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   Polychrome :blabcat: (polychrome@poly.cybre.city)'s status on Friday, 09-May-2025 05:48:38 JST Polychrome :blabcat:

   in reply to

   • 【Ξｎｉｇｍａｔｉｃｏ】:misskey:
   @enigmatico all IMs at the time expected you to authorize people who wanted to add you, beginning with ICQ which was the first instant messenger.
   
   The change to phone numbers for identity and removal of your ability to decline being added was part of the 'frictionless' fad of making UI as simple and brainless as possible even if it meant losing functionality.
   
   For WhatsApp the historical reason for doing this was because it was pushed as an SMS replacement so it made sense to use phone numbers and not ask for permission because it was just using your contact list.
   
   Unfortunately the ease of setting it up made its popularity explode so hard that everyone copied the identity and UI approach for everything else and here we are.
   • Embed this notice
     【Ξｎｉｇｍａｔｉｃｏ】:misskey: (enigmatico@mk.absturztau.be)'s status on Friday, 09-May-2025 05:48:40 JST 【Ξｎｉｇｍａｔｉｃｏ】:misskey:

     You know what's good about MSN Messenger? It's something as basic as the fact that, first of all, it uses an email address. And second, it let's you review who can add you and interact with you before they add you to their contact list.
     
     Who thought that it was a good idea to use the phone number as an identification for your IM account, and not add something as basic as some kind of consent to interacting with you? I'm talking about Whatsapp and the likes of.