4 ms·

old telephone lines did not disclose info about me with merely my phone number. whataspp discloses name, picture, status As for your second comment, updated fi

old telephone lines did not disclose info about me with merely my phone number. whataspp discloses name, picture, status As for your second comment, updated first comment with: I am not even sure how this is GDPR-compliant if that app is European. They do not have my permission to have my private data, and GDPR does not allow whatAspp to hand it over without my permission either...

lxgr 9mo ago
> whataspp discloses name, picture, status Only to who you choose to make it available to. And if you choose “everybody”, I don’t see how you can reasonably expect this to mean “everybody not using third-party software”?
- dmitrygr 9mo ago
  Because until today that IS what it meant! Are you claiming that "pray i do not change the deal further" is a sane approach?
  - lxgr 9mo ago
    I just don’t think that’s a reasonable expectation of a telecommunications tool, so yeah, I think it’s a fair change well within the norms and expectations of an instant messenger. You should get to control how/ to whom your data is distributed, but also requiring these recipients to only use software and services of your choosing seems excessive. Platform lock-in at this point seems like the much greater harm. I could see the case for a small indicator in the contact details that they’re using a third-party client, but anything more (green bubbles?) would be counterproductive.
    - dmitrygr 9mo ago
      i did not ask for green bubbles, nor did whatsapp implement that. they let me opt-in to communicate with questionable clients and i am here for it.
      - jodrellblank 9mo ago
        Do you also wish you could only get telephone calls from people using American made handsets, and that your email client asked you before receiving emails from other email clients, and that you couldn’t get SMS’s from other smartphone manufacturers without opting in one at a time? Being able to reject spam , regions, specific people, specific topics, all makes sense. Wanting to approve/reject the program used to make the connection is a pretty useless way to segment communications - how will you determine “questionable” clients, and what when there’s a person you want to chat with and a person you don’t both using the same client?
        dmitrygr 9mo ago
        I actually would love a mode on my phone that blocks all calls not coming from iPhones just like I have a mode to ignore all messages not coming from iPhones. It has blocked so much spam that it is worth it.
        lxgr 9mo ago
        In that case, I have no words. I always thought that people got lured into walled gardens surreptitiously, not with eyes wide open...
    - mlrtime 9mo ago
      It's not requiring, thats the point of BirdyChat, right? You just have to opt-in to use it.
  - direwolf20 9mo ago
    The recipient is already using third-party code. I am using a Samsung OS, which is not from Meta, to see your messages. Do you object to this? I also have the YouTube PiP overlay layer in front of your messages.
  - sagarm 9mo ago
    That is Zuck's usual MO, so why not apply it when it's not to his advantage?
- mlrtime 9mo ago
  Because I don't chose everybody? I don't want everyone to see my information, why would I?
  - inexcf 9mo ago
    Man there's a rising amount of people who don't understand hypotheticals. How can you think that your comment "...I don't chose everybody?" is a valid answer to "If you chose everybody..." ?
  - lxgr 9mo ago
    Then don't choose everybody. Settings -> Privacy -> set everything to "my contacts" or "nobody".
xmcp123 9mo ago
Old telephones had caller ID. They would send your name and company. You did have to initiate the call, but you still didn’t have any kind of agreement about it.
- mlrtime 9mo ago
  Yes, and you used to have to pay for it! Not only was it opt-in, there was a charge.
direwolf20 9mo ago
Several people have scraped every possible phone number from WhatsApp so they know your name, picture, and status if they want it.
- mlrtime 9mo ago
  So, that doesn't mean we give it away freely because someone was malicious. That makes no sense.
  - direwolf20 9mo ago
    It's already given away freely. Anyone who has WhatsApp can add you as a contact and see this information. If you are bored and have a computer, you can add every possible phone number as a contact. Not many people do that, but some did.
dotancohen 9mo ago
> old telephone lines did not disclose info about me with merely my phone number. Old telephone lines most certainly disclosed additional information about you. Who you contacted, when, how often. Did you call that drug dealer every Tuesday evening? Looks suspicious. Did that criminal call you the day before he robbed a store not far from your home? Looks suspicious. Do you call Pakistan twice a week? Looks suspicious. Have you ever called a suicide prevention hotline? A bank other than your own? A mosque? An independent political party? Your POTS phone was always revealing information.

lxgr 9mo ago

> whataspp discloses name, picture, status Only to who you choose to make it available to. And if you choose “everybody”, I don’t see how you can reasonably expect this to mean “everybody not using third-party software”?

dmitrygr 9mo ago
Because until today that IS what it meant! Are you claiming that "pray i do not change the deal further" is a sane approach?
- lxgr 9mo ago
  I just don’t think that’s a reasonable expectation of a telecommunications tool, so yeah, I think it’s a fair change well within the norms and expectations of an instant messenger. You should get to control how/ to whom your data is distributed, but also requiring these recipients to only use software and services of your choosing seems excessive. Platform lock-in at this point seems like the much greater harm. I could see the case for a small indicator in the contact details that they’re using a third-party client, but anything more (green bubbles?) would be counterproductive.
  - dmitrygr 9mo ago
    i did not ask for green bubbles, nor did whatsapp implement that. they let me opt-in to communicate with questionable clients and i am here for it.
    - jodrellblank 9mo ago
      Do you also wish you could only get telephone calls from people using American made handsets, and that your email client asked you before receiving emails from other email clients, and that you couldn’t get SMS’s from other smartphone manufacturers without opting in one at a time? Being able to reject spam , regions, specific people, specific topics, all makes sense. Wanting to approve/reject the program used to make the connection is a pretty useless way to segment communications - how will you determine “questionable” clients, and what when there’s a person you want to chat with and a person you don’t both using the same client?
      - dmitrygr 9mo ago
        I actually would love a mode on my phone that blocks all calls not coming from iPhones just like I have a mode to ignore all messages not coming from iPhones. It has blocked so much spam that it is worth it.
        lxgr 9mo ago
        In that case, I have no words. I always thought that people got lured into walled gardens surreptitiously, not with eyes wide open...
  - mlrtime 9mo ago
    It's not requiring, thats the point of BirdyChat, right? You just have to opt-in to use it.
- direwolf20 9mo ago
  The recipient is already using third-party code. I am using a Samsung OS, which is not from Meta, to see your messages. Do you object to this? I also have the YouTube PiP overlay layer in front of your messages.
- sagarm 9mo ago
  That is Zuck's usual MO, so why not apply it when it's not to his advantage?
mlrtime 9mo ago
Because I don't chose everybody? I don't want everyone to see my information, why would I?
- inexcf 9mo ago
  Man there's a rising amount of people who don't understand hypotheticals. How can you think that your comment "...I don't chose everybody?" is a valid answer to "If you chose everybody..." ?
- lxgr 9mo ago
  Then don't choose everybody. Settings -> Privacy -> set everything to "my contacts" or "nobody".

xmcp123 9mo ago

Old telephones had caller ID. They would send your name and company. You did have to initiate the call, but you still didn’t have any kind of agreement about it.

mlrtime 9mo ago
Yes, and you used to have to pay for it! Not only was it opt-in, there was a charge.

direwolf20 9mo ago

Several people have scraped every possible phone number from WhatsApp so they know your name, picture, and status if they want it.

mlrtime 9mo ago
So, that doesn't mean we give it away freely because someone was malicious. That makes no sense.
- direwolf20 9mo ago
  It's already given away freely. Anyone who has WhatsApp can add you as a contact and see this information. If you are bored and have a computer, you can add every possible phone number as a contact. Not many people do that, but some did.

dotancohen 9mo ago

> old telephone lines did not disclose info about me with merely my phone number. Old telephone lines most certainly disclosed additional information about you. Who you contacted, when, how often. Did you call that drug dealer every Tuesday evening? Looks suspicious. Did that criminal call you the day before he robbed a store not far from your home? Looks suspicious. Do you call Pakistan twice a week? Looks suspicious. Have you ever called a suicide prevention hotline? A bank other than your own? A mosque? An independent political party? Your POTS phone was always revealing information.