This puts me personally in a very bad state as I can never stop using WhatsApp because of its popularity here(ref. Fax machine problem). It’s almost like essential service.
Yeah, this is one of the reasons why I'd be pro splitting up Whatsapp and Facebook/Insta. I don't really follow the monopoly rules, so don't really know when it might be crossing that line. I guess the EU review of these firms will tell us.
Yes me too. I’d be happy to pay for WhatsApp if I had an option to, instead of sharing my data with Facebook.
It’s almost like I’m compromising my most personal data for access to essential services and don’t know whether we can call the customer a “king” in this scenario.
At least people will hopefully learn the lesson: promoting un-federated services using closed software will always lead to people getting very hurt no matter how nice the company behind them is.
Interestingly here in Germany you can live in your whatsapp free bubble easily...until you get a child. Everyone I know gave up at this point (at least one parent).
Same in the Netherlands, School WA group, Class WA group (for both children), Sport WA groups (for both children), Children's birthdays WA groups, Family WA groups, Neighborhood WA groups (oh yes, we see this in many streets: [0])
Unlike most, I praise any move like this that may bring an end to WhatsApp dominance. I'm still bitter at the world for betting on a platform that ties your identity to a phone number (instead of email, which doesn't change as you switch countries).
Not entirely seamless. It creates a hard-fork of your user account if you choose not to notify others of the number change (effectively cutting you off from contacts).
That's only one aspect, however. Most WA features have a diminished experience due to their early design choices centered around a phone (see WA web vs Messenger or Telegram web)
This puts me personally in a very bad state as I can never stop using WhatsApp because of its popularity here(ref. Fax machine problem). It’s almost like essential service.