WhatsApp's rise and recent PR efforts highlight a class of business models that I call "user domestication".

As Seirdy notes:

It just keeps getting more relevant. WhatsApp, GitHub, Twitter, Reddit…each disaster worse than the last. The companies in charge know that the users will just take it after having their autonomy taken first.

  • Zagorath@aussie.zone
    3·
    1 year ago

    It used your existing phone number as your identifier

    Wait, people think of that as an advantage? For me, that has always been the reason I have refused to use it. It’s also why I never even tried Google’s Allo despite being a big fan. A chat application that isn’t using the phone network shouldn’t be tied to your phone number. It makes cross-platform support extremely awkward, and that’s noticeable in how poor What’s App still is for cross-platform use.

    • 15Redstones@feddit.de
      5·
      1 year ago

      For people who previously used SMS and had their contacts saved in the phone’s pre-installed contact app, WhatsApp could use all those contacts out of the box.