Google’s answer to WhatsApp

[Swa]

I don't use Google Finance, but:


E.g. Stockopedia supports the format of the CSV file.
Google couldn't compete against alternatives, so they closed it. I understand the frustration though.

I checked up on the new site a few time but found it cumbersome and with only half the functionality the old one had. They were actually doing just fine competing and nobody understands why they canned it. The new site is more like a lite version of what they used to have.

Apart from Google+ being alive and well in Gsuite it's pointless to add features to something only diehard Google fans used. All the great features got spun off anyway like Google Photos and Youtube live (Hangouts on air).

Google stated it would still be temporarily available in Gsuite. It's useless though with all the users and pages gone. The features people were asking for are simple things like being able to post on other people's pages.

Google Finance is still alive as well. I use it daily in Google Sheets...

Would have to check but so far I haven't seen anything that can be seen as a replacement for the old finance.

AFAIK there were only 4 messaging apps. Gtalk they were forced to kill because MS and others integrated it into their ecosystems without allowing Google to do the same to theirs. Hangouts is still alive and well being used in businesses (Hangouts chat and meet) and coming to regular free Gmail as well. Allo was the odd one out but as stated above they should've gone with the in house RCS thing sooner.

Then there was Wave as well. They have too many messaging apps at once trying to do different things rather than one good app everybody wants to use.

 

[TelkomUseless]

No thanks to google. They will sell your data/messages...

 

[Ockie]

I am confused. Vodacom has had RCS support via Google Messages for like two or three years already. This is hardly a new feature. Vodacom is the only network in the country that supports RCS though. Here is how it is on my phone, and has been for a VERY long time. Not sure why they talking about Beta etc. Telegram for me though.

 

[isie]

Google’s answer to WhatsApp

WhatsApp is the dominant messaging platform in South Africa, and is often the first app to be downloaded on new smartphones.

This is despite a plethora of high-quality apps offering similar features, such as Telegram and Viber.

The open beta allowed users to opt into the test – either via a direct link or through the Play Store. However, these options are no longer available, as Google has received as many beta testers as it wanted.

So I am actually part of that open Beta ( I must have opted in somewhere along the line)


Yet i see nothing different except in play store the messages app says Beta

 

[Ockie]

https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/thr...s-messaging-via-google-messages-in-sa.940167/

 

[Bryn]

Hey, that's just like, your opinion, man.

This is more disturbing than the other posts here. Clearly you've never used Telegram. If we're going to talk purely user experience, Telegram utterly destroys WhatsApp in every possible way.

- Cloud-based, therefore untethered apps on all platforms
- No periodic cloud backups
- Very similar chat UI to WhatsApp, except you can swipe a chat away to get back to the list of chats
- Theme support, with several built in
- Dark mode, both automatic and manual, available in theme settings
- GIFs actually display properly
- Stickers and even animated stickers available
- Huge group limits with superior admin controls and media searching
- You don't have to give out your phone number, a username will do
- Users display normally in group chats regardless of whether you have them as a contact
- Groups can be made publicly searchable, and you can share a join link on any platform
- Unlimited cloud storage, with 1.5GB size limit per file
- Exceptional compression that supernaturally reduces image and video sizes
- Media doesn't automatically save to your gallery and clog up your phone and cloud photo storage with junk
- There is the option to send media uncompressed, so you have the freedom to send how you'd like
- Secret chats can have self-destructing messages
- You have a Saved Messages contact, which is a place you can dump anything you simply want to save for yourself. Very useful for sending files quickly between PC and mobile.

So, no, not just my opinion. There is no question that Telegram provides a better user experience.

My argument is Telegram does not trump whatsapp for security.

This is madness.

- WhatsApp has already had an incident where attackers could access anything on your phone.
https://www.businessinsider.com/whatsapp-hacked-attackers-installed-spyware-2019-5?r=US&IR=T

- Before that, hackers could use the video call feature to access your entire phone
https://securitytoday.com/articles/2018/10/12/whatsapp-bug-allowed-hackers-to-hijack-accounts.aspx

- WhatsApp is not banned in Iran and Russia. Telegram is.

- WhatsApp backups were not encrypted following the introduction of E2E encryption.
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-...ages-privacy-security-read-chat-a8510701.html

Which is how Paul Manafort's messages were accessed:
https://slate.com/technology/2018/06/paul-manafort-how-did-fbi-access-whatsapp-messages.html

- WhatsApp leaks loads of metadata about user behaviour
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomas...ackdoor-government-data-request/#2ca6dd8c1030

- The WhatsApp co-founders left the company over data privacy issues
https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/30/17304792/whatsapp-jan-koum-facebook-data-privacy-encryption

And Brian Acton literally said "I sold my users' privacy":
https://www.cnet.com/news/whatsapp-cofounder-i-sold-my-users-privacy-with-facebook-acquisition/

So while Telegram is not perfect (and no messaging service ever will be), it has never had a major data breach or privacy scandal. Or really anything that shows users' messages or media being compromised. By comparison, Facebook cares nought for user privacy and just wants to monetise its users. Facebook has already announced a project to integrate WhatsApp, FB Messenger and Instagram chat, and all will contain ads. And Facebook has just been fined $5bn for its data practices. It's a scumbag company.

For you to go off the rails on Telegram is absurd. They exhibit none of what makes Facebook and WhatsApp terrible. Everything you've said so far is conjecture based on flimsy evidence, whereas the status quo is demonstrably unsecure.

 

[Bryn]

Why are you using Whatsapp as a yardstick anyhow? I certainly don't recommend it. Where does conjecture come into my argument? My argument is based on sound security principles. For all you know, they could be Russian agents embedded in the US with their 'ejection' from Russia part of their story. Of course that piece is conjecture, but you have no way of knowing what they do with your data. That's their secret to keep.

I quoted you saying that Telegram does not trump WhatsApp for security - you made WhatsApp the yardstick. You ask where conjecture comes in, and then immediately conjecture about Russian agents.

Your argument is essentially this: why use a platform that might have security issues when you can use one that absolutely already does. Wtf.

 

[SauRoNZA]

How is it their answer to Whatsapp....when it only runs on one platform?

 

[Bryn]

Here you go
https://hackernews.blog/vulnerability-in-telegram-allows-you-to-bypass-the-password-local-code/
No, it's no more secure than Whatsapp.
Whatsapp is merely a bigger target with a larger user base. It's more interesting to attackers.

Is this a joke? A local passcode issue doesn't help hackers, and neither Google nor Bing can find another source corroborating that story, and the story itself only cites a sketchy Russian blog.

How about actually providing a meaningful response to the many elaborated replies you've received here. No matter how you slice it, Telegram is a vastly superior option to WhatsApp.

Edit: Oh, and does WhatsApp even have the option of a local security code? I don't think it does. This is a non-issue. Most people secure their phones with biometric security. Who the heck wants to enter a passcode every time they open their messenger.

 

[SauRoNZA]

What's amusing to me is that every time Whatsapp goes down more and more people pop up on Telegram.

I bet when the ads start on Whatsapp they'll make the whole conversion process so much simpler without any need for me to encourage people.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Easy, it's their answer to Whatsapp on Android, but I thought that was obvious.

So basically it's as useless as any other app that only sticks to a single platform and therefore segregates itself and loses the fight to Whatsapp.

 

[Ockie]

So basically it's as useless as any other app that only sticks to a single platform and therefore segregates itself and loses the fight to Whatsapp.

I think the reason why it is not available on IOS is because apple does not allow the native app that handles SMS to be replaced, therefore Google Messages not allowed on it, as it is a SMS app with RCS (Whatsapp like style of instant messaging) built in.

 

[Nom Chompsky]

People think TG is secure, they also thought WA was.
Nothing is secure anymore

Yup, remember when people said BlackBerry was useful in corporate settings because it was secure.

Well I just read a book about capturing the famous druglord nicknamed "El Chapo" and in it, the DEA agent describes how fast they could get BlackBerry pings for locations...

 

[Johnatan56]

I think the reason why it is not available on IOS is because apple does not allow the native app that handles SMS to be replaced, therefore Google Messages not allowed on it, as it is a SMS app with RCS (Whatsapp like style of instant messaging) built in.

Apple is Apple, we'll know if they will release it when they release it. I'd expect iOS 14 at the earliest as they wouldn't want the issue where only a subset of users have support and then they take the blame for it not working/being an SMS instead.

 

[Nom Chompsky]

This will fail like all the rest...

Why? Google will install it as the default on phones...they have a big market share which they can capture quickly. Remember MyBB geeks aren't the typical cellphone user...if an app does something without having to go to the Play Store, it might well take off, although of course the primary driver of the volume of downloads of apps is the 'network effect' (if everybody else is using it, then I will want it as well). Also with WhatsApp and ads, the time is possibly ripe for another messaging app to take over. Remember when everyone was using BBM?

 

[backstreetboy]

How is it their answer to Whatsapp....when it only runs on one platform?

It works on Android and is also a PWA (Mac/Win/Linux).

 

[The_Librarian]

Big G can go ****

They'll just shut it down anyway. Look what happened to G+.

 

[backstreetboy]

Big G can go ****

They'll just shut it down anyway. Look what happened to G+.

Still being used in Gsuite plus Google+ gave us Google Photos, Youtube Live Stream etc. etc.

 

[SauRoNZA]

I think the reason why it is not available on IOS is because apple does not allow the native app that handles SMS to be replaced, therefore Google Messages not allowed on it, as it is a SMS app with RCS (Whatsapp like style of instant messaging) built in.

Then it's pretty much as useless as iMessage and most people won't give a toss about it.

It would make sense for Google to just make a non-SMS version for other platforms. In that way they may even entice people to come over to Android down the line like iMessage does actually keep some weird rare breeds on that platform.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Agree, like Telegram, it's not going to take significant business away from Whatsapp any time soon. It's always the case when you're late to the party.

I see Telegram easily winning out over this though purely for supporting multiple platforms.

I wish Google would stop having half-brained kak ideas and also splitting everything into a hundred apps.

Why on earth didn' they just keep Hangouts and simply it for phones and integrate SMS into that for Androids instead of all the split-brain Duo etc apps. It's so bad I don't even remember what their text alternative to Duo was because it was that insignificant.

*Allo.