WhisperSystems + WhatsApp

[adi@hexapodia.org (Andy Isaacson)]

On Wed, Nov 19, 2014 at 10:58:56PM +0000, Cathal (Phone) wrote:
> Not if that E2E protocol is entirely undermined. Which is the case
> here: trust is security. If 600M people think they have privacy and
> don't, that's a problem.

Have you heard of the phrase "harm reduction"?  You can't solve a
social/technical problem by insisting that only perfect solutions are
acceptable.  You must provide incremental solutions that can be part of
a broad based move from the horrible place where we are now, towards a
more safe future.

I mean, *you* can do whatever you want, but users are going to ignore
solutions that don't connect to where they are today.  "Incremental
steps with continuous improvement" is a model for advice that actually
works in improving outcomes for real populations.  "Burn everything to
the ground and start over" is a model for advice that lets activists
maintain ideological purity without dirtying their hands with actual
people's actual problems.

-andy