Alternative to Skype

[Lord Snooty]

Alena uses Skype to talk to her mum in Russia (she is in her 80s and Alena showed her how to logon using a computer), I believe that Microsoft are going to discontinue Skype so can anybody suggest an alternative that they can use? She is off to Russia next week for an extended stay and we have bought her mum a new laptop to replace her aging and decrepit desktop and I want to get it set up before she goes.

 

[Monsieur]

Alena uses Skype to talk to her mum in Russia (she is in her 80s and Alena showed her how to logon using a computer), I believe that Microsoft are going to discontinue Skype so can anybody suggest an alternative that they can use? She is off to Russia next week for an extended stay and we have bought her mum a new laptop to replace her aging and decrepit desktop and I want to get it set up before she goes.

No idea if these would work in Russia but there’s WhatsApp, zoom and I think Microsoft do teams?
Someone better qualified than me will be along soon I’m sure…

 

[EVskiy]

Alena uses Skype to talk to her mum in Russia (she is in her 80s and Alena showed her how to logon using a computer), I believe that Microsoft are going to discontinue Skype so can anybody suggest an alternative that they can use? She is off to Russia next week for an extended stay and we have bought her mum a new laptop to replace her aging and decrepit desktop and I want to get it set up before she goes.

Zoom, Microsoft Teams, (Apple) FaceTime, WhatsApp video call. (Facebook) messenger call.

Zoom is what had killed (from my understanding) Skype during Covid-19 WFH period.

 

[Steve398]

Moving from Skype to Microsoft Teams Free - Microsoft Support

support.microsoft.com

 

[Lord Snooty]

Zoom, Microsoft Teams, (Apple) FaceTime, WhatsApp video call. (Facebook) messenger call.

Zoom is what had killed (from my understanding) Skype during Covid-19 WFH period.

Can WhatsApp be loaded onto a laptop, I thought it was a phone only App

 

[EVskiy]

Can WhatsApp be loaded onto a laptop, I thought it was a phone only App

There is a web based “app” and on Mac (not sure about windows) there is also a physical app. Albeit I have never resorted to using it for video call purposes.

Here is what Google Ai had chucked at me when I asked

So the answer is yes, you can.

 

[wilbjr21]

Whatsapp is also available as web version for a laptop / desktop.

I use it on my Mac all the time.

 

[wessie]

I mostly use WhatsApp for international calls and most people who have my mobile number. I use the phone and my laptop via a web browser

 

[sparkplug]

There are a few concerns around AI and privacy on WhatsApp which has prompted a lot of people to move over to Signal Messenger (which is available as an app on smartphones/tablets/windows/osx/linux...)

It's something I'm seriously considering.

 

[ymfb]

My Dad has just gone to an occupied city and I have been talking to him using Telegram, which is a bit like WhatsApp but acceptable for use. Its free to use with WiFi

 

[wilbjr21]

There are a few concerns around AI and privacy on WhatsApp which has prompted a lot of people to move over to Signal Messenger (which is available as an app on smartphones/tablets/windows/osx/linux...)

It's something I'm seriously considering.

Everything Meta gets it's paws on seems to head that way.

 

[sparkplug]

sadly very true @wilbjr21 ....

 

[wessie]

There are a few concerns around AI and privacy on WhatsApp which has prompted a lot of people to move over to Signal Messenger (which is available as an app on smartphones/tablets/windows/osx/linux...)

It's something I'm seriously considering.

Is the end to end encryption bollocks? My former employer approved WhatsApp for use to transfer files to foster carers, and for foster carers to use to communicate with parents of children in care

 

[Loiq]

Alexa view...? it's a desktop all in one smart thing...

I would go to the teams route

 

[sparkplug]

Is the end to end encryption bollocks? My former employer approved WhatsApp for use to transfer files to foster carers, and for foster carers to use to communicate with parents of children in care

Different people will have different reasons I guess.

From my own viewpoint it's a personal identity profiling thing. I don't believe that they're snooping into the content of your messages as the data is end-to-end encrypted. However, Meta has made its money from selling your data, so it stands to reason that it's going to be looking at who you know, who you talk to, with what frequency and cross referencing that with people's Facebook, Instagram...

Digital profiling, mixed with AI that you can't turn off.... Yeah, I'm sure that'll be fine

My company uses WhatsApp too. One of the many reasons why my work mobile is completely separate from my personal one. Oh, and 'my company approved it' doesn't mean they should have. Lots of lawyers, politicians etc are completely embedded into the 'application' (which is arguably just a proprietary protocol) - it doesn't mean they should be. Just look back over its track record. €225 million GDPR fine in 2021, 500 million users data leaked in 2022, etc etc.

It's going to be interesting to see how the EU requirement for 'interoperability' between these sorts of services is going to affect them. Most people haven't heard of the Digital Services Act or the Digital Markets Act - but I suspect they will soon

Anyway, I could bang on forever about this stuff. Didn't want to derail this thread too much. Just answering your question.

 

[ymfb]

Can WhatsApp be loaded onto a laptop, I thought it was a phone only App

I have two WhatsApp accounts on my phone, one is WhatsApp for business, they are linked to two numbers and my computers, so my work WhatsApp is on my office desktop and my private a/c on my home computer, they are all Apple.

I was sure my father said they couldn’t use WhatsApp in Russia hence why the family have loaded Telegram this week, which is working well. Before the current situation we used VOIP phones with U.K. numbers so he could give people a number to ring whilst they were in the Ukraine, it was free to call from another VOIP or the same as a U.K. landline call.

 

[er-minio]

Is the end to end encryption bollocks?

What Spark said.

Maybe they do not read the content of the conversations, as they are encrypted, but they can see who you talk to, what groups, infer what the groups are about.
More for marketing/profiling than snooping.


I've been using Signal (have some software developer friends that only use that one) for years and it is ok, for voice calls too.
But, at the moment, for international voice calls, Whatsapp is the "easiest", because it is so widespread. Like chlamydia.


Russians rely heavily on VK.
You might also consider using that one, as it might be easier for the person on the russian side, maybe?

Keep in mind that if you use Whatsapp on desktop computer, it still needs to be paired to a mobile phone.

 

[Redboots]

Whatsapp uses Signals encryption but Signal stores no metadata.

To clarify what they could do with the metadata:

• Know who you are talking to and when.
• Know your location when you talk to them.
• Know who you live with.
• Know who you forward messages to and understand how those messages move along. For example, if you were participating in that protest, they would know who started a message that was forwarded, how it was sent throughout different groups and how it got to you.
• Know which pictures, and memes you're sending (because they get a hash out of every image and message)
• Know which groups you belong to and when you message them
• Know which businesses you interact with, how often, and what you order from them.
• Its owned by Meta