G.J.
My feedback
2 results found
-
2,706 votesG.J.
supported this idea
·
An error occurred while saving the comment -
337 votesG.J.
supported this idea
·
I'd like to advocate for a specific feature set that could make a Proton chat app genuinely competitive: WhatsApp interoperability with clear privacy disclosure.
Here's the strategic oppurtunity: The main reason privacy-focused chat apps struggle is network effects: people won't switch apps if they can't reach their existing contacts. But with DMA interoperability requirements now in place in Europe, a Proton chat app could solve this by offering:
- Full privacy between Proton chat users (end-to-end encrypted, metadata-protected communication within the app)
- WhatsApp bridge capability (users can message WhatsApp contacts directly from Proton chat, with a transparent disclosure that these messages specifically have WhatsApp's lower privacy standards)
- Honest framing (clearly communicate that messages sent to WhatsApp users have identical privacy outcomes to sending via WhatsApp itself, while messages between Proton chat users retain superior privacy)
This works because:
- Early adopters (privacy-conscious users) get what they want while still remaining reachable for WhatsApp users
- Users no longer need two apps installed to communicate with both groups
- Gradual user growth becomes possible because the app solves the network effect problem, all contacts can still be reached although with the clear disclosure that they use WhatsApp lower privacy standards
- There is not integrity compromise; you are not weakening privacy for users who want it, you are simply offering a pragmatic choice which allows a Proton chat app to become huge
Currently: Privacy-focused chat apps lose users because people say "I will switch to Signal or some other app, but I can't reach my WhatsApp contacts". This approach removes that objection entirely. The fact that messages to WhatsApp users have lower privacy isn't a flaw in your app, it's a feature of WhatsApp that allows other privacy-focused apps like a Proton chat app to become big, since users can choose in a pragmatic manner whether they want superior privacy for messages or not.
Sending a message to a WhatsApp user from a Proton chat app after having deleted the WhatsApp app is not worse in privacy compared to sending a message to a WhatsApp user on the actual WhatsApp app. You essentially finally allow people to gradually move away from WhatsApp.