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Zero signup = zero friction. You install the software, and your contacts who have WhatsApp immediately show up on your WhatsApp contact list. It was basically
by mertd 13y ago
Zero signup = zero friction. You install the software, and your contacts who have WhatsApp immediately show up on your WhatsApp contact list.
It was basically a free SMS replacement at first.
Of course that came with a massive security hole, where your "behind the scenes" login password was MD5 of your phone's imei. That, as far as I understand, has changed now.
- bad_user 13y agoIt's not really zero signup. WhatsApp does have a signup process that requires setting your name and confirming your phone number. An SMS message is involved too, which means that WhatsApp Messenger can only work on mobile devices connected to a mobile network and that can receive SMS messages. This is the reason for why I stopped using it in favor of Facebook's messenger, because it doesn't work on the desktop or on iPads or other tablets that aren't capable of receiving SMS messages. Coupled with the fact that people can routinely use multiple phone numbers at the same time, or temporary phone numbers while traveling, it makes for a frustrating experience. Facebook's acquisition makes no sense to me. All of my friends and acquaintances that were using WhatsApp have already switched to Facebook's messenger and/or Hangouts. If I open WhatsApp right now and send a message, it probably won't reach its target - for example WhatsApp is listing my wife as a user, yet she uninstalled it months ago. And I'm as far away from Silicon Valley's echo chamber as it gets. But whatever, it's their money.