Whatsapp is going to run terribly...
You can now buy goodies directly within the app.
All these (ad)ons always take priority over performance.
Am I the only one who doesn’t want any, “do everything,” apps? I’d rather have 10 apps that each do one thing really well than have one app that haphazardly attempts to do 10 things.
At some point we're just back to building web browsers with spyware built in.
Sooner or later there will be an API to build your own apps and systems. Then we just rebuild a webbrower, but made it worse
I see you are rebelling against Web 2.0, where you only need 3-4 apps or sites to do everything! Don't be afraid. The old days of dozens of sites is gone and now the oligarchy of megacorps will take care of you with your 2-3 apps. You'll have fewer apps that could go wrong and you'll ever need to keep up with your 1-2 apps! Eventually the FTC will see the error of their ways and your One App will truly simplify your life!
Verification cans :(
Make each program do one thing well. To do a new job, build afresh rather than complicate old programs by adding new "features".
Unix philosophy. 50 years old idea. Imo devs would love to work that way but they are never the ones making decisions. And every CEO wants to have the new everything app ala wechat.
I already have a "do everything" app.
It is called the Operating System.
It sounds to me like they're trying to go like Wechat did
If I want to shop for something online, I'll go to a website like Amazon.
If I want to transfer money online, I'll go to a website like PayPal.
I don't like the monopolizing those companies are doing, but they're at least more transparent than doing it through a chat app. Can you even do returns for chat app purchases? I did a return with Amazon the other day and they just credited my account. They didn't even ask for the book (I accidentally bought 2 copies) back.
Better than Twitter, but still not great.
Anyone trying to reproduce WeChat in the west is insane. Nobody needs it. Nobody wants it. The conditions that allowed it to take off in China do not exist in the west.
The only company with a real chance of success is Apple, and their business model is a little more resistant to such corruption, at least for now.
The rabid duopolist that doesn't even allow users to install whatever apps they want on their devices? The one that doesn't even allow alternative browser engines? The one that outright refuses to use any and all open standards or to allow interoperability unless forced by governments? They might be one the worst companies in the world to do it.
Here in Spain everyone uses whatsapp. I clearly see people buying products through the app from local businesses. I don't necessarily like it, but it has high chance of being successful (not like channels, which will for sure be discontinued)
WhatsApp is a shithole. Communities, Channels, Payments, Avatars all these destroyed the simple chat app. Meta is aiming for a monopoly here.
Signal and Telegram pretty much useless if you don't have your needful people on the platform.
Thankfully I don't have people I need on WhatsApp, but it took some convincing.
Nowadays I only have dentist and barbershop on WhatsApp, all my folks are on Telegram, including all work communications.
WhatsApp was always lacking features; WhatsApp web can't replace a full featured desktop client which is a must have for me; and its mobile client is inconvenient in every possible way.
It's just not a battle I am willing to fight. Too many people I can't contact without Whatsapp and none of them willing to swap.
Thanks to EU, you'll be able to contact these people on WhatsApp without using WhatsApp.
Great, I can't wait for Whatsapp to be the only way to reach customer support and make payments. I always felt the confused look of people when I tell them I don't have Whatsapp wasn't enough.
always felt the confused look of people when I tell them I don’t have Whatsapp wasn’t enough.
the worst part is that most people cannot fathom that you don't have Whatsapp and you want to continue not having. The confused look is because their way of thinking is "ok you don't have, so what, open an account, it's taking 10 seconds".
Same argument for installing Signal
When contractors try to get me to communicate with them on what's appropriate, I am happy to tell them that it's forbidden on company devices.
Typically that conversation started on email, which they don't want to continue using for reasons they usually can't explain well.
Today, on "Features No One Asked For".
“Features board members demanded because they increase value for shareholders”
*except nearly the entirety of India, but who cares about a country with nearly a billion customers
Whatsapp turning into WeChat should make Signal and Threema look even better.
If only people cared. Sadly, they don't.
Source: am one of probably three people in the country that refuse to use Meta CRAPWARE. And thus, very lonely.
Do you think 99% of the grannies and non-techies care? I support Signal and use it myself to communicate (with the 2-3 other people that use it…), but it’s not comparable with WhatsApp or Telegram which everyone has. It’s shitty but it’s reality. People even use Facebook Messenger over Signal.
Threema at 6€ is not really a good option for anyone anymore, a least not over Signal. Also they had an encryption obfuscation problem recently, read the longer comments at the bottom here and decide for yourself:
I know people who prefer Threema simply because they know what their revenue model is. Everyday I find that another person in my contacts has joined Signal. I don't communicate with too many grannies besides my own two, both of whom have Signal installed on their phones ftr. My circle clearly isn't your circle.
I feel like FOSS apps keep getting more viable while closed source apps keep getting worse. I feel like the next version of the internet is the one few know about. Even Mastodon is getting better, and Lemmy is pretty much a reddit equivalent now.
Because with nonlibre/nonfree/closed apps, user interest is never at the front. It is only considered at the beginning when apps need to gain userbase, then they can exploit it.
Every app that take away user ability to inspect, modify or share it is creating a path for abuse.
"Enshitification"
a new word added to my. dictionary
The maturity of decentralized communication cannot come soon enough
If only there was a standards-based platform that everyone could use, supported by all telecommunications providers. Ah dammit. Probably just a pipe dream. /s
XMPP should return to reclaim its rightful role.
Back in my day, the only decentralized communication we needed was yelling from the rooftops and we turned out just fine!
Meta adding the same features to all their apps, for whatever reason
It’s a little hard to imagine for us Americans, but internationally WhatsApp has a thriving unofficial ecosystem of businesses operating solely out of the chat app.
I love to hate on Meta as much as the next guy on Lemmy, but this is probably one of the sounder business decisions Meta has made in awhile.
During the peak of Whatsapp Controversy, I had 50 out 450+ contacts on Signal. Now it is just 5 people.
Mostly because of the 400+ who remained on WhatsApp, the 45 of 50 decided to move back and the 5 probably are running both apps
True. They stick to WhatsApp as all th convo goes there and it laziness to switch over, copy data and all .
Srsly I hope people will start installing Signal once again.
Don't use WhatsApp or Telegram. There are better things to use. (Signal, Session and simplex chat)
lol. "Don't use the messaging apps used by all your friends and family. Use another app so you cant contact them. "
Man, messaging is a nightmare. I use signal with a few of my closest contacts, whatsapp with most other people, sms as a fallback and for work I have to occasionally use Teams and fucking Viber (ugh). At least I managed to liberate myself from the clutches of Slack.
If only there was some standard way to get these apps to talk to each other so everybody could use what they want. Oh wait, there was, it was called XMPP, it worked perfectly and big tech fucking killed it and replaced it with the irritating clusterfuck that is the current status quo.
This is pretty much the only thing stopping me from using another app
Then get them on a different app. Be a leader not a follower
Imagine being required to have the same app as your friend to send a message.
Sure, I use Signal with some. But I will have to use WhatsApp to interact with most people. They won't switch just because I tell them to.
Wire..?
Wire has pretty much proven it'll never gain traction.
Good. Keep cluttering the app until people move to simpler alternatives. Preferably libre.
I want out but no one in my group chats will leave. 😭
What I did was say I'm deleting my WhatsApp account in [insert sensible time] and if anyone wants to contact me, to use Signal. Lost contact to some, but many followed.
At the company’s global Conversations event in Mumbai, WhatsApp introduced an in-app shopping feature for merchants and customers. Dubbed ”Flows,” [...]
That name sounds more like a feminine hygiene product than a shopping platform.
The software enshittification cycle continues.
Are there any WhatsApp clients without all the crap noone asking for?
There soon will be because EUR turned their arm into opening the chat protocol. As soon as that happens expect other chats to be able to talk to whatsapp without the oficial app. So hopefully... Soon.
That EU proposal is definitely not good. I don't know what you've read but it practice it will require to ban all open source chat applications https://mullvad.net/en/blog/2023/2/1/eu-chat-control-law-will-ban-open-source-operating-systems/
Check out Beeper https://beeper.com/
I was recently in Brazil and it amazes me how the country adopted the platform. You can do everything in it. And it’s not that you’re always talking to someone on the other side. It’s all automated. Remember those gigantic labyrinths of menus you had to listen when calling a business? Now it’s all in WhatsApp, but with the advantage of being much faster to read. I asked for a service in a company, they gave me a protocol number. When I wanted to check on it, I just had to type the number on WhatsApp and it would tell me if it was ready. So, no need to develop GUI, sites, and so on. Everything is accessible through WhatsApp.
So, I understand why Meta rolled this out and started with Brazil.
In the end, it feels like we made full circle and we’re coming back to the Telnet era of doing business.
This is far more likely to become the Do Everything App for the Western World than X/Twitter is.
I'm really interested how this is going to play out. I'm seeing this from a European perspective - Meta has show many times, that they shit on the GDPR. And while it seemed, that nothing really happened so far, that authorities are getting traction. Fines are racking up. The Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act are going to introduce more regulations, and I think that the future might hold even more surprises for Meta, especially if they succeed in build all these new things into WhatsApp.
And I just know we will be forced to use it
pls whatsapp stop copying from fucking telegram there should be a law to make it not possible this is killing competition
But 'Stories' are from IG, owned by Meta.. so... we rather stay quiet on this occasion xdd
Stories are the Meta's copy of snapchat.
Stories are the worst addition to Telegram. I hope Meta sue them and make them remove this feature :D
first they copied it from snapchat (meta loves to copy from smaller alternatives to kill them) second they added it only people where continuing to ask them for it (me too)
I stick to Telegram. I don't want anything to do with Meta.
I stick to matrix. I want nothing to do with telegram.
I stick to XMPP. I would not mind being on Matrix but XMPP is much less bloated on my server.
I stick to pigeons.
That's neither of OSI Layers lol
This is kind of funny. Some of these features I would see see as Google's turf. However, since Google can't create a text messaging service, Meta can use their messaging app to encroach.
Awesome, maybe then I can get everyone I know to switch to a better platform.
Yep, when Meta bought it, I warned my group friend chats that the second they start trying to monetize it, I'm going to whine until they all switch to Signal. Guess it's time to start nagging
it really depends.
If it's different parts of the same system I really don't like if it gets split up to multiple apps. Take steam, there I need two apps, one for the general store and it's functions and one for communicating with my friends. In that case I'd rather would have one app that fits all.
But if I don't need several functions of an app and they are also hurting the experience with it, I'd rather would have the sourced out to other apps.
The thing is, in systems like WhatsApp we don't decide what is the best for us, but WhatsApp.
Maybe integrating some features is better, maybe separation. Or maybe third way, separated things under one package (for example all-in-one packages like Nextcloud or Thunderbird).
Developing countries should get their act together and stop using WhatsApp.
By "developing countries", do you mean "most of the world outside the US"? Because WhatsApp is used extensively in Europe as well. Which means you're either ignorant, condescending, or both.
To be honest the things that matter on optimalization now on mobile are app size, what push notifications providers it supports and the speed itself is only a little concern.
But it matters in compatibility situations, like running mobile apps on desktops or on other OSes.
Imagine taking an equal amount of time to be angry about a comment. Down vote and move on...