Install Signal and tell your friends to do so as well unless they want to use SMS to contact you. If they refuse to use Signal in order to stay in touch, you should ask why. My guess is that those people are exactly the type you should have blocked years ago, so this is also a good opportunity to clean your address book and start from a clean slate.
Edit: That was badly worded, so here’s a clarification.
I’m not telling anyone to block anyone because of the app they use or don’t use. I’m talking about an underlying cause that affects many things such as the apps they use, flexibility and social interactions. Perhaps that person is actually a jerk, but you just haven’t realized yet. Here’s your opportunity to find out. Perhaps there’s a good reason for not installing a new app, but you just haven’t thought of it yet. That’s why you need to ask.
If someone doesn’t want to install a new communication app, that’s ok. Explain why WhatsApp sucks and how Meta is exploiting and abusing the users. Explain how Signal respects your privacy. If the answer is still no, then you have discovered something important. Maybe your friend is a bit more inflexible than you previously thought. Perhaps you value the friendship more than they do. Is it really worth it to be in contact with a person who doesn’t value you and the friendship that much? Maybe this is the type of person who you should have abandoned a long time ago. Not because of their app preferences, but because of their personality.
Of course there’s always a possibility that there is a valid reason and you’re not dealing with a jerk after all. If that’s the case, you can always use SMS and email to stay in touch.
They say,Everyone is using WhatsApp; then why am I forcing them to use Signal? If I tell them it’s for privacy, then they say they don’t care and tell me to install WhatApp again.
Most of my friends are on Signal, fortunately.
However it can be tricky to ask someone you just met to install a new app in order to stay in touch. Signal is still quite niche, WhatsApp is just something that the overwhelming majority of people have an account on, so it’s convenient. I wish it wasn’t the case, but that’s just how it is.
Also I don’t feel that you should block, or avoid people based on their social media choice, it’s as dumb and pathetic as the blue/green bubble craze.
Yeah, well that’s the problem with writing short messages on a phone. It takes a lot of time to express your thoughts clearly. I’ve added an update.
Anyway, here’s a shorter version of it: I’m not telling you to block people just because they refuse to install Signal. Use this opportunity to find out more about your friends. If you find out that you’ve been hanging out with a jerk all these years, maybe it’s time to let that relationship go. That’s the idea I was chasing with my poorly worded message earlier.
Install Signal and tell your friends to do so as well unless they want to use SMS to contact you. If they refuse to use Signal in order to stay in touch, you should ask why. My guess is that those people are exactly the type you should have blocked years ago, so this is also a good opportunity to clean your address book and start from a clean slate.
Edit: That was badly worded, so here’s a clarification.
I’m not telling anyone to block anyone because of the app they use or don’t use. I’m talking about an underlying cause that affects many things such as the apps they use, flexibility and social interactions. Perhaps that person is actually a jerk, but you just haven’t realized yet. Here’s your opportunity to find out. Perhaps there’s a good reason for not installing a new app, but you just haven’t thought of it yet. That’s why you need to ask.
If someone doesn’t want to install a new communication app, that’s ok. Explain why WhatsApp sucks and how Meta is exploiting and abusing the users. Explain how Signal respects your privacy. If the answer is still no, then you have discovered something important. Maybe your friend is a bit more inflexible than you previously thought. Perhaps you value the friendship more than they do. Is it really worth it to be in contact with a person who doesn’t value you and the friendship that much? Maybe this is the type of person who you should have abandoned a long time ago. Not because of their app preferences, but because of their personality.
Of course there’s always a possibility that there is a valid reason and you’re not dealing with a jerk after all. If that’s the case, you can always use SMS and email to stay in touch.
Asked, and only 2 of my friends installed signal
Did the others give any reasons? Did you tell them why you prefer signal over WhatsApp?
They say,Everyone is using WhatsApp; then why am I forcing them to use Signal? If I tell them it’s for privacy, then they say they don’t care and tell me to install WhatApp again.
Most of my friends are on Signal, fortunately. However it can be tricky to ask someone you just met to install a new app in order to stay in touch. Signal is still quite niche, WhatsApp is just something that the overwhelming majority of people have an account on, so it’s convenient. I wish it wasn’t the case, but that’s just how it is. Also I don’t feel that you should block, or avoid people based on their social media choice, it’s as dumb and pathetic as the blue/green bubble craze.
Yeah, well that’s the problem with writing short messages on a phone. It takes a lot of time to express your thoughts clearly. I’ve added an update.
Anyway, here’s a shorter version of it: I’m not telling you to block people just because they refuse to install Signal. Use this opportunity to find out more about your friends. If you find out that you’ve been hanging out with a jerk all these years, maybe it’s time to let that relationship go. That’s the idea I was chasing with my poorly worded message earlier.