this post was submitted on 05 Mar 2025
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Privacy

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[–] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 46 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Let's hope they'll be able to continue to use it. It (and all other messengers with proper E2EE) is already on track to be outlawed in Sweden and France, and the new government in Germany will be pro mass-surveillance, too.

[–] EngineerGaming@feddit.nl 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

Moral of the story? Use ~~selfhostable~~ decentralized messaging instead.

[–] brrt@sh.itjust.works 38 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Milk is getting more expensive. Moral of the story: Buy a cow.

I really wish people would stop being so delusional about the average person’s technological abilities. jUsT TeLL grAn To sPin Up a mATrIx SErvEr.. stfu

[–] EngineerGaming@feddit.nl 8 points 1 month ago (7 children)

"Everyone should be hosting a server" was NOT my point, sorry if I got misunderstood. My mother could in no way host an XMPP server on her own - but I could register her an account on mine.

Rather, I meant: a) if you can host it, suggest your friends and family to use your server; b) if you can't - that is still better: with multiple public servers available, there is no single point of failure, you can choose a server in whatever jurisdiction you want, or even an onion/i2p one.

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[–] einfach_orangensaft@sh.itjust.works 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

i rather talk to my grand parents over ham radio than giving them a smartphone

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[–] jimmy90@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

true but this is not yet easy enough for normal humans. selfhosting anything is not yet easy enough

[–] Lazycog@sopuli.xyz 10 points 1 month ago (1 children)

And is potentially even less secure if someone who has no idea about managing a server at all tries to spin up an online service.

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[–] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 3 points 1 month ago (5 children)

No way in hell my relatives are going to use a messenger I selfhosted. My brother doesn't even use Signal for whatever reason, even though even my grandmother has it.

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[–] J4g2F@lemmy.ml 22 points 1 month ago (1 children)

My dad just said in the WhatsApp group, why not move to signal. I tried moving friends and family before, but now that there has been anti meta media reports in some news sources. But especially reports on signal in almost every major newspaper and news source.

It seems not only a push because of privacy, but even more a anti big tech(especially us tech) and buy/use eu stuff push.

I don't mind the push I'm just curious if people stay on signal. Previous time there was a push to signal (during whatsapp technical difficulties and privacy push) people quickly want back to whatsapp.

Now my volunteer work, 1 friend and a family chat already moved to signal. The only thing I did was some explaining that you can just send images and so on. (That it's not something scary)

[–] sem@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

What are the major differences between what you can do on Whatsapp vs Signal?

[–] easily3667@lemmus.org 8 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Whatsapp let's you donate your contact list and social network to meta for them to resell.

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[–] Gold_E_Lox@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month ago

it is just a messaging app, legit the exact same. group chats, image and video, previews to links i send, it even has a way higher level of customisability that i haven't found elsewhere.

[–] Nanook@lemm.ee 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (9 children)

Why? Because the Dutch national broadcasters keep plugging it as an alternative to Whatsapp.

Aside... Two apps keep getting mentioned as alternatives, Signal and Element/Matrix, but in MHRO both are not viable as replacements.

Signal: still a US app, CIA funded, provides their encryption backbone to Whatsapp, recommended by governments & FBI. Matrix/Element: Developed in Israel, with ties to IDF, preferred by NATO (NI2CE)

[–] asdfasdfasdf@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

IDGAF who funds it or who develops it.

  • E2E encrypted
  • security review by independent party I trust which says there are no holes or bugs
  • open source

Those three things are all that matters.

[–] easily3667@lemmus.org 3 points 1 month ago

Other than people you don't like living in the world here with us, do you have any proof of anything actually nefarious done by signal or matrix?

[–] xor@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 month ago

you’re spreading lies lies lies FUD

[–] TomAwsm@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Just FYI:

If you want to say "both are not", you can instead use "neither".

[–] Nanook@lemm.ee 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yes you can, both are correct.

[–] easily3667@lemmus.org 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Neither is incorrect really

[–] xor@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 month ago

you are neither correct nor right.

[–] Yxf@lemm.ee 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Signal is funded by the CIA now ? And I thought Element is in the UK?

[–] BuckenBerry@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (3 children)

Signal does seem to have some ties to the CIA

There seems to be a completely different Israeli company called matrix. I can't find any link between the two.

[–] easily3667@lemmus.org 4 points 1 month ago

It's old and convoluted, something like a precursor to element got funding from Israel or something

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