Digital Discourse Database

Number of Posts: 12
Posts 1 - 10

Diese drei Anwendungen sind besser als Whatsapp

(These three apps are better than WhatsApp)

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Newspaper | Welt
Date | 5.5.2016
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | law, privacy, threat, WhatsApp
Summary | Brazil has just blocked WhatsApp in their country for 72 hours in order to for WhatsApp to share chats with their police in ciminal cases. It is unlikely that something like this will happen in Germany but it is good to know about some alternatives just in case... Especially since WhatsApp is not very trustworthy about user privacy. Threema is a Swiss app that alllows for user anonymity, Slack is a really good app to use with colleagues because files can be saved within group chats, and Telegram deletes inactive chats after a while so that there are no traces.
Image Description | Woman using a smartphone with headphones on the street.
Image Tags | female(s), headphones, smartphone

Darum ist Pokémon Go bei Muslimen verpönt

(This is why Pokémon Go is frowned upon by muslims)

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Newspaper | Welt
Date | 6.9.2016
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | diversity, game, law, politics, privacy, threat
Summary | Many muslim authorities in varioius countries such as Saudi Arabia and Malaysia have declared Pokémon Go as wildly inappropriate for muslims. It references othher religions (with symbols) which allow for multiple gods along side each other, it propagates Darwin's theory of evolution, and most importantly: it constitutes gambling which is prohibited by the Qur'an. This does not mean that the state in Malaysia enforces that religious advice as a law. Non-muslim people are also worried about Pokémon Go but not because of ideological issues but because it can be seen as a surveillance scam and so a privacy breach hazard.
Image Description | Men playing Pokémon Go and portraits of a few male experts mentioned in the article.
Image Tags | game, male(s), smartphone

"Wer ist eigentlich dieser Wifi?"

("Who is this wifi anyway?")

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Newspaper | Die Zeit
Date | 21.7.2016
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | childhood, Facebook, politeness, privacy
Summary | It can be infuriating to try and teach one's parents how to use the computer, the internet, or Facebook because they are so clueless. However, there is no use in getting angry. After all, they managed to stay patient when we learned to ride a bike. Young children today can use modern technology before they can speak. They will be teaching us new technology one day.
Image Description | A man using his smartphone.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

Bundesregierung will mehr über Googles Algorithmus wissen

(Federal government want to know more about Google's algorhythms)

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Newspaper | Die Zeit
Date | 13.5.2016
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | Facebook, law, privacy
Summary | The federal government of Germany is pressing Facebook to be more transparent about the algorhythms collecting data about their users on their website. They claim that their citizens are not well-informed about what information they are sharing about themselves when using Facebook.
Image Description | Getty image of a pair of hands using a smartphone to navigate.
Image Tags | hand(s), smartphone

Diese Technik soll uns den Alltag erleichtern

(This technology should make our daily lives easier)

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Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 5.4.2017
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, privacy, research/study, smartphone, translation
Summary | Computer are becoming more and more intertwined in our daily lives. Some smartphones can already translate real-time conversations with imitating the speakers voice thanks to advances in voice recognition. Image recognition has also advanced substantially to being able to "read" moods, age, and attractiveness of the photographed individuals. Research is being done for smartphones and other devices to monitor body odor, sweat (to allet to dehydration), or tear liquid (for diabetics).
Image Description | Various simple visualizations of smartphones/devices interacting with people (depicted by emojis), body parts, et cetera.
Image Tags | chart, emojis, female(s), smartphone

Schweizer Firmen setzen auf Bots

(Swiss firms put their money on bots)

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Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 27.12.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, Facebook, privacy
Summary | Many companies in Switzerland are testing out chatbots to replace their telephone customer service. Many company chatbots can be contacted via the Facebook messenger. They are quite useful because they can organize tasks according to content and delegate them to the appropriate departments or help the customers themselves. Experts demand full transparency about what happens to customer data created in chatbot uses.
Image Description | Getty image of a woman's torso holding a smartphone, some chatbot chat screenshots and graphs.
Image Tags | female(s), hand(s), smartphone, text

Das ist an Messenger-Verschwörungstheorien dran

(This is the deal with messenger conspiracy theories)

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Newspaper | Welt
Date | 5.11.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, privacy, Snapchat, texting, threat, WhatsApp
Summary | A list of popular messengers is analyzed in terms of how well they protect their users' privacy. The safest one is Signal and many others have end-to-end encryption, for instance WhatsApp. They still collect the metadata though (interlocutors, time of interaction, location). Some even save the content that is sent around - most shockingly Snapchat which is popular becuase it supposedly leaves no trace. Some messengers supposedly have ties with national security ministries, like Telegram in Russia and Viber in Israel. Apple recently refused to work with the FBI in giving away a customer's personal information.
Image Description | Photograph of a smartphone screen with messengers and a video about messengers.
Image Tags | hand(s), logo, smartphone, WhatsApp

Experten verraten: Diese Apps müssen dringend auf Ihr Smartphone

(Experts reveal: these apps need to be on your smartphone)

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Newspaper | Focus Online
Date | 5.3.2017
Language | German
Country | Germany
Topic Tags | privacy, smartphone, WhatsApp
Summary | It is difficult to avoid WhatsApp because virtually everyone is using it. The app profits from allowing you to reach everyone. There have however been privacy issues in the past. Safer options are the free app Signal (even recommended by Edward Snowden) or Threema. Other must-have apps are sophisticated password organizing apps, clean-up apps that optimize one's storage as well as good web browsers.
Image Description | Image of a boy holding a smartphone while laying on a sofa.
Image Tags | male(s), smartphone

Hilfe, wo sind meine Whatsapp-Freunde hin!

(Help, where did all of my WhatsApp friends go!)

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Newspaper | Der Bund
Date | 26.2.2014
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, privacy, social media, WhatsApp
Summary | After Facebook has bought WhatsApp, many users are worried about their data privacy so waves of users are switching on to safer alternatives to WhatsApp such as Telegram, MyEnigma, or the Swiss app Threema. The large majority however is staying on WhatsApp, which causes more people to stay or return to WhatsApp. When Facebook replaced older social media platforms such as the German SchülerVZ, all users moved because a social media platform is only valuable when enough people use it.
Image Description | Photograph of a smartphone screen with social media different icons.
Image Tags | logo, smartphone, social media

Keine Chance für WhatsApp-Konkurrenz

(No chance for WhatsApp competition)

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Newspaper | Der Bund
Date | 16.2.2015
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, privacy, WhatsApp
Summary | When Facebook bought WhatsApp for $22 mio in 2014, many users feared that their data privacy would be exploited. App store sales for secure messaging apps increased, particularly the Swiss app Threema. Now, Facebook and WhatsApp still have the highest user numbers which shows that people do not seem to care very much about their data privacy in the long run. While WhatsApp did introduce end-to-end encryption, Facebook also broke their promise of never connecting WhatsApp and Facebook user data.
Image Description | Photograph of a smartphone screen with different icons.
Image Tags | logo, smartphone

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