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I would normally agree with you, but a friend of mine is an immigrant from a south east Asian nation and the only way to easily communicate is through Facebook
by jb1991 4y ago
I would normally agree with you, but a friend of mine is an immigrant from a south east Asian nation and the only way to easily communicate is through Facebook with the family there. It’s like saying, sure we can take away your phone and you can still write letters, but at some point communication is also about convenience.
- heywoodlh 4y agoThat makes perfect sense, definitely sheds light on the fortunate circumstance I am in of not needing FB to conveniently communicate with my connections. Because, I agree, you should be able to conveniently communicate if you can.
- pjerem 4y agoCan’t this friend install something else on his phone ? Signal maybe ?
- zamnos 4y agoCool. Does signal allow you to register without a phone number yet? Data-only plans with no phone number attached are quite common in some countries.
- EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK 4y agoTelegram allows you to register without a phone number, as of recently.
- guilamu 4y agoNot yet, no.
- Hacksawed 4y agoBy providing Signal with any phone number at which you can receive an SMS or text message, you can register a Signal account at that other phone number. For example, you can create a pseudonymous Google account, register a Google Voice VoIP number, and use that as your Signal number. Or you can even use a free throw-away SMS account and use that number when you sign up for your Signal account instead of your real phone number. The Signal service will happily send the throw-away number a text message with the verification code, letting you complete the account sign-up process.
- rendx 4y agoRegistration also works for numbers that can receive calls but not SMS. Like any landline you (even temporarily) have access to.
- zamnos 4y agoDoes that work if some else has used that phone number to register an account already?
- rendx 4y agoNot if you enable PIN locking (and the account is active). https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059792-Signal-PIN https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059792-Si...
- zamnos 4y agoOrrrrr Signal could just fix their shit. Requiring phone numbers for this long is borderline suspicious.
- gavinsyancey 4y agoHe'd then have to convince everyone else he wants to talk to to use Signal instead of Facebook. That's the hard part.
- willis936 4y agoI was under the impression that Signal was widely popular in SE Asia.
- zztop44 4y agoUnfortunately, you were mistaken.
- ArnoVW 4y agoInstall both? Migrate one friend at a time, starting at the ones you speak with most.
- ScoobleDoodle 4y agoBut then in this hypothetical scenario you’ve side loaded Facebook and it’s doing who knows what on your phone.
- pjerem 4y agoIt’s not as hard as what people think. You just tell your friends that you are not reachable on Facebook anymore and how you can be reached. You don’t have to "convince" anyone. Your real fear is that people will stop reaching you if they don’t want to install another app, send you an SMS, send you an email or to call you on the phone. Well, if your friends stops reaching you because you uninstalled an app, honestly it looks that they are more acquaintances than real friends. And it’s ok. But it’s also ok if they are just an entry in your contacts list.
- jb1991 4y agoYou’re making an awful lot of assumptions about how people think and behave en masse. When facebook is the primary communication factor for huge family groups, if you’re the only one not participating then you miss out on all those conversations. It’s not just about one on one communication, it’s about a virtual family presence. I say this as someone who despises facebook but this is the reality we are in. Similarly, in most nations outside United States, you really cannot get rid of WhatsApp. If you don’t use WhatsApp, you are missing out on how much of your society operates.