[maskedinvader]

I get why one would feel this way if this was one of Meta’s social media apps, but WhatsApp is one of the biggest messaging apps used in so many countries and perhaps also helped kill the telecoms companies paid sms plans to force cheaper sms msging rates, if anything WhatsApp is perhaps the best value Meta has provided to the world, bringing the world closer.

[midasuni]

Except that was all done before meta bought it.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-technology/952359-tho...

[lmm]

But getting bought by facebook was the only business plan they ever had, so it was facebook that made all that possible.

[nvarsj]

It wasn't end to end encrypted either before Meta bought it. Maybe it's not all bad?

[frizlab]

WhatsApp is a company Meta bought, not brought to the world AFAIK.

[Angostura]

It also demands full access to the totality of your contacts to work properly.

An appalling requirement

[NikolaNovak]

I always feel I'm in a twilight zone with whatsapp. Am I the only person who doesn't want or need to give the app all of my contacts, or even register with just phone number? Phone number is such an intensely and irrevocably identifiable token and so hard to change, that using it for pervasive messaging seems insane to me :-/

[tiltowait]

Maybe it would break a lot of things, but my gut instinct is I wish it were illegal for an app to slurp up, even with the user's consent, all of the user's contacts. Any such entries should be manual.

I don't use $SERVICE. I never want to use $SERVICE. I certainly don't consent to $SERVICE having my contact info because some acquaintance/friend/family member who doesn't know any better tapped "allow" on a button. But because it's allowed, any number of immoral companies like Facebook have my info, even though I've made a conscious decision never to use them due to their privacy violations.

[hot_gril]

Specifically, you need to give it access to your contacts to create contacts on WhatsApp, otherwise you just see phone numbers.

[username135]

It still boggles my mind that they paid SO much for it

[Barrin92]

well it is by far the most used messenger app in the world with 2+ billion users so in that sense it seems prescient but i'd agree it's still questionable how they'll monetize it.

[annadane]

Yes but the original founders did that. Zuckerberg took it from them and immediately lied about data sharing, there's a reason why the founders left in disgust

[avalys]

Correction: The founders sold it to Zuckerberg for billions of dollars.

Saying he “took it from them” is outright dishonest.