Meta should just make "Whatsapp Lite"
Just a thought.
They already made Lite versions of Facebook and Instagram.
And a lot of the new functions (stories, screen share, and the avatar emojis) only come as bloat for users like me.
So i think they should make an official app that came without those "features", having a priority on simplicity and data saving.
Well you're right, we should all send Meta to hell 🔥
But 90% of my contacts do use Whatsapp, so... 🤷♂️
It's hard being "the tech guy" in the family 😓
Didn't they just "sunset" Messager Lite?
I would rather have more people get tired of their apps and move to federated alternatives instead.
Oh i would love that the federated alternatives were #1.
But unfortunately most people i know still use Whatsapp, so i'll stick with it for the time being.
And yeah, Meta just killed Messenger Lite, because Facebook Lite already had integrated messaging, so it didin't make sense to sustain a separate app.
I dropped Whatsapp for Signal the day after Facebook bought it. Told my friends who use it that is just a matter of time before they wreck it and exploit it for targeted ad purposes.
Took them a little longer than expected but they announced a couple of years later that they were researching how to do it. And, of course, they cross link your Facebook data and WhatsApp data.
Lots of articles out there on the topic but here's an excerpt from 2021:
Earlier this morning, Facebook confirmed to The Information that it is developing a team that includes former Microsoft AI researchers and cryptographers to find new ways to collect data from encrypted sources such as WhatsApp–without technically having to decrypt the information.
Facebook can go fuck a duck and I'd never trust anything they've touched
Jesus christ. Inferenced data from encrypted sources. Literal privacy nightmare.
The issue here isn't the missing "Lite" version of the app. The issue is that the main version of the app has been turned from a mediocre and unsafe messaging app, into some complete bullshit, filled with features that people evidently don't want
Isn’t that just Signal, though?
Not even close. It's missing WhatsApp's most important feature, which is the user base. I never understand why people don't understand that.
Most people like the “Instagram but green” features
I have no idea what features you're talking about.
Have a look at Beeper, essentially an app which connects to the web version of Whatsapp, unfortunately does not support calls but for chats and group chats should cover everything.
In terms of a light version, it's unlikely. They're playing to their biggest markets of India and Europe, where these features are well used (I've seen a lot of statuses used for "Good Morning messages", and business announcing discounts or news.)
I dislike stories, but I have a very small social circle, none of which think waking up or buying a pretty looking cocktail as an achievement worth sharing publicly.
I feel weird about using a proprietary matrix client, but it does look pretty and would be at least a marginal improvement over using whatsapp + facebook messenger... probably...
They just got rid of messenger lite, even though the main messenger app is a steaming turd.