6 ms·

Show HN: What to use instead of WhatsApp

13 points by iuguy 13y ago

iuguy 13y ago
I have nothing to do with this product, I just use it. I've been using it for months and so far I'm impressed. It seems to do things the right way (at least compared to WhatsApp) and I can get non-technical people using it. The FAQ[1] seems to do a bit more than just assert "Military Grade Security". The only downside is that it's not fully open source. [1] - https://threema.ch/en/faq.html https://threema.ch/en/faq.html
- rjzzleep 13y ago
  the crypto kinda is [1]. here's a post for some other information regarding threema [2]. you can always use chatsecure though [3], think adium/pidgin with otr for your mobile. personally i'm not sure how secure any of that is, because if you consider how predictions on mobile keyboards work it's clear that they log your input. we just haven't seen them sending it back "yet" also unrelated, but seems like cyanogenmod is adding textsecure to the base system. [4][5] [1]: https://threema.ch/validation/ https://threema.ch/validation/ [2]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7253730 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7253730 [3]: https://chatsecure.org/about/ https://chatsecure.org/about/ [4]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.thoughtcrime.securesms&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.thoughtcri... [5] http://www.cyanogenmod.org/blog/whisperpush-secure-messaging-integration http://www.cyanogenmod.org/blog/whisperpush-secure-messaging...
  - DavideNL 13y ago
    The way i see it there is no App (for personal use) that's 100% secure. It's already become clear from Snowdens documents that the NSA can get access to any iOS/android device, and therefor can also intercept all your (perfectly encrpyted) communication: _if_ you are of interest to them for whatever reason. However, there's a big difference between: #1. Communication is protected so that absolutely no one can access it #2. Communication is protected against mass surveillance/Google/Facebook/marketing company's who abuse people's privacy. In my opinion, for 99% of all people, #2 is what they need. #1 is not needed and probably not even possible, because people are not willing and not capable to take all the measures needed to achieve #1 (unlike for example companies/governments where data is highly classified and more resources are available to achieve this). Anyways the way i see it, Whatsapp has shown in the past that (not encrypting their messages for example) it doesn't care about protecting people's privacy. Obviously since they are acquired by Facebook all privacy is lost. Threema for example (and Telegram, Chatsecure,...) do value privacy, and it's also simple, so even your 60 year old mom can set it up and use it.
  - iuguy 13y ago
    Chatsecure has real problems on iOS. In fact all XMPP clients do. Because of the way iOS multitasking works, Chatsecure and other OTR-based XMPP clients can't carry on working in the background so you end up losing the connection. I've used threema for about a year and dived into an older version of the client and found it good enough (assuming you're more bothered about the provider knowing what you're doing rather than the NSA etc.).
rakoo 13y ago
What to use instead of WhatsApp, Viber, Line, et al. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XMPP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XMPP
DavideNL 13y ago
I've been using it also for more than a year, it's a really nice and clean/simple app. The downside is of course that none of my friends used this app yet because it's not as widespread as Whatsapp. So, i simply installed Threema myself on the phones of the people i communicate with 90% of the time, my best friend and some family. The problem with free products like Whatsapp is that 'you' are the product being sold. I'd rather pay 2€ for some privacy.
- shrikant 13y ago
  You appear to be uninformed about WhatsApp: http://blog.whatsapp.com/index.php/2012/06/why-we-dont-sell-ads/ http://blog.whatsapp.com/index.php/2012/06/why-we-dont-sell-...
  - nextw33k 13y ago
    One could argue that the sale to Facebook was you being the product that was sold. The valuation doesn't support the value of the 50 employees or the development time of the application but it does support the number of customers. That's what was brought and what will be used by Facebook.
numbnuts 13y ago
Does anyone have any experience with Telegram[0]? Having a desktop or web client is very useful. It doesn't seem like they're coming anytime soon for Threema[1]. And no, Google Hangouts is not an option. [0]: https://telegram.org/ https://telegram.org/ [1]: https://threema.ch/en/faq.html#desktopversion https://threema.ch/en/faq.html#desktopversion
- edgarjs 13y ago
  Telegram has worked pretty well for me. There are desktop and web clients now https://telegram.org/apps https://telegram.org/apps
bitcuration 13y ago
Hangout is a decent alternative, or Facebook messenger. Both are moving fast to mobile phone number based.
- Cynddl 13y ago
  Did you read the description of Threema before commenting? Hangout and Facebook don't provide a secure text messaging scheme like this one or Telegram.

13 points by iuguy 13y ago

iuguy 13y ago

I have nothing to do with this product, I just use it. I've been using it for months and so far I'm impressed. It seems to do things the right way (at least compared to WhatsApp) and I can get non-technical people using it. The FAQ[1] seems to do a bit more than just assert "Military Grade Security". The only downside is that it's not fully open source. [1] - https://threema.ch/en/faq.html https://threema.ch/en/faq.html

rjzzleep 13y ago
the crypto kinda is [1]. here's a post for some other information regarding threema [2]. you can always use chatsecure though [3], think adium/pidgin with otr for your mobile. personally i'm not sure how secure any of that is, because if you consider how predictions on mobile keyboards work it's clear that they log your input. we just haven't seen them sending it back "yet" also unrelated, but seems like cyanogenmod is adding textsecure to the base system. [4][5] [1]: https://threema.ch/validation/ https://threema.ch/validation/ [2]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7253730 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7253730 [3]: https://chatsecure.org/about/ https://chatsecure.org/about/ [4]: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.thoughtcrime.securesms&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.thoughtcri... [5] http://www.cyanogenmod.org/blog/whisperpush-secure-messaging-integration http://www.cyanogenmod.org/blog/whisperpush-secure-messaging...
- DavideNL 13y ago
  The way i see it there is no App (for personal use) that's 100% secure. It's already become clear from Snowdens documents that the NSA can get access to any iOS/android device, and therefor can also intercept all your (perfectly encrpyted) communication: _if_ you are of interest to them for whatever reason. However, there's a big difference between: #1. Communication is protected so that absolutely no one can access it #2. Communication is protected against mass surveillance/Google/Facebook/marketing company's who abuse people's privacy. In my opinion, for 99% of all people, #2 is what they need. #1 is not needed and probably not even possible, because people are not willing and not capable to take all the measures needed to achieve #1 (unlike for example companies/governments where data is highly classified and more resources are available to achieve this). Anyways the way i see it, Whatsapp has shown in the past that (not encrypting their messages for example) it doesn't care about protecting people's privacy. Obviously since they are acquired by Facebook all privacy is lost. Threema for example (and Telegram, Chatsecure,...) do value privacy, and it's also simple, so even your 60 year old mom can set it up and use it.
- iuguy 13y ago
  Chatsecure has real problems on iOS. In fact all XMPP clients do. Because of the way iOS multitasking works, Chatsecure and other OTR-based XMPP clients can't carry on working in the background so you end up losing the connection. I've used threema for about a year and dived into an older version of the client and found it good enough (assuming you're more bothered about the provider knowing what you're doing rather than the NSA etc.).

rakoo 13y ago

What to use instead of WhatsApp, Viber, Line, et al. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XMPP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XMPP

DavideNL 13y ago

I've been using it also for more than a year, it's a really nice and clean/simple app. The downside is of course that none of my friends used this app yet because it's not as widespread as Whatsapp. So, i simply installed Threema myself on the phones of the people i communicate with 90% of the time, my best friend and some family. The problem with free products like Whatsapp is that 'you' are the product being sold. I'd rather pay 2€ for some privacy.

shrikant 13y ago
You appear to be uninformed about WhatsApp: http://blog.whatsapp.com/index.php/2012/06/why-we-dont-sell-ads/ http://blog.whatsapp.com/index.php/2012/06/why-we-dont-sell-...
- nextw33k 13y ago
  One could argue that the sale to Facebook was you being the product that was sold. The valuation doesn't support the value of the 50 employees or the development time of the application but it does support the number of customers. That's what was brought and what will be used by Facebook.

numbnuts 13y ago

Does anyone have any experience with Telegram[0]? Having a desktop or web client is very useful. It doesn't seem like they're coming anytime soon for Threema[1]. And no, Google Hangouts is not an option. [0]: https://telegram.org/ https://telegram.org/ [1]: https://threema.ch/en/faq.html#desktopversion https://threema.ch/en/faq.html#desktopversion

edgarjs 13y ago
Telegram has worked pretty well for me. There are desktop and web clients now https://telegram.org/apps https://telegram.org/apps

bitcuration 13y ago

Hangout is a decent alternative, or Facebook messenger. Both are moving fast to mobile phone number based.

Cynddl 13y ago
Did you read the description of Threema before commenting? Hangout and Facebook don't provide a secure text messaging scheme like this one or Telegram.