Whatsapp now permanently bans users using third-party apps

[Victorious Secret]

 

Not cool WhatsApp. Not cool at all. 

 

If you want people to stop using 3rd party versions of your messaging service, perhaps start incorporating those features into your main app in the first place? How about not stifling users ability to chose. How about not blacklisting their numbers and blocking them from your service if they chose to? 

I get that its your playground and you get to set the rules, but your rules just suck. Don't get mad when people say as much. 

 

 

A fair share of Whatsapp users send their messages with third-party apps like Whatsapp+ or WhatsappMD. These apps aren’t available on the Google Play Store but offer more features than the official Whatsapp-app. A feature for which many users install the apps is being able to see the “last seen” status from other users while the user’s status remains hidden.

 

Recently Whatsapp started to ban users using third-party Whatsapp-apps and it appears the company has now started to permanently block them. Affected users likely received a temporarily ban or warning before they were permanently blocked.

 

The permanent block means in practice that Whatsapp blacklists the banned phone number. Which also makes it impossible to activate and send messages using the official Whatsapp-app.

http://www.myce.com/news/whatsapp-now-permanently-bans-users-using-third-party-apps-75246/

 

[Hans Christian | Teri]

That's perfectly fine in my opinion. If people aren't happy with the WhatsApp service, how about you instead use another service?

[C0LL0SS0S]

wow saw whatsapp+ on a friends phone, really sucks that they are such buttheads

[Victorious Secret]

Snapchat does the same thing as well. There are no official versions of the client available for Window Phone so they ban all the third party applications and the users that use them.

 

Snapchat is even worse. They refuse to make apps for WP and then get pissy when someone decides to. At least WhatsApp makes an app for even you damned Nokia Symbian OS.

[Toddwjp]

well then whats app get in contact with the guy who made the 3rd party client and pay him for the features and add them to yours

[theloveablemoose]

What possible feature could you need other then the ones whatsapp already offers?

[jaggysnake57]

bye bye whats app ill start using a new sevice

[Simons]

What the hell is Whatsapp ?

Also seems like a bad way to do things, banning your users for using a different App, because yours suck.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

Snapchat is even worse. They refuse to make apps for WP and then get pissy when someone decides to. At least WhatsApp makes an app for even you damned Nokia Symbian OS.

 

Snapchat does the same thing as well. There are no official versions of the client available for Window Phone so they ban all the third party applications and the users that use them.

 

It has been proven that there's a good reason for that though (the third party apps, not that they refuse to make a WP app). #Snappening

[alexstahp]

What the hell is Whatsapp ?

Also seems like a bad way to do things, banning your users for using a different App, because yours suck.

They own the app and the messaging service so they can do what they like with it, if you and other's don't like that then go find a new service BBM still exists if you want to go use that...

[LAwLz]

Dick move by Whatsapp. Why not let users use whichever app they want?

 

 

 

That's perfectly fine in my opinion. If people aren't happy with the WhatsApp service, how about you instead use another service?

They own the app and the messaging service so they can do what they like with it, if you and other's don't like that then go find a new service BBM still exists if you want to go use that...

But there is no reason for banning it. Why not just let users use whichever app they want? Imagine if Twitter started banning and black listing anyone who used a third party Twitter client.

I don't get this "if you don't like it then don't fix it, just use something else!" mentality some people have (but only towards some companies). If I for some reason think a third party app compatible with WhatsApp is better, why shouldn't I be allowed to use that?

 

Sure they have the right to do this, but people have the right to complain about it as well.

[Victorious Secret]

Dick move by Whatsapp. Why not let users use whichever app they want?

 

 

 

But there is no reason for banning it. Why not just let users use whichever app they want? Imagine if Twitter started banning and black listing anyone who used a third party Twitter client.

I don't get this "if you don't like it then don't fix it, just use something else!" mentality some people have (but only towards some companies). If I for some reason think a third party app compatible with WhatsApp is better, why shouldn't I be allowed to use that?

 

Sure they have the right to do this, but people have the right to complain about it as well.

 

Agreed. It would be one thing if WhatsApp just blocked all these 3rd party apps from having access. Dick move? Absolutely, but their platform so whatever. 

 

But BANNING users who make use of 3rd party implementations? Eh? Thats...thats just wrong. Those consumers had a need that another app filled...and your solution is to just ban the users of your platform? 

 

[Simons]

They own the app and the messaging service so they can do what they like with it, if you and other's don't like that then go find a new service BBM still exists if you want to go use that...

 

Thats like saying ''If you use Apple, you are hereby banned from ever using Microsoft again''. Which is idiotic.

[alexstahp]

Thats like saying ''If you use Apple, you are hereby banned from ever using Microsoft again''. Which is idiotic.

It's more like not being able to use imessages on a non apple device as apple own and run that service so they can pick and choose who and what can use it 

[LAwLz]

It's more like not being able to use imessages on a non apple device as apple own and run that service so they can pick and choose who and what can use it 

And also banning you so that you can never use iMessage, even if you bought an iPhone.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

Dick move by Whatsapp. Why not let users use whichever app they want?

 

 

 

But there is no reason for banning it. Why not just let users use whichever app they want? Imagine if Twitter started banning and black listing anyone who used a third party Twitter client.

I don't get this "if you don't like it then don't fix it, just use something else!" mentality some people have (but only towards some companies). If I for some reason think a third party app compatible with WhatsApp is better, why shouldn't I be allowed to use that?

 

Sure they have the right to do this, but people have the right to complain about it as well.

 

Third party apps often prove to be a security issue, but in reality it might just be that they wont allow other people to make money off of the WhatsApp network which is 100% legit. They run it, they get to decide who can and can not do what. You are entitled to exactly nothing.

[mr moose]

How does whatsapp make their money? do third party apps distract from their revenue stream?  If so it makes perfect sense, if not well then this is just another service that will go the way of icq et al.

[TAK]

.

[witting]

Snapchat is even worse. They refuse to make apps for WP and then get pissy when someone decides to. At least WhatsApp makes an app for even you damned Nokia Symbian OS.

 

Even running the official app on a BB10 phone will also get your snapchat account banned.

[Simons]

Do you know what works better than Whatapps? SMSing.

[Victorious Secret]

Do you know what works better than Whatapps? SMSing.

 

SMS isn't always free. SMS doesn't allow big groups. SMS is a nice fallback, but its inherently stuck in the stone age of functionality. 

[mr moose]

Do you know what works better than Whatapps? SMSing.

 

I just use skype,  group chat, cross platform no need for third party apps.  Just remember to use it like you are talking in public and there isn't a problem.

[LAwLz]

How does whatsapp make their money? do third party apps distract from their revenue stream?  If so it makes perfect sense, if not well then this is just another service that will go the way of icq et al.

I don't use WhatsApp so correct me if I am wrong, but I think you have to pay a 1 dollar per year fee. I would assume that the payment just marks your account as "active" (server side), so you have to pay even if you use a third party app. Having the payment check done client side would be a very flawed system (easy to spoof, can run into errors during re-installation etc).

[mr moose]

I don't use WhatsApp so correct me if I am wrong, but I think you have to pay a 1 dollar per year fee. I would assume that the payment just marks your account as "active" (server side), so you have to pay even if you use a third party app. Having the payment check done client side would be a very flawed system (easy to spoof, can run into errors during re-installation etc).

if that's the case then this is a dick move, they are still getting their money.