[palata]

How do you run WhatsApp or Signal without a smartphone? Pretty hard.

If your answer is "don't use them", then you're not living in a country where the vast majority of communications are done on WhatsApp or Signal, good for you I guess.

[jazzyjackson]

Yes that's fair. I have a an old iPhone without a sim that I use as my master for those apps, but I keep it in a drawer since the desktop apps work fine. Funny enough the phone the app is installed on doesn't have to be the same phone you use to register by number, so the number I registered with is my flip phone

[_heimdall]

Access to Signal and Bitwarden are the only two apps I really need daily that keep me on a smartphone. I have tried using a feature phone in the last couple years, but honestly I might as well just not have a phone at that point as almost all my communication is via Signal.

[kQq9oHeAz6wLLS]

> then you're not living in a country where the vast majority of communications are done on WhatsApp or Signal

I live in the USA and use Signal for, like, 3 friends that I also can call or text, and I've never used WhatsApp in my life.

So, if you live in the USA, you can absolutely get by without those two.

But there are likely other apps that would be more difficult to do without. Not impossible, mind you, just more effort.

[palata]

I tell you that if you live in a country where most communications happen on WhatsApp or Signal, then it's difficult not to use WhatsApp or Signal.

And your answer is to give me an example of a country that is irrelevant to my point? How does that help?

[udev4096]

Signal can be used without a phone using signal-cli. You can sign up with it and either attach your account to signal-desktop or keep using signal-cli

[palata]

"You don't need a smartphone, you can just carry a laptop with you" :-)

[prmoustache]

You don't have to be available on instant messaging 24/7.

It is a convenience or inconvenience you decides to have or not.

[palata]

"You don't need to connect to the Internet at all".

How is that an answer to someone saying that they don't see how they can stay connected without having a smartphone?

[jazzyjackson]

Well honestly that's part of the flip phone lifestyle, if someone doesn't want to call me, that's fine, they can send me an email. We don't have to bring Google or Apple into this relationship, it's a choice people make because the prefer texting and being available to everyone they ever met 24/7

[palata]

> We don't have to bring Google or Apple into this relationship, it's a choice people make because the prefer texting and being available to everyone they ever met 24/7

You're changing the discussion now.

The original point is this: Given that people want to be able to text with their friends in what is perceived as a normal way, how can they do it without a smartphone?

If you change the rules ("Given that people are fine being disconnected"), of course it changes everything.