this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2025

239 points (99.2% liked)

Technology

71884 readers

5298 users here now

This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related news or articles.
Be excellent to each other!
Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
Politics threads may be removed.
No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.

Approved Bots

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

L3s@lemmy.world

enu@lemmy.world

technopagan@lemmy.world

L4s@lemmy.world

L3s@hackingne.ws

L4s@hackingne.ws

239

Iran asks its people to delete WhatsApp (apnews.com)

submitted 1 week ago by nutellawaescher@feddit.org to c/technology@lemmy.world

24 comments fedilink hide all child comments

top 24 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] ThePowerOfGeek@lemmy.world 95 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Pretty good advice. Although they are probably recommending that for more than just it being a Meta data farming scam.

[+] odder_vassals@lemmy.world -40 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Why is this good advice? They want their people to suffer. They want them to not communicate with the outside world

[–] andallthat@lemmy.world 108 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

They are basically at war with the US and there is this piece of US Tech that nearly everyone is carrying around and that can access their communications, precise location, microphone and camera.

It's also owned by a company, Meta, that has a history of being used as a tool to manipulate public opinion. I have no particular sympathy for Iran's leadership but I can understand why they would advice that (and I don't think WhatsApp is the only way for people to communicate with the outside world).

[–] themurphy@lemmy.ml 31 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Meta is also literally developing AI war machines for the US. That also runs on said data from WhatsApp.

[–] SquiffSquiff@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Okay so they uninstall WhatsApp? What operating systems are they using and what countries are the manufacturers for those based in?

[–] andallthat@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I get what you mean and it's a fair point. But I would still go with Meta as the most immediate threat in a war with the US.

As the ignorant I am, my understanding is that the phone manufacturer has a level of control on the way Android works and so it wouldn't be as easy for Google to access any individual Samsung or Xiaomi phone as it is for Meta with WhatsApp, an app they fully control with permissions to use (way too many) phone features regardless of brand.

Plus, getting both Google and Apple to cooperate and coordinate sounds harder to me than just going to one company, that is basically controlled by only one person.

[–] LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 week ago

They are probably using Xiaomi which is based in China, using AOSP with whatever mods they throw on it, which isn't based anywhere and is open source, or it could be Huawei too.

[–] pugnaciousfarter@literature.cafe 16 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Signal is a much better choice and its basically a whatsapp clone.

[–] PrettyFlyForAFatGuy@feddit.uk 10 points 1 week ago (1 children)

other way around. Whatsapp is a signal clone.

[–] WindyRebel@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Huh? I was curious about this and looked up the wikis only. However, WhatsApp initial release was 16 years ago and Signal initial release was 10 years ago. It also appears in the history that WhatsApp had a version on iOS in 2009 while Signal didn’t have anything for Android until 2010 (under Whisper I believe).

I’m trying to figure out how either is a clone of the other when they were developed around the same times. It seems the idea was just a similar idea from two different entities.

[–] Passerby6497@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The clone comment likely refers to the underlying architecture, as WhatsApp is using the signal protocol for its 'secured' messaging. Of the two, signal is the far superior choice for anyone not forced to live in Zucco's World. It's the more private option, and is secure by default unlike a lot of apps (namely, telegram).

WhatsApp (thankfully) is secure by default now according to Google, but it took them a hot minute to get to that point. That being said, you're still giving metadata to Zucc no matter what, which is still really bad to give the guy working on military AI...

[–] WindyRebel@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Ah. Thank you for that bit of information. I didn’t go super deep because I was mostly just curious about the clone comment and learning a little more about each platform.

[–] Passerby6497@lemmy.world -4 points 1 week ago

Signal is a much better choice and its basically a whatsapp clone.

Must be why signal runs on the WhatsApp protocol

[–] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

The only people making Iranians suffer at the moment are the Zionist fascists and their US proxies. They've already killed 1200 people in their unprovoked attack, including with terrorism and car bombs.

Don't forget Trump telling the ENTIRE city of Tehran with a population the size of New York to "evacuate"

[–] teolan@lemmy.world 71 points 1 week ago

Unblock signal first?

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 70 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

The right advice but with the wrong motive lol

[–] Geodad@lemmy.world 23 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This is excellent advice.

[–] thyristor@lemmy.pt 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

For once I can see eye to eye with a murderous theocratic regime.

[–] Geodad@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago

Yeah, that happens sometimes.

[–] Mrkawfee@feddit.uk 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

US tech is in bed with Zionist fascism.

[–] jabjoe@feddit.uk 11 points 1 week ago

Big US Corp is in bed with money and power. Right now, that means MAGA and that does mean fascism & Zionists. The tech itself can be ok. Though WhatsApp/Facebook isn't.

[–] mariusafa@lemmy.sdf.org 11 points 1 week ago

Mossad angry

[–] tinned_tomatoes@feddit.uk 1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Wouldn't want those pesky citizens having the ability to communicate securely, would we !

[–] baduhai@sopuli.xyz 3 points 1 week ago

Communicate securely with WhatsApp? That's an oxymoron.