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At this time, their 'No Ads, No Investors, No Conflicts of Interest' phrase (and a very polished product which even runs great on my Jolla), is more important f

At this time, their 'No Ads, No Investors, No Conflicts of Interest' phrase (and a very polished product which even runs great on my Jolla), is more important for me than source. Of course, not being FOSS is a pity, a trade-off. But I believe their 'solid business' would be made impossible then. (Unless someone invests $50 million or so - but frankly I prefer the status quo).

znpy 8y ago
> No Investors Uhm... Would one be able to verify that? Threema is a swiss company, and Switzerland is known for their high standards in terms of privacy. Would it be possible to see who owns the shares of Threema the company?
- bobjob 8y ago
  There are no shares. It is a GmbH, which means a group of people(1-x, persons or other legal identidies) owns the company... There should be public records of owners you can follow. Understanding German and swiss law is probably helpful.
  - pjtr 8y ago
    Those public records are the Commercial Register: https://sz.chregister.ch/cr-portal/auszug/auszug.xhtml?uid=CHE-221.440.104 https://sz.chregister.ch/cr-portal/auszug/auszug.xhtml?uid=C...
  - dbrgn 8y ago
    The startup scene in Switzerland is quite different from silicon valley. There are still a lot of "classic small company" startups that start with a business idea, try to become self-financed as soon as possible and then slowly build upon that. It's a very sustainable model, you add more people once you can pay them, and most people that fund a company like that are in it for the long term. In contrast, the silicon valley idea of a startup is "get as much investor money as you can get, grow your team quickly, become a unicorn, sell your company and cash out, rinse and repeat". Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but especially for privacy focused products I prefer to get those from companies that finance themselves, and that don't have big VC investors which will want to see big ROI sooner or later. If the startup behind a free product I use is sold, then my user data is sold with the company. And usually financial interests stand above privacy considerations. (Obviously, otherwise the investors wouldn't invest.) Money is power. Ideally your money comes from your users.
  - znpy 8y ago
    Hey, thank you for your reply. My post wasn't meant to provoke or to imply anything, it really was an honest question.
FullyFunctional 8y ago
Yes, this was one the point that was me over when look to migrate from WhatsApp. Another winning point: it’s not tied to your phone number. So far it’s working great and I brought a kernel of friends with me.

znpy 8y ago

> No Investors Uhm... Would one be able to verify that? Threema is a swiss company, and Switzerland is known for their high standards in terms of privacy. Would it be possible to see who owns the shares of Threema the company?

bobjob 8y ago
There are no shares. It is a GmbH, which means a group of people(1-x, persons or other legal identidies) owns the company... There should be public records of owners you can follow. Understanding German and swiss law is probably helpful.
- pjtr 8y ago
  Those public records are the Commercial Register: https://sz.chregister.ch/cr-portal/auszug/auszug.xhtml?uid=CHE-221.440.104 https://sz.chregister.ch/cr-portal/auszug/auszug.xhtml?uid=C...
- dbrgn 8y ago
  The startup scene in Switzerland is quite different from silicon valley. There are still a lot of "classic small company" startups that start with a business idea, try to become self-financed as soon as possible and then slowly build upon that. It's a very sustainable model, you add more people once you can pay them, and most people that fund a company like that are in it for the long term. In contrast, the silicon valley idea of a startup is "get as much investor money as you can get, grow your team quickly, become a unicorn, sell your company and cash out, rinse and repeat". Both have their advantages and disadvantages, but especially for privacy focused products I prefer to get those from companies that finance themselves, and that don't have big VC investors which will want to see big ROI sooner or later. If the startup behind a free product I use is sold, then my user data is sold with the company. And usually financial interests stand above privacy considerations. (Obviously, otherwise the investors wouldn't invest.) Money is power. Ideally your money comes from your users.
- znpy 8y ago
  Hey, thank you for your reply. My post wasn't meant to provoke or to imply anything, it really was an honest question.

FullyFunctional 8y ago

Yes, this was one the point that was me over when look to migrate from WhatsApp. Another winning point: it’s not tied to your phone number. So far it’s working great and I brought a kernel of friends with me.