SMS/messages group with a mix of phones

Technology and Internet
#21

In many respects iMessages should be considered a stand alone app like WhatsApp since people need to be in that particular app or it doesn’t work. The fact that Apple combined SMS and iMessages blurs the line and while awesome for iOS users it’s caused this issue for itself while people now expect group chats to ‘just work’…

Sure, it’s a marketing piece to help drive people to just get an iPhone so they don’t have these issues.
Conversely, and the harder thing, somehow convince all their friends to move to some other platform… No wonder that people fall back to Facebook Messenger. Facebook seem to have gotten smart enough to allow people on messenger without having Facebook (as I understand it).

Apple and Google would do well to work on a standard messaging protocol they could both use to avoid the likes of Facebook stealing that function, but I just don’t see that happening.

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#22

Honestly, I have no idea why people fight with iMessage or whatever when there are secure third party apps. I have friends and relatives on Telegram or Signal because they are Android users. I also have friends who are on Android, who use SMS quite happily, since it doesn’t cost anything more than your monthly fee, these days. It really is not a huge impost to download another app so all in the group can participate. That is what I have done.

#23

I tried to accommodate everyone by installing their preferred messaging app. I ended up with Messenger, WhatsApp, Signal, Skype, Viber, and Instagram.

This always concerned me, as I first started using computers when an upgrade to 16KB was a dream. We used to scrupulously manage every morsel of memory, storage, CPU, power and comms traffic. So, having too many comms apps all doing their own thing on my phone seemed very wasteful.

I saw red when FB suggested they were going to access the WhatsApp address book. (I ended my minimal relationship with Facebook a few years ago.) I decided to keep things simple. Everyone has access to email and SMS, so I told everyone that email and SMS are my preferences for messaging. I have deleted all the other apps and accounts.

Surprisingly, this was not a problem for anyone. No one complained. Some said it was a very good idea. I don’t believe I am missing out on anything.

Some qualifications:

  • Most of my key contacts are using iPhones and iMessage. It is only my few Android contacts that revert to pure SMS
  • I have an instagram account in order to follow my daughter. I don’t post anything. Privacy settings are set to the maximum.
#24

One of these things is not like the other…

I kid, I kid… I try to distance myself from FB as much as I can… alas, WhatsApp, Instagram and Oculus are FB properties that I still use.

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#25

I realise that this is not rational. There is logic and then there is family.

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#26

I use Viber and WhatsApp.
Both are cross platform and recognise phone numbers in your Contacts List rather than the device type.

We send Group Chats of around 50 to Android and Apple phones using WhatsApp and about 200 to Viber.

These particular Apps just work. Emojis, Gifs, whatever transfer without glitches.

Al

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#27

Exactly my experience with those two apps (although I slightly prefer the Viber interface).