The Lemon Fool

I don't know if this is true, but WhatsApp even knows "the battery level of your phone" according to The Washington Post

formoverfunction wrote:Most people I know use Signal.

Then we must lead very different lives and know very different people. I had not even heard of Signal before this topic.

elkay wrote:

formoverfunction wrote:The merry days of "bring your own device" to work. It always irritates me when providers of utilities want you to contact them on Whatsapp.

I'm curious about why you are irritated by utilities wanting to contact you by WhatsApp. I'm happy if it is an option, as it is generally the most responsive channel, is encrypted, and backed up, so I have the history....

A Signal option would be of no interest to me - no-one I know uses Signal, so there is no point in me having it on my phone.

Ditto on Signal as above. I was surprised to check into a hotel recently to be told that if I needed anything I should whatsapp the hotel staff. Needless to say that didn't happen.

On another note I read today that over 90% of eleven year olds have a smart phone. Either the world has gone mad or I am getting too old.

Lootman wrote:

formoverfunction wrote:Most people I know use Signal.

Then we must lead very different lives and know very different people. I had not even heard of Signal before this topic.

This is known as the network effect.
I use Facebook very seldom. The reason is that I am only interested in one person who uses it.
Discord likewise.
I use Whatsapp a bit more, as there are two people who use it.
I've recently signed up to X (twitter) but have not got around to using it.
I know of signal and telegram, but don't use them because the group that I associate with don't use them.
I used Wechat at work, because it was the best way to communicate with some people.

There are a huge amount of other communication app's. Keet, Nostr, Masterdon ........

The most popular tend to have privacy issues. The ones coming from the decedents of the cypher punks have obvious advantages, but lack network effect as many/most just don't care.

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/ ... twork.html

Using a panel of 709 volunteers who shared archives of their Facebook data, Consumer Reports found that a total of 186,892 companies sent data about them to the social network. On average, each participant in the study had their data sent to Facebook by 2,230 companies. That number varied significantly, with some panelists’ data listing over 7,000 companies providing their data. The Markup helped Consumer Reports recruit participants for the study. Participants downloaded an archive of the previous three years of their data from their Facebook settings, then provided it to Consumer Reports.

Not sure how much that relates to phone apps, but it show's FB's ambitions.

JohnB wrote:https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2024/02/facebooks-extensive-surveillance-network.html

Using a panel of 709 volunteers who shared archives of their Facebook data, Consumer Reports found that a total of 186,892 companies sent data about them to the social network. On average, each participant in the study had their data sent to Facebook by 2,230 companies. That number varied significantly, with some panelists’ data listing over 7,000 companies providing their data. The Markup helped Consumer Reports recruit participants for the study. Participants downloaded an archive of the previous three years of their data from their Facebook settings, then provided it to Consumer Reports.

Not sure how much that relates to phone apps, but it show's FB's ambitions.

Horrifying isn't. All those data points collected, combined and eventually used to advertise or influence you. Someone talked earlier about the network effect, the only network that really matters is the one that's collecting your data quietly in the background and combining it. It's creepy.

Interesting article from late last year, US specific, about the national security risks https://www.politico.com/news/2023/11/0 ... e-00125345

Want to identify a serving US soldiers who's indebted, gambles and possibly having an affair, well you might be able to from 12 cents.

Lootman wrote:Either the world has gone mad or I am getting too old.

The two aren't exclusive.