Friday may forever change BBM as we know it. (Can BBM on iOS/Android be 'turned off'??)

People always remark on the 'reliability' and 'immediacy' of BBM. Up until now, confined to and fully baked into the BlackBerry OS, there is no way of 'signing-off' BBM other than to shut down your device or disable radio connections. This has enabled the 'D'[elivered] and 'R'[ead] indicators to almost serve as a 'sign of life' of the recipient when one fires off a BBM. That is, if I send someone a BBM, and don't contemporaneously see a 'D', I know either they have their phones off, are out of coverage (in flight, etc.), or there is an issue with something along the communication path (i.e. the sending BlackBerry, the network, or the receiving BlackBerry).

This type of "if it's alive, it must have a pulse" 'inherency' of BBM is what has made BBM feel so much more 'connected' than any of the other third-party messaging applications available even on the same BlackBerry handsets. One concern that I have now that BBM is going to iOS and Android, is that, since it is not baked into the OS, its usefulness as the 'pulse' indicator of our devices will be lost.

So, my question for anyone that has any knowledge on this is: as long as the BBM app is installed (obviously an iOS/Android user should be allowed to uninstall it), will it be active as a background service that is always on regardless of whether a window or widget is open and running? Will users be able to 'close it', 'log off', or 'shut down BBM'?

OR are we sacrificing the very basic operating principles upon which BBM has become the most 'reliable' and 'immediate' messaging system, all in hopes of adding a few more friends to our increasingly lonely party??

From everything I've gleaned, BBM will function the same on the other platforms as it does natively.

@ OP: That sounds kind of creepy, and it's why people:

1. Ask for Sign Off options in Chat Apps, and
2. Hate features like WhatsApp's "Last Seen on..."

This whole "I know your phone is on, cause my messages are being delivered" deal is not only what makes some people feel connected, it's also what makes other people feel stalked. The idea that someone is sending a BBM just to see if someone's phone is powered on and/or in a coverage area... Just sounds creepy to me.

You can signout of any app that requies log-in in Android. Go to Application Settings, BBM (or whatever), and Force Close & Clear Data. That will shut the app down and then log you out of it. The fact that BBM will be so near the top of the list alphabetically will make this even more viable (easier). I know I will be signing out of it routinely, because I don't like Ongoing Notifications and I don't foresee many RL friends picking it up as a messaging client. It is VERY hard for me to get people to use these types of apps if they are not pre-loaded on the device and use the account they use to set the phone up.

dose this mean we will have the BBM icon constantly in the status bar :/??

The whole R/D thing is one of my favourite features. With SMS you never know if the person has even received it (unless you turn on notifications which is a pain). It makes it much more like a proper chat than a one way message that you may or may not get a reply to.

Z10STL100-2/10.2.0.1725

Originally Posted by n8ter#AC

@ OP: That sounds kind of creepy, and it's why people:

1. Ask for Sign Off options in Chat Apps, and
2. Hate features like WhatsApp's "Last Seen on..."

This whole "I know your phone is on, cause my messages are being delivered" deal is not only what makes some people feel connected, it's also what makes other people feel stalked. The idea that someone is sending a BBM just to see if someone's phone is powered on and/or in a coverage area... Just sounds creepy to me.

It may be creepy to you, but I'm just stating that this is what gives BBM users the feeling that it is 'more' connected than any other messaging client. I'm not saying that that's what I use BBM for, but instead that, that is the level of information that can be gleaned from it.

Additionally, there is no 'burden' on a recipient who I can see has been delivered the message but has not yet 'read' it.


It tells me that (1) the system worked and the message is on their phone, but that (2) they are busy and thus I shouldn't expect an immediate reply.... all without the recipient having to do a single thing.

Anyway, based on your reaction, and the insight you provided into how much control android gives over third party apps, I can already see where BBM is heading... that's too bad.


Posted via CB10

My phone shouldn't be a way for people to track what km doing. I get messages when people have something to say, not because someone wants to check if I'm on my phone.

In any case, I know how to sign out of these apps so this is never an issue for me. It is kind of creepy. BBM isn't the only app with delivery and read notification, but this is the first time I've read such a thing.

Sent from my Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 4

Originally Posted by n8ter#AC

My phone shouldn't be a way for people to track what km doing. I get messages when people have something to say, not because someone wants to check if I'm on my phone.

In any case, I know how to sign out of these apps so this is never an issue for me. It is kind of creepy. BBM isn't the only app with delivery and read notification, but this is the first time I've read such a thing.

Sent from my Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 4

It's not about tracking what you are doing (BBM can't tell me that), but instead about seeing what you are *not* doing as it affects me (the sender)... that is, all I can see is that it worked, but you have not read it and thus should not be expected to respond.

It's really not creepy.. unless you have creepy people on your BBM list... fortunately they won't have your phone number!... lol

Posted via CB10

With voice and video chat then don't need it. Same issue with Facebook and their voice chat, which is why I keep a very tight friends list :-)

Sent from my Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 4