Only way: don’t use their products. Fuck what everyone else does, if they are your friend they will text you or get on signal, end of story. People are fucking idiots

This is how I ask my contacts on WhatsApp to move to Signal.

Each message to be sent on WhatsApp/Signal is separated by a horizontal line. Separating them makes WhatsApp/Signal render link previews nicely - wait for the preview to appear before sending each message. After copy-pasting from Lemmy to WhatsApp/Signal, you may have to correct the formatting by adding [Shift+Enter] where a line feed has disappeared, or to re-bold subheadings by selecting text and clicking the [B]-button.

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It is not safe for Europeans to use WhatsApp.

WhatsApp is owned by the US company Meta, whose largest shareholder and decision-maker is Mark Zuckerberg, a billionaire Trump supporter. Meta’s business model has always been based on the use and resale of data extracted from and spied on users of its free services for all manner of purposes. The $16 billion acquisition of WhatsApp was not an act of charity, but an investment designed to get users’ conversations onto their servers.

WhatsApp’s source code is secret, so no impartial party can verify whether the app’s owner is able to read all message histories or not. Even if this were not currently possible, new updates are released constantly, and a backdoor could be added at any time – for example, if Trump ordered it – and under US law, a company operating there is obliged to comply with government orders.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhatsApp#Switzerland
"
In December 2021, the Swiss army banned the use of WhatsApp and several other non-Swiss encrypted messaging services by army personnel. The ban was prompted by concerns of US authorities potentially accessing user data for such apps because of the CLOUD Act.
"

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawsuits_involving_Meta_Platforms
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… collecting biometric data of their Facebook and Instagram users without their consent and then sharing it with third parties and not deleting it in time, despite Meta announcing that it would delete all data it had collected …
"

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg#Politics
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Zuckerberg was one of a handful of technology leaders positioned prominently at Trump’s inauguration. … In January 2025, he said: “We now have a U.S. administration that is proud of our leading companies, prioritizes American technology winning and that will defend our values and interests abroad.”
…
Zuckerberg has expressed opposition to EU regulations of his company saying “we’re going to work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world that’re going after American companies.”
"

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The leakage of detailed information to foreign powers is dangerous for Europe, particularly now that artificial intelligence can sift through mountains of data and identify ways in which Europe could be most effectively undermined by manipulating individual citizens.

Europeans mostly use US software and online services, and the data collected from these enables highly accurate micro-targeted advertising.

It is suspected that Brexit and Trump were brought about through the use of personalised propaganda.

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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/07/the-great-british-brexit-robbery-hijacked-democracy

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveillance_capitalism

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I recommend replacing WhatsApp with a similar app called ‘Signal’, which is open-source and developed by a foundation.

Messages don’t move between Signal and WhatsApp, but they can be ‘shared’ one by one from one app to the other.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_(software)

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On Signal, finding contacts by phone number has sometimes been a bit hit-and-miss, but searching by username has always worked. You can choose your username in Signal’s settings. When you share your username, your phone number is not revealed to the other party in the conversation unless you specifically provide it, just as with email. Setting up Signal without a phone number is a paid feature.

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When the person has moved from WhatsApp to Signal, I send them the following messages.

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Signal can save your message history to its own cloud, but this does not happen automatically; the setting can be found under Settings/Backups. With the free cloud package, storage space for media files is limited.

If you do not use Signal’s paid cloud service, you can keep your entire message history (including images and videos) safe from device damage or loss using one of the following methods:

• Install Signal on another device that you are unlikely to lose at the same time as your other device, for example in a fire or burglary. Your chat history will synchronise via an internet connection whilst the devices are switched on.
• Download a backup file from Signal regularly and store it somewhere else. A file left on your phone will likely end up in your phone’s operating system’s backup cloud, provided this feature is switched on and covers the folder where you saved the file.

If an old, decommissioned device contains an old message history that you wish to transfer to new devices, simply update Signal to a sufficiently recent version that is capable of synchronising histories between devices. Check whether media files older than the free cloud’s time limit were transferred or if you need to pass a backup file.

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You can improve the quality of the photos and videos you send by going to Settings/Data usage/Media quality: High. There is no ‘Original quality’ option.

You can bypass compression and resizing, which reduce quality, by hiding media files inside a zip file (or equivalent), which Signal will send as is. This is useful for maximising the quality of an image sent for printing, or if the image contains text that is so small it cannot be read unless it is in its original quality.

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If the person is interested in privacy and information security, I send them these:

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Try going somewhere without being spotted by a surveillance car made in the US or China. A European in Europe cannot escape an agent of a foreign power.

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- Oblivious human drone swarm attack -
Pre-emptive manipulation of society by nudge swarms around vigilant targets, as orchestrated by surveillance capitalist companies

Surveillance capitalist companies study people to better manipulate their behaviour by advertisements. That skill can be used to attack a vigilant target using oblivious mediators as a drone swarm delivering a payload.

https://lemmy.world/post/52470551 (needs JavaScript)

Another way to the same post:
https://piefed.social/c/aboringdystopia@lemmy.world/p/2429126/pre-emptive-manipulation-of-society-by-nudge-swarms-around-vigilant-targets-as-orchestr

Another way to the same post:
https://scribe.disroot.org/post/11576201

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For your computer and tablet running Microsoft Windows or Google Chrome operating systems, Fedora Linux is a good option (there are many others). Linux can also be installed to Apple devices. If you prefer Apple style or must use a touchscreen, choose the default version of Fedora (or Debian) with Gnome desktop environment, but if you prefer Windows style, choose the one with KDE Plasma. Linux Mint also resembles Windows, and is slightly easier to set up because you can get proprietary codecs for playing media files by checking a box, while in Fedora you have to do it on the terminal.

For your Android phone or tablet, several alternative operating systems are available. The AOSP-based ones are almost entirely Android-compatible, best of which is GrapheneOS. The Linux-based ones (Jolla phone, Nura, Ubuntu Touch) can also run Android apps, but I haven’t tried them.

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GrapheneOS - maximum security and privacy for phones and tablets

• More Android apps than on other deGoogled OSs
• Very secure (hack-resistant) if correctly set up and used
• Easy to install to the few phones it accepts (some Google, some Motorola 2027)
• Beginner-hostile, complicated manual setup
• Good website and active forum
• NextCloud works - prefer GrapheneOS sponsors, consider Murena to support /e/OS (another deGoogled Android-compatible OS, beginner-friendly, technically inferior, installable to more devices)

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I use /e/OS on a Sony phone:
https://www.quora.com/How-does-Murenas-custom-e-OS-compare-to-Googles-Android/answer/Harri-K-Hiltunen

The battery last a week in sparse use without Android’s constant surveillance wasting energy.

You can’t. Accept that statement. Acknowledge that you’re only in control of your body. You can influence others, but you cannot control them. Align yourself with your beliefs without forcing your beliefs onto others.

I know users would like to interject, probably with something like “these aren’t beliefs; they’re objectively bad.” I would agree with that criticism. Beliefs are sometimes aligned with reality and other times they’re not. I believe proprietary-software is evil and I agree with a lot of things Richard Stallman has written.

From the outside I know a lot of people don’t understand and I’m fine with that–I’m not in control of others nor do I want to be (that would be a tremendous burden). I do what I want to do, which is a reflection of my beliefs. When your body aligns with your desires (which stem from your beliefs) you’ll be most content.

I don’t want a Google account. I think creating a Google account is actively causing harm. If someone suggest Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, et al as a way of communicating I refuse. If they inquire I’ll explain my reasoning if I perceive their curiosity to be genuine and offer an alternative solution, but the thing I want to impress upon you here is that I’m doing what I want to do.

People have written and said particulars to me that I know others see my behaviour as a type of “self-restraint” or to phrase it another way: of forgoing convenience in favour of something. They perceive the action of adhering to libre-software as a burden. It’s not. It’s what I want to do. It’s what I like to do. (It’s what excites and brings me pleasure.)

I’d probably like it if other people also shared my preferences and I know some do. I also know some don’t. I think they should, but I don’t want to shoulder that burden. It’s an impossible load. I can’t force people to do what I think is the correct thing to do. It is impossible. It’s also probably wrong–most definitely wrong.

Do what you want to do and accept that others are doing what they want to do. If there’s conflict try to resolve it. If it can not be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties part ways amicably.

If you think you can coerce someone with enough persistence–and if you’re using this thread to gain motivation to continue–you’re in the wrong. Do not do it.

If you are really serious about this, then you need to rank whatever you should stop using (meta, google and other shit) by a grade of necessity then act upon that grade ranking.

Below are some examples of what i mean,

• Your loved one, mother, father and family use an app, then i would shelf it to be ditched as a last resort (S tier)
• your cacual crew and gym friends use instagram, then delete immediately since you check on them whenever you see them.
• your work collegues relies on WhatsApp then fuck it and delete immediately, when asked for a reason say i stopped using it, if they need something urgent “just call or reach out via matrix or text”
• your girlfriend uses facebook to share stories, tell her that you are deleting your account and she can share her stories on matrix or directly show you on her phone.
• your close friends use some shitty Zionist app, tell them clearly that you will not use that anymore and they should also follow your footsteps, but make sure that they can still text you via an alternative tech when needed.

Its a journey that you need to take.

I made such changes when i saw an official UN report clearly stating how most of those tech companies are actively killing children and helping Israel with genocide, tbh from that point i have probably set my priorities right.

I mean if jon from the gym is mad that he can’t send me reels anymore, that is not something i really wieght against being an ad feeder to a company that is helping killing children.

Well, you can’t tell people to stop using a service that everyone does and is basically their primary communications platform…

People have like 100 apps on their phones and will download another 10 with no thought if it’s mainstream enough. So the way I see it is that they can download one more app that is respecting their rights. I would understand if someone told me that they do not want another app for security/privacy and they already use some other that does meet those criteria but I have yet to meet someone like that.

So far I just tell people that I use signal and every fucking time I have to tell them that I do not sell drugs because that is the first question if they are below 40. Most don’t really care and just do it some don’t but they are not close contacts so…

Here is legitimately how I did it, no exaggeration. I sent the following message to all of the contacts I wanted to keep (or something similar, I don’t have access to the message anymore):

“Hey, I’m leaving Facebook permanently. I only use the chat function anyway, and I don’t want to use it given their business practices. Here’s my phone number, email, signal, and XMPP. Pick one, I don’t care which.”

And then I logged off for a month, logged back on, and deleted my account. I wasn’t sure if they’d still get the message if I deleted my account after, plus I have ADHD and wanted to give myself a chance to remember anyone else I wanted to keep in touch with. I lost one person in the move, and they weren’t someone I talked to that often anyway.