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Comment by rchaud | Hacker News Reader

I don't think you're wrong. The point of this integration is to start connecting Whatsapp's giant database of phone numbers with Facebook Messenger/IG accounts. At this time, it's still possible to be anonymous on Whatsapp, but that ends once this project is completed.

Been trying to get friends and family to switch to Signal since early 2017 with no luck.

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You're only as anonymous as the contact records in all the phones you're communicating with, i.e. not at all. The only winning move is not to play

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/26/how-to-stop-your-phone-from-...

This is a sour point for me. It bugs me that other people can reveal information about me and there is little I can do. I actually stopped entering contacts into my phone because of this. Or I put false names for ones I man need to label. I recognise my contacts by their phone number. I doubt my part is overly effective because others likely don't do this but it is my way of saying screw off. I hope one day legislation will regulate these companies and what they share about us. I thought Facebook promised it would not suck up the whatsapp data how can they integrate without all that data? Reminds me of a child. Was told no so going to just do it anyways and see if there is a punishment after. I hope some regulatory body sinks Facebook over this idea.

It's almost entirely ineffective. Each phone book upload probably nets them something like ~100 contacts, multiply that by 1.74 billion and the war is entirely lost. A bit like how self-driving cars may shortly redefine the meaning of 'public space'.

Depressing to think that it's a lost case already!

May I know why you deleted your reply ? Should I also be careful around here ? :)

Self preservation :) I didn't want to get drawn into a thread about some topic I shouldn't be paying attention to just now!

Ha ha, true! :) but i felt your point was good, there is an upside to the fact we are acknowledging the state of affairs as it is.

> "It bugs me that other people can reveal information About me and there is little I can do"

Very true and it has been bugging me since I have gotten familiar with internet since a long time ago. This was the reason I used to create accounts online without my real data back then. Up until recently that is. Once there were tools in place to get rid of ur discovery online, unless deliberately shared I stayed away. But everything comes under question once more. This is hostile takeover of data.

And yeah, I used to be as meticulous about data as you had been while storing phone contacts etc., But more and more it is becoming evident that what's given away online can never come back to you at least until there is effective regulation in place.

I appreciate the EU for their foresight and strict data policies!

Same with Truecaller, I had been rallying against the use of Truecaller for a long time. At least now, they have provided an option to get yourself delisted, if my memory is correct. :)

https://www.truecaller.com/unlisting

^Site to do so. I figured that I'd share my lesson[s] from my own idiocy: Note that you need to put in your full international number (even though they make you select a country?) for it to work.

So, for Sweden, 075555555 becomes +4675555555 (which most people don't store their contacts' numbers with country code but what do I know, yeah?).

i am surprised i can delist also my contacts, there is no verification SMS or anything

Yeah, it's pretty surprising for them to have such a glaring blindspot.

I've been using the mobile web version of FB for the last few years; aside from a couple of TV show community pages, I don't use it at all. Still, FB likely has a chunk of my contacts anyway from 2012 or whenever I last had it installed.

Just a heads up: Facebook already does this. You don't need to have a Facebook account for them to know who you are.

You could try Wire and see if that would be easier to sell to friends and family. You can sign up with an email address and use usernames. There's no need to reveal your phone number. It has better reliability and user experience compared to Signal.

Exactly, once the integration is complete it's all over.

Also, I have been trying to request people to move on to other platforms with no luck for the past many years.

They already did connect the two databases and were fined in Europe for it.

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