaps I have missed it, and this post should be moved elsewhere

I do not know if it is only my curiousity, but, how many /e/OS users have moved away from Whatsapp? What was the outcome?

Just to share some experience, like @Roger did:
I used Whatsapp because “everybody uses it to stay in touch” (I guess you have already heard such a type of answer
), although I had Signal installed (and very few of my contacts were there, close to none
).
Purpose: mainly to stay in touch with friends and acquaintances that live in other countries, and in a cheap and convenient way.
Action plan: beginning of January I wrote a Whatsapp message to some of my contacts that I would leave Whatsapp, and proposed some alternatives (Signal, mails, SMS, calls). Please note that I had not informed all my contacts, and I had not called them one by one to persuade them. 3 weeks later, I closed my Whatsapp account and deleted the app (including the vast majority of the images/videos I had received over the years).
Balance (just to give an idea, as the rough values below are not statistically significant) :

  • about 40% had not reacted
  • about 40% moved to Signal (with some dispertion in their behaviour, from immediately installing it as a reaction to my message, to doing it only after some days/weeks)
  • about 20% have replied that they would see how to keep in touch (and I am still waiting)
  • about 8% have replied that they would keep in touch by SMS / phone (and it has happened as they said)
  • about 8% have replied that they would keep in touch by mail
    Conclusions:
    Advantages: a great sense of relief. Because 1) No more Whatsapp and relevant issues 2) I no longer receive so-called funny videos/jokes and so on (since it is nice to received few of them from time to time, but I despise the massive forwarding of such [useless] messages, when I think about networks clogged up and a potential wiser usage of resources
)
    Regrets: A fair share has not yet tried to keep in touch
 although only few weeks have passed / “no news, good news” / they have my phone number and mail address when they need / want to contact me

I guess it is a good summary. I would like to understand if it makes sense / it is useful to have a survey capturing all this, from /e/OS users, that I believe have similar concerns than me
 or if it is only my curiosity :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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Hi @sonyxa2,

of course it would be nice to know. But would it help? Would statistics help you arguing with people that have not replied? I think every person you or me are connected with is an individual problem.

Let me update my experiences, what happened since igonoring Whatsapp

  • I created a webpage explaining why not using Whatsapp anymore and showing alternatives. I posted that link into the whatsapp groups and said "I will not be using whatsapp anymore, read why and alternatives here: "

  • Some good friends followed immediately.

  • From January 2021 on lots of friends I thought being lost turned to Signal or Telegram (thanks to the new rules of Whatsapp😁)

  • One person I communicate with SMS or email

  • One person I communicate with voice-call

  • About 10 “inactive contacts” lost

Did my life get more complicated? The difference on the smartphone is only moving the finger 5 mm into another direction (SMS, Telegram, Signal, Phonecall)

Hope this helps?

Regards,

Roger

Hi @Roger,

I agree that it would not help 
 but perhaps it would make me confirm that there are people more conscious of privacy than my contacts 
 in some ways, it hurts, but it is like that, and I have to accept it.

I am just curious to see what will happen after May, when the new rules should be apply
 perhaps who wanted to switch have already done it, and the remaining will accept them


Let’s wait and see.

Have a good day

Is that web page still available? I would be interested as I am still working to convince one of the groups that is important to me, and more evidence / ammunition would be useful. Thanks

@petefoth: Still online. But don®t want to generate traffic to my webpage :wink: So I give you the text here. It is in german. Maybe use an automatic translation thing or something. Have to point out that it only reflects my personal opinion, and is no “marketing-proof” thing. Here is the text:

Ade Whatsapp## Warum?

Warum? “Ich habe doch nichts zu verbergen
” Standardaussage von Leuten die keine Lust haben ihre Komfortzone zu verlassen. Lasst es mich kurz fassen um Grundsatzdiskussion zu vermeiden: “Aber ich!”.

In einem Internet dass immer mehr drei großen Konzernen zu gehören scheint (Google, Facebook, Amazon), möchte ich wenigstens versuchen, diesen drei Unternehmen so lange wie möglich den Stinkefinger zu zeigen!

Unternehmen mit KRAKEN-Armen zu vermeiden hat bei mir schon Tradition:

Amazon

Mein Amazon-Konto habe ich schon vor Jahren gekĂŒndigt: es gibt auch andere gute Online-Versandhandel.

Facebook

Ein Facebook-Konto habe ich nie wirklich gehabt (14Tage Testlauf, dann wieder gelöscht). Den Sinn von Facebook habe ich nie verstanden.

Google-Suchmaschine

Google: Die kommerzielle Suchmaschine von Google verabscheue ich schon lange (Alternativen: “metager.de”, “duckduckgo.com”, “startpage.de”).

Google-Telefon

Android: Auf meinem alten Telefon habe ich diverse WĂ€chter installiert (Netguard, TrackerControl). Ich war geschockt wo Google und Facebook alles hinfunken und vor allen Dingen
 WAS sie alles funken. Jetzt habe ich erstmalig auf einem anderen Android-Telefon ein alternatives Betriebssystem installiert: “e-foundation”. Das ist Android OHNE Google. LĂ€uft prima.

Achtung: Wer Trackercontrol oder Netguard ausprobieren will, sollte es KEINESFALLS ĂŒber den Playstore von Google tun. Die Apps dort sind fĂŒr Google angepasst worden. Nehmt F-Droid.org

Microsoft

Microsoft: Auf sĂ€mtlichen privaten Rechnern bei mir zuhause lĂ€uft Linux. Empfehlenswert fĂŒr Umsteiger: “Linux Mint”. Aktuell liebĂ€ugel ich mit “Tails” und “CubeOs”.

Microsoft auf Firmenrechner: Nachdem ich immer wieder Stunden investiert habe Windows 10 lauffĂ€hig zu halten (nur um weiter Excel, Word und PowerPoint nutzen zu können)bin ich kurz davor, Windows 10 in eine virtuelle Maschine innerhalb von Linux zu verpacken


Whatsapp

Whatsapp: Gehört auch zu Facebook. Muss also auch weg
 Ihr seht, Whatsapp zu deinstallieren ist nur eine konsequente Weiterentwicklung bei dem Weg, den ich bereits eingeschlagen habe: Den großen Internetkonzernen den Stinkefinger zeigen.

Klingt interessant?

Ihr möchtet den Weg auch einschlagen? Ihr habt Lust zu fachsimpeln?

Ich gebe mein Wissen gerne weiter

Nutzt die Euch bekannten KomminikationskanÀle
 ausser Whatsapp :slight_smile:

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Vielen Dank @Roger. Sehr interessant

Forgive my manners, but if someone get offended by so little, it’s their problem, not yours, and those that do really care to talk to you, will at least download the new app you decided to use.

I would love to delete WhatsApp but everyone around me is using it and they wont switch, so I’m stuck



 and therefore nobody would move away (that would apply in other situations as well).
Yes, I agree with you that it is the risk (but not a certainty), and it is up to everyone to take it or not (based on their own considerations)

Mark Zuckerberg uses Signal.

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If it’s true. How sweet :-))))

Since January I’ve been using Signal and have convinced my family and friends to use it too.
I’m going to delete Whatsapp (for good) on May 15, a bit symbolic because I could have done it earlier, but I hope that a lot of users do the same so that Facebook feels there are a lot of people not agreeing to the new terms.

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A new version of Delta Chat is live! And it’s compatible with new email providers!

You don’t need to create an account, just use your email credentials. If, on the other side, your contact does not have Delta Chat, he/she will just receive a normal email.
On your side, delta Chat messages are stored inside a separate folder.

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It’s done! :partying_face:

Remember, delete your account first before you delete Whatsapp.

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Me too. I’m officially WhatsApp-less :face_with_hand_over_mouth: But now I left some WA groups, and it got very silent. just the family chat made the transition.

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delta.chat 1.20 is now available in the fdroid store (there’s a few days delay, they do the apk signing offline). I gave the “mail compatibility” a try, it works and I think is a good idea on delta.chats part for adoption/popularity to include it.

Plaintext mail with image attachments you send from another mail client appears nicely in the chat view. If you reuse your pgp key, it’s also multi-device/-app end to end encrypted.

It can replace k9mail for most, as the chat-view is just too useful on a handheld. I think desktop mail clients should also adopt the chat-view, I know one that tried, but it went inactive (“ivelope”).

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