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provide free app at a loss
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grow massive user base and market share
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squeeze your userbase for every cent they’re worth
Every single time. We got to solve the funding issue some how, I dont want to live in a future run by ads.
WhatsApp is officially getting ads
Submitted 19 hours ago by MazonnaCara89@lemmy.ml to technology@lemmy.world
https://www.theverge.com/news/687519/whatsapp-launch-advertising-status-updates
Comments
Auth@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
ely@mastodon.green 1 hour ago
@Auth
So that's why we donate to @signalapp
@MazonnaCara89Susurrus@lemm.ee 1 hour ago
It’s not very easy to solve the issue of infinite growth in a world with finite resources. The fundamental issue is that it’s just not physically possible, but they keep trying. Either we continue this cycle and eventually destroy the planet irreversibly, or we acknowledge that maybe money isn’t everything, and that maybe people aren’t inherently egoitistical monsters, and we move on to different systems.
tarknassus@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
The enshittification process in a nutshell.
bonjour@mander.xyz 4 hours ago
WhatsApp was not free and already had a massive user base before Facebook bought it.
Hope this will turn people to alternatives.
hansolo@lemmy.today 3 hours ago
Eastern Europe loves the app Viber that Rakuten bought, which has had ads for years.
Ronno@feddit.nl 4 hours ago
This is such great news! More ammo to use when trying to convince friends and family to move away from WhatsApp
JamonBear@sh.itjust.works 2 hours ago
delta.chat
The enshittify proof alternative!
rdri@lemmy.world 25 minutes ago
…Electron inside.
SpiderUnderUrBed@lemmy.zip 2 hours ago
Would signal also work?
buttnugget@lemmy.world 33 minutes ago
I believe it is centralized but it is certainly an alternative to WhatsApp. My understanding is that it’s encrypted and privacy centric.
ace_garp@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Yes, encrypted chats packetised over SMTP layer.
Smooth as silk for a year and a half.
Send pics, voicemails, files, videos, and video-chat(via Jitsi integration)
Arcane-chat app does location sharing too.
NotForYourStereo@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
gasp
Who could have ever seen this move coming? From Facebook, of all companies!
toynbee@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
To be fair, I am shocked… Not to see a Pikachu face in the comments.
danc4498@lemmy.world 9 hours ago
As somebody that doesn’t use what’s app, I’m shocked it didn’t have ads already.
Jaybird@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
“We will never show you ads in WhatsApp. We promise”. --Facebook when they bought WhatsApp and promised the previous owner not to force ads in the app…
InnerScientist@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
I wonder if anyone believed them at the time
Jaybird@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
If they did not, they at least ignored that instinct and kept using WhatsApp…
How do we get people to stop ignoring their better instincts in things like this?
ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
Good news good Signal.
hansolo@lemmy.today 19 hours ago
Only if you donate. Otherwise bad news, Signal.
WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
Have they removed that dogshit crypto they added a few years ago? Haven’t donated since.
Signal was never more than a stepping stone anyway. Centralised privacy services, that can be taken down by any government, are doomed to fail under surveillance capitalfascism.
Corn@lemmy.ml 3 hours ago
Do you have WhatsApp? No Telegram?
I dont have that one, none of the clients seem to work on my phone… Wechat?
Cant verify, SMS doesnt get through. LINE? lol I dont have a japanese number. Kakaotalk?
No… …discord?
Sure!
Shit he’s 30 seconds from finding out Im a furry.
Nalivai@discuss.tchncs.de 1 hour ago
none of the clients seem to work on my phone
Hm, first time I hear that one to be honest.
aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 hours ago
I hope Signal does this too! S
- no one ever.
Kekzkrieger@feddit.org 16 hours ago
If thats not a reason to switch to Signal what is.
But people just suck it up anyway, they did when reddit gone to shit, they did when Amazon startes showing ads even tho when you were paying, they did when Netflix disallowed sharing and you had to pay extra.
People just suck up whatever is thrown at them and are fucking stupid.
We cant have nice things, because companies will greed and if users dont react and cancel the shit out of them they and others will continue to press more moneyjuice out of people.
Fluxxr@lemmy.dbzer0.com 32 minutes ago
How is signal insulated from the same fate? Isn’t it another free app that will eventually hit the enshitification wall?
PlutoniumAcid@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Sheep don’t know they are being slaughtered. We’re the digital 1% and we can’t make the sheep wake up.
dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 14 hours ago
I don’t use either but my issue with Signal is none of my friends want another application to install and they are happy with WhatApp.
Conversely, I’m happy not having a group chat app and will either text you or iMessage you. Don’t you dare ring me as I ain’t answering.
SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 6 hours ago
I just deleted WhatsApp one day and made the switch. Messaged all important contacts, that I will be available via Signal. Most of the few I care about went ahead and installed Signal. One is still dragging their feet and we communicate via SMS now xD
zewm@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
I only use WhatsApp for work and none of my coworkers are switching off it. They have too much invested in it. Family specifically.
hraegsvelmir@ani.social 5 hours ago
I had a similar situation at my previous two jobs, but I just told people I wasn’t installing WhatsApp, if they asked, and nothing ever came of it. If it’s that important, they could text me or use my work email.
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 hours ago
I forgot WhatsApp existed.
Guess its shittier now.
Mhm. Yup.
100_kg_90_de_belin@feddit.it 6 hours ago
It’s the go-to messagging app in my country for historical reasons.
LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
I don’t even remember what it’s for. Somehow life goes on.
cRazi_man@europe.pub 14 hours ago
I’m forced to use WhatsApp chat so I keep it installed begrudgingly. But who the fuck is using WhatsApp stories?
PlutoniumAcid@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
I use Beeper which shows me a unified view of whatsapp and Signal and others. whatsapp itself has zero permissions on my phone. I hate that I need to have it at all but Europe is deep into that. Sigh.
sykaster@feddit.nl 5 hours ago
Isn’t Beeper another security risk? They also store your data on their cloud, and it’s not encrypted during the bridge process.
cRazi_man@europe.pub 13 hours ago
There was a big uproar amongst normies when the WhatsApp TOS changed…but people forget quickly and prefer convenience. That was our one chance to convert everyone over.
lemmyingly@lemm.ee 10 hours ago
At least normal European people are locked into a platform that doesn’t care what device you’re using, unlike iMessage - so it’s not all bad
kirk781@discuss.tchncs.de 7 hours ago
Whatsapp is popular a lot in many parts of the world. In India, WhatsApp is almost the defacto standard messaging app with Telegram probably flying in a far second. I doubt I know anyone who even uses stuff like Signal or Threema or any of the alternatives.
AugustWest@lemm.ee 12 hours ago
But then aren’t you trusting your credentials to yet another application? That seems like a bad idea…
zebidiah@lemmy.ca 10 hours ago
I literally just got my senior citizen dad off Skype and over to WhatsApp like 2 years ago… Ain’t no way I can get him over to signal
noxypaws@pawb.social 13 hours ago
Facebook shit gonna do facebook shit
Tillman@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
Always a bit shocked to learn people still use WhatsApp.
tarknassus@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
All our clients use it. It’s bloody annoying. I have dozens who use WhatsApp, and like three who use Signal. Ironically, the three that use Signal also use WhatsApp and guess which one they use to contact us?
It’s a problem when it’s got mass market traction to get people to switch. I’m still trying to get off Messenger but some people insist on it… Going to have to get firm about that.
linux2647@lemmy.sdf.org 5 hours ago
It’s like the de facto messaging app for a good portion of the world
oppy1984@lemm.ee 5 hours ago
I have a buddy in Japan who was a foreign exchange student here in the U.S. years ago. When he went back home I had to use Line to talk to him, I tried for years to get him to use Signal and after years of nagging he agreed to start using Discord… well at least it’s not Whatsapp…
insaneinthemembrane@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
All of my community groups are on there, including the school parents one. My choice is to not participate in the community or have Whatsapp… Or worse, Facebook.
tzrlk@lemmy.world 4 hours ago
It’s really big in Europe for some reason.
Ronno@feddit.nl 4 hours ago
One of the first movers, so many chat groups are still on there and it’s very difficult to make people move. Many people simply don’t care about privacy, ads, user experience and what not, they just want the convenience of staying in the chat groups they are already in. A shame really.
aceshigh@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
Some of us don’t have another choice. All (but 1) of my support groups are on WhatsApp and only 1 is on signal.
imetators@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 hours ago
I had to do it because many use it and I was not. If you want to communicate in certain parts of the world, this is the only way. I wish everyone would go to Signal or Telegram but everyone are not me.
SilverShark@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
I wished Whatsapp wasn’t a thing so much. There are so many so much better apps. Signal is so much better and it would work fine for the vast majority of people.
Scolding7300@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
Unfortunately “better” varies from person to person. Signal is behind on features, e.g. WhatsApp has integration for businesses (customer support).
I hope my monthly donation will help but we must realize for some some features are important, I guess that for most it’s how many ppl they know is there/unwilling to lead a migration
SilverShark@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Yes, this is right. Saying arbitrarily “better” leaves a lot out.
I must admit that using the business integration for customer support has lead me to really good experiences. Especially not having to call, wait 20 minutes under a ring tone, and talking over a line with very low sound quality.
SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 6 hours ago
Nobody in their right mind wants to use Whatsapp for getting support. That is insane. I want to message people and do group chats. That is it. Anything else is bloat.
mintiefresh@piefed.ca 18 hours ago
Hopefully this helps people move off of WhatsApp to Signal or something else.
Ulrich@feddit.org 16 hours ago
Yeah like it moved them off of Xitter, Reddit, Facebook and Instagram.
SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 6 hours ago
I mean we are here, aren’t we? The majority of people will do nothing of course, but some will make the switch or even just install another app just to give it a try. And soon Whatsapp’s enshittification will continue and some more people will switch and so on.
SieYaku@chachara.club 18 hours ago
Hope so… Just a little bit and them another ones when they extent the implementation of IA… And wishing to not be the standard any more
FenderStratocaster@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
I just wish SMS would go away.
FinalRemix@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
Why? It works fine and it’s built into the phones. No need to convince family members to install a fuckin’ chat app just to be able to message them.
TomMasz@piefed.social 15 hours ago
Meta has been running ads claiming no one can read your WhatsApp messages, including them. For some reason, I'm not 100% sure about this. It's hard to imagine they can resist grabbing all that data for their AI somehow.
malfisya@piefed.social 18 hours ago
This is one of the train that impossible for me to get off. It is very ubiquitous in my country to use whatsapp instead of text. I must suck it up I guess. 😅
razorcandy@discuss.tchncs.de 18 hours ago
I’m more surprised it took them this long. Thankfully there are already many decent alternative messaging apps.
t_berium@lemmy.world 3 hours ago
Looks like I need an alternative. An alternative for which there is still no prospect of enshitification. Which services are neither American, Chinese nor Russian? Anything from Europe?
drmoose@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
I wonder whether Meta will try to lock down cross platform access now.
Currently Beeper still works everywhere and ED’S DMA (Digital Markets Act) still has WhatsApp as gate keeper which is required to interpolate with other chat apps. However “WhatsApp stories” are entirely different from chat so that means they can block all of that and this is probably how Meta will approach future WhatsApp updates - more shit to lock people in WhatsApp that isnt directly chat related.
Ulrich@feddit.org 16 hours ago
Only shocking part of this is that it took them this long.
FelixCress@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
Time to ditch WhatsApp
mazzilius_marsti@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
These ads on messaging services are out of control
so… back to owl mail then?
cheese_greater@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
Signal doesnt have ads…
espentan@lemmy.world 19 hours ago
Uninstalled.
Luckily I/people I interact with never used it much.
Mynameisallen@lemmy.zip 18 hours ago
Glad I got out when I did
Opinionhaver@feddit.uk 13 hours ago
Seems like I’m not in the target audience for these ads. I have absolutely zero clue what any of the things mentioned above are. I use WhatsApp to send messages.
nothrone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 48 minutes ago
WhatsApp getting ads is great news! WhatsApp, and any other meta/facebook/for-profit-social-network will never be a good product. Therefore, the second best alternative is for it to be as bad as possible, so people finally change to worthy alternatives.
What is the alternative here? Don’t know, perhaps Signal, though the devs are not welcoming at all. The UI is absolute shit. Looks like UI for old people, huge margins and empty space. My screen fits like 3 chats. A compact theme would take a few hours to create and vastly improve the product, but ya…