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The complexities and capabilities in the Chinese(well, most asia) mobile market are remarkable. I always find it funny when people boast about how great certai

The complexities and capabilities in the Chinese(well, most asia) mobile market are remarkable. I always find it funny when people boast about how great certain things are in the US without ever have traveled to HK, Singapore, Tokyo, Beijing etc... Most people dont realize just how entangled mobile life is in Asia, way more than in the US.

ethbr1 3y ago
Centralized superapps seem incredibly dangerous to privacy, given that the limited mobile privacy models are designed around per-app permissions. 1. Create app that does 1 thing 2. Add more features to app 3. Abuse superset of permissions 4. Gov leans on app owner 5. Gov abuses superset of permissions
- samstave 3y ago
  No, I more than 100% agree, I am just staing that most people just dont realize just how deeply entangled the mobile is to Asian life. I wasn't praising it, I am horrified, but also in awe by it.
  - gman83 3y ago
    I'm pretty sure most people are very aware that most of east Asia never saw massive PC adoption and so their internet developed in a very mobile-centric way. This hasn't been surprising for a long time?
    - michaelt 3y ago
      I'm not sure I agree. I mean, back when the west had WAP there were articles saying NTT DoCoMo had much more advanced phone technology, sure. But in terms of making it into the cultural consciousness - you don't see ubiquitous asia-specific mobile super-apps in cultural exports like 'Squid Game' or 'Spy X Family' (admittedly a lot of cultural exports aren't set in the present day)
    - AniseAbyss 3y ago
      [dead]
- Analemma_ 3y ago
  I think if you're in China the centralized superapp is the least of your worries, privacy-wise. I agree that this is probably part of why these things will never really take off in the US though (no matter what Elon wants to wish for).
  - philistine 3y ago
    It is not the least of your worries, it is the abusive system working as intended. It is policy of the Chinese state to ingratiate itself into every aspect of its citizens' lives to exert control. The fact the State is wholly evil in other ways does not lessen the worry; it multiplies it.
refulgentis 3y ago
I think I'm missing some context: ex. there's O(many) apps that offer hotspot connections in the US as well. And my understanding is there's a privacy concern, which I think would be exacerbated by a super-app like WeChat adding this. What's the great certain things of all that?
mardifoufs 3y ago
Is that inherently greater than not being connected or using super apps? Also, I didn't know Tokyo or japan in general were also into the "big app" concept. Japan in general didn't seem that "connected" relatively speaking back in 2017-18 but maybe stuff has changed in the past couple of years.

ethbr1 3y ago

Centralized superapps seem incredibly dangerous to privacy, given that the limited mobile privacy models are designed around per-app permissions. 1. Create app that does 1 thing 2. Add more features to app 3. Abuse superset of permissions 4. Gov leans on app owner 5. Gov abuses superset of permissions

samstave 3y ago
No, I more than 100% agree, I am just staing that most people just dont realize just how deeply entangled the mobile is to Asian life. I wasn't praising it, I am horrified, but also in awe by it.
- gman83 3y ago
  I'm pretty sure most people are very aware that most of east Asia never saw massive PC adoption and so their internet developed in a very mobile-centric way. This hasn't been surprising for a long time?
  - michaelt 3y ago
    I'm not sure I agree. I mean, back when the west had WAP there were articles saying NTT DoCoMo had much more advanced phone technology, sure. But in terms of making it into the cultural consciousness - you don't see ubiquitous asia-specific mobile super-apps in cultural exports like 'Squid Game' or 'Spy X Family' (admittedly a lot of cultural exports aren't set in the present day)
  - AniseAbyss 3y ago
    [dead]
Analemma_ 3y ago
I think if you're in China the centralized superapp is the least of your worries, privacy-wise. I agree that this is probably part of why these things will never really take off in the US though (no matter what Elon wants to wish for).
- philistine 3y ago
  It is not the least of your worries, it is the abusive system working as intended. It is policy of the Chinese state to ingratiate itself into every aspect of its citizens' lives to exert control. The fact the State is wholly evil in other ways does not lessen the worry; it multiplies it.

refulgentis 3y ago

I think I'm missing some context: ex. there's O(many) apps that offer hotspot connections in the US as well. And my understanding is there's a privacy concern, which I think would be exacerbated by a super-app like WeChat adding this. What's the great certain things of all that?

mardifoufs 3y ago

Is that inherently greater than not being connected or using super apps? Also, I didn't know Tokyo or japan in general were also into the "big app" concept. Japan in general didn't seem that "connected" relatively speaking back in 2017-18 but maybe stuff has changed in the past couple of years.