Technology

59287 readers

6520 users here now

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

Our Rules

Follow the lemmy.world rules.
Only tech related content.
Be excellent to each another!
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, to ask if your bot can be added please contact us.
Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed

Approved Bots

founded 1 year ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

177

How RCS on iPhone Will Make Texting Better for Everyone (www.cnet.com)

submitted 6 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

71 comments fedilink hide all child comments

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Sure, the other option is having it tied to an email, which is reliant on your single vendor and is also an easier way to create an army of spam bots. Phone numbers at least are transferable between carriers.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The email vendor doesn't really matter though unless you are sending or receiving emails. Phone numbers require you to pay a carrier every month. And while most people have phone numbers, some don't, especially children.

My mum used iMessage to communicate with my sister before she got a phone number. If she switched to Android, I guess there's Google Chat, but you know how Google is with their chat apps.

Ideally you'd be able to choose between phone number OR email. Like iMessage.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

If she switched to Android, I guess there’s Google Chat, but you know how Google is with their chat apps.

That's far from the only option. I can think of half a dozen relatively mainstream options off the top of my head (Signal, Telegram, Whatsapp, Discord, Matrix, Skype), though I think the first three still want a phone number. There are many more.

The trouble is getting people to agree on one.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Yeah signal, telegram, and whatsapp all want phone numbers I think. And I don't think I'd be able to convince my mum to use Discord or Matrix. She'd probably end up using something like Facebook Messenger/Messenger Kids

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Signal recently updated to allow usernames instead of phone numbers.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I think you still need a phone number though. I think that's just for if you don't want to give out your phone number.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

Ah, that may be true indeed.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

Signal is now "phone number to login to the account, but you can share a username with other people"

Not 100% but better than some.