Off to XMPP

I have migrated! From now on I am not reachable via WhatsApp anymore, but I am reachable via XMPP, SMS, phone and email!

I have considerable objections to how Facebook/Meta engages in data trading that directly affects Facebook users and non-users alike. Furthermore, the company neglects its employees, who at low wages have to view and delete the most awful material on the platform, leading to mental health problems. It also wantonly radicalizes the "provision of information" to its users just to gain as much profit as possible ("fable trap"). Click here for 19 reasons to stay away from Facebook/Meta.

At WhatsApp, Meta boasts about privacy and encryption, but it still uses your metadata (online behavior) and the information of your friends and family (via your address book) for profiling and simply sends all data (contacts, as well as message content from the time of request) to government agencies when asked to.

XMPP (Jabber) is the free standard on which WhatsApp and other well-known apps are based. So, XMPP does what you are used to, and more... 😎

Jabber, also known as XMPP, is an open standard for online communication. This means that the network belongs to all of us, not just to a single organization.

With Jabber you can securely chat or call with your friends and family. Or you can join public group chats with people that share your interests, without having to share your personal data.

Jabber is federated, just like email or Mastodon. Many servers connect together to create the Jabber network.

FAQ on JoinJabber.org

The most important point is that XMPP belongs to no one. So you won't ever become a victim of the commercial or privacy-invading whims of a single organization. That danger does apply, for example, to Signal 😞

And we all know that as time progresses, we become more and more dependent on such a service... 😨

Signal like WhatsApp, is a centralized system, which costs a lot of money ($50mln/yr) to keep running, with 1 company as owner and investors expecting something in return and a marketing machine that defames others.

WhatsApp also used to be a wonderful app, where user privacy was taken for granted. If you use a centralized system, you become dependent on the whims of that one player. With free services this ends badly for the users very often. Why run that risk again?

Signal also uses your phone number and your address book for identification. That's an odd way to shield privacy. Nor is it a good way of authentication: as we've seen with the many WhatsApp hacks through social engineering, you can't really be sure who you're talking to.

Nice! Since the standard is completely open, you have something to choose from! These are best mobile apps in my opinion:

Android:

Monocles Chat (with extra features, choose your own account name)
Install F-Droid Store first, then Monocles Chat, or check the Play Store ($0 on Dec. 25-31).
Quicksy (in Play Store, other users can find you by your phone number, less privacy)

iOS:

Monal (also for MacOS)
Quicksy (other users can find you by your phone number, less privacy)

With all due respect to your poor battery, but such decent chat apps won't make a real difference.

If you really want to play with your phone for longer, you should replace the apps for Facebook/Messenger and X, or just use their websites instead of the apps 😃👍

If you chose Quicksy, confirm your phone number via SMS.
Otherwise, create an account (from within the app), for example useyourimagination@magicbroccoli.de.

After that, we'll add each other via a link or QR code. Here's mine:

Add me on XMPP

A je to!

Meet Pat & Mat!

If you long-press on the Monocles/Quicksy notification, you can choose [Turn off notifications], then disable Foreground Service and [Apply].

Monocles and Quicksy have to use a foreground service because Android can forcibly kill background apps (and many idiot vendors make it even worse for lesser-known apps).