[crackberry_geek]

WhatsApp sometimes takes hours to deliver a message between my Samsung phone and my friends Samsung phones. The beautiful part of WhatsApp is even though the message has not been delivered, it will be marked as delivered on the senders phone. So he will never know.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

I use both BBM and Whatsapp with friends, family and clients all over the globe. Have for years. And I can assure you that what you describe is VERY rare. BBM is far less reliable. I wish it weren't so... I really do... but the evidence speaks otherwise.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[itsyaboy]

Hey bud, here is a screenshot of one of the ads. Sure it isn't smut or anything like that, but still an un- necessary ad. At least advertise to something that I might be interested in.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...52ad9619ee.jpg

Holy ****. This is just the worst that they could do. This is unbelievable and they should be ashamed of themselves.

Posted via CB10

[zocster]

So how do you like allo? What I read on Google play isn't exciting and what my friend told me about allo makes me feel I wouldn't want to be bothered.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

Allo is good, for a new product. Definitely faster than hangouts. It can only get better...

Sent from mTalk on Windows 10 Phone

[vpblaze]

So how do you like allo? What I read on Google play isn't exciting and what my friend told me about allo makes me feel I wouldn't want to be bothered.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

I am pleased with it. It is a brand new app. Yeah in theory it should have came out spotless and been able to do everything from flip my eggs too be able to tie my shoes.
In all fairness though, right now it does the basic, instant messaging, quite well.
The ability to share GIF's and pictures is really quick. And I actually don't mind the Google Assistant feature. It's almost the ability to do a Google search within your chat that two people can see.
I also have it set up to deliver my news every morning at 0800.
It's already been said that they plan to build support for Duo (video chat) within the App. So I am sure that will be streamlined as well.

The only thing I am kind of missing right now, is it isn't built into The Hub. I just rearranged some of my quick shortcuts, so no biggie.

[David Tyler]

When I had Facebook, they officially never had my phone number either. But I am sure they have clever ways of connecting my Facebook account to my mobile number.

Well, Zuckerberg certainly didn't pay $19 billion -- with a "b" -- for the privilege of claiming some business lunches with WhatsApp execs on his taxes... No, like Facebook itself, users _pay_ for WhatsApp, and it's still true that nothing is "free."



Passport SE: All the snooty prestige of a device with a precious metal in the name at less than half the price!

[David Tyler]

At least advertise to something that I might be interested in.

-- and how are you proposing BlackBerry do that..? Rummage through your personal life like Facebook and Google?



Passport SE: All the snooty prestige of a device with a precious metal in the name at less than half the price!

[CharlieV]

-- and how are you proposing BlackBerry do that..? Rummage through your personal life like Facebook and Google?

Eek. Good point.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android by a recovering Privaholic

[Invictus0]

BBM ads are provided by third party services, try opting out (or in?) of targeted advertising and see if that improves anything?

BlackBerry privacy policy - United States

[Loc22]

I use both BBM and Whatsapp with friends, family and clients all over the globe. Have for years. And I can assure you that what you describe is VERY rare. BBM is far less reliable. I wish it weren't so... I really do... but the evidence speaks otherwise.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

I have found a way to switch off the notification for BBM my friend showed me how. Could this be the reason people don't reply messages as he always say he didn't receive any messages.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[itsyaboy]

I have found a way to switch off the notification for BBM my friend showed me how. Could this be the reason people don't reply messages as he always say he didn't receive any messages.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

What device is he using? If it is Android, the BBM connection notification will have to be displayed all the time. If it is not displayed, the user will not receive a message. This is a Google decision, because BBM (rightly so) does not use Google Cloud Messaging.

So if it is Android, he'll have to look for settings that do not disconnect BBM. This is primarily in the BBM app itself, but some Android versions have a power management app that may disconnect BBM on the basis of power usage. You'll have to search there too.

Posted via CB10

[Loc22]

What device is he using? If it is Android, the BBM connection notification will have to be displayed all the time. If it is not displayed, the user will not receive a message. This is a Google decision, because BBM (rightly so) does not use Google Cloud Messaging.

So if it is Android, he'll have to look for settings that do not disconnect BBM. This is primarily in the BBM app itself, but some Android versions have a power management app that may disconnect BBM on the basis of power usage. You'll have to search there too.

Posted via CB10

Yes, he is using a Samsung phone. He disabled it from the app.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[itsyaboy]

Yes, he is using a Samsung phone. He disabled it from the app.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

Why? This means he won't be connected to BBM continuously and then he'll miss incoming messages.

Posted via CB10

[JulesDB]

What rock have you been living under?!?!

BBM messages have been hacked for years. RCMP have the global encryption keys. If you ain't paying for an upgraded BBM or on BES your comms over BBM aren't secure.

BlackBerry does track you and certainly gives up your information to foreign governments. Just ask the Italians. They track your locations, your purchases over BBM with PayPal etc etc.

Never mind now that BBM is slow and buggy, shows intrusive adult dating ads to minors, lacking cross platform.



Communication's sent over BBM are NOT secured!

Italians?? Why italians?

BTW I'm italian, never heard about that...

Posted via CB10

[Troy Tiscareno]

BBM ads are provided by third party services, try opting out (or in?) of targeted advertising and see if that improves anything?

With BB or anyone who has targeted advertising, when they let you "opt out", they aren't letting you opt out of advertising, just the targeting. In other words, BB is currently doing exactly what Apple and Google do (just not as well): they're saving your usage information and using that to give you targeted advertising, which means they're trying to show you ads that you might actually be interested in. If you turn off the targeting, it means you'll just get random ads instead, so the chances of those ads being relevant to you is going to go down - but the amount of ads isn't going to be any less.

[itsyaboy]

With BB or anyone who has targeted advertising, when they let you "opt out", they aren't letting you opt out of advertising, just the targeting. In other words, BB is currently doing exactly what Apple and Google do (just not as well): they're saving your usage information and using that to give you targeted advertising, which means they're trying to show you ads that you might actually be interested in. If you turn off the targeting, it means you'll just get random ads instead, so the chances of those ads being relevant to you is going to go down - but the amount of ads isn't going to be any less.

The big difference is that BBM uses far less data items to serve you ads. Therefore, they collect less data and are therefore less intrusive. As far as I correctly remember BBM's privacy policy...

Posted via CB10

[kg4icg]

Oh darn, look what is happening already. https://www.engadget.com/2016/09/27/...whatsapp-data/

[Troy Tiscareno]

The big difference is that BBM uses far less data items to serve you ads. Therefore, they collect less data and are therefore less intrusive. As far as I correctly remember BBM's privacy policy...

That may be true. It is certainly true that BB's targeting isn't very effective - which means it doesn't make them very much money and doesn't make them as attractive to advertisers - but that also means that it's harder for BB to make their phones competitive in the marketplace, which increases the chance that they'll eventually disappear entirely.

[itsyaboy]

That may be true. It is certainly true that BB's targeting isn't very effective - which means it doesn't make them very much money and doesn't make them as attractive to advertisers - but that also means that it's harder for BB to make their phones competitive in the marketplace, which increases the chance that they'll eventually disappear entirely.

In my non-relevant opinion, BBM should drop all ads immediately to draw a bigger contrast with WhatsApp. Just like you said, their advertising probably doesn't make them a lot of money... so be creative and monetize other BBM features...!?

Posted via CB10

[Troy Tiscareno]

In my non-relevant opinion, BBM should drop all ads immediately to draw a bigger contrast with WhatsApp. Just like you said, their advertising probably doesn't make them a lot of money... so be creative and monetize other BBM features...!?

The problem is: they can't afford to do that. They made BBM its own division, and that division has to pay for itself and (ideally) turn a profit in order to justify keeping it around. All of the servers, connections and other costs to run BBM costs real money, so they have to have a way to pay for it, and even though it makes relatively little, it is enough to keep the division alive. Without it, BBM might go away entirely.

Financial reality is a *****...

[Dunt Dunt Dunt]

In my non-relevant opinion, BBM should drop all ads immediately to draw a bigger contrast with WhatsApp. Just like you said, their advertising probably doesn't make them a lot of money... so be creative and monetize other BBM features...!?

Posted via CB10

Monetize what?

Stickers weren't getting the job done.
Everyone is doing voice and video... for free.
How much of the userbase is casual, and won't not pay even a minimum app fee?
They already have a more secure version they charge for.

You can bet that BlackBerry looked hard at the options... Ads was really the only way to quickly monetize the existing userbase. That and Licensing out the entire Indonesian market to one advertiser.

I really don't know the answer... I hate ads, especially ones that I don't view as interesting. Uninstalled HUB+ from my Android because of them. Could have paid for HUB+.... but for some reason I just can't bring myself to pay $12 a year to BlackBerry for something I can get for free. Maybe if I got a 100 emails a day like some here do.... but I don't.

[Loc22]

There are plenty of ways to monetize without ads or subscription in BBM they just need to be creative.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[darkehawke]

In my non-relevant opinion, BBM should drop all ads immediately to draw a bigger contrast with WhatsApp. Just like you said, their advertising probably doesn't make them a lot of money... so be creative and monetize other BBM features...!?

Posted via CB10

BBM jumped on the monetising bandwagon years too late.
if they had gone crossplatform years earlier they could have got away with it.
But now the competition has overtaken, and offers superior services for free.

The only way I can see BBM successfully monetise is to use the old Whatsapp sub model. But that probably wouldn't be enough in the short term.
Not many people will pay a monthly sub for a service that they could get for free elsewhere.

They need to build a userbase before trying to grab money, but as they've shown with BB10, they're not capable of nurturing a product

[itsyaboy]

The problem is: they can't afford to do that. They made BBM its own division, and that division has to pay for itself and (ideally) turn a profit in order to justify keeping it around. All of the servers, connections and other costs to run BBM costs real money, so they have to have a way to pay for it, and even though it makes relatively little, it is enough to keep the division alive. Without it, BBM might go away entirely.

Financial reality is a *****...

I know that BBM is its own division. And actually, I am kind of curious as to what costs they have to make to keep BBM alive. DO they have to pay for the BBM NOC completely? I thought the NOC was also employed for BES Cloud, but correct me if I am wrong. Or don't they use the NOC any more for BBM?

And they just scored 207 million with that EMTEK deal. They probably get a little fee for their PayPal integration (should have been enrolled more globally although I guess this isn't BlackBerry's fault). I don't think they are dependent on revenue through ads to keep BBM afloat. They should at least inspire for more creative solutions. So okay, keep the ads for the time being. But if they can grow additional revenue I think they should dump it. Gives it an edge over their competitors.

Monetize what?

Stickers weren't getting the job done.
Everyone is doing voice and video... for free.
How much of the userbase is casual, and won't not pay even a minimum app fee?
They already have a more secure version they charge for.

You can bet that BlackBerry looked hard at the options... Ads was really the only way to quickly monetize the existing userbase. That and Licensing out the entire Indonesian market to one advertiser.

I really don't know the answer... I hate ads, especially ones that I don't view as interesting. Uninstalled HUB+ from my Android because of them. Could have paid for HUB+.... but for some reason I just can't bring myself to pay $12 a year to BlackBerry for something I can get for free. Maybe if I got a 100 emails a day like some here do.... but I don't.

Good question. It is up to them to become more creative. Unfortunately, I wasted like 15 - 20 euros on stickers. You are right, that won't do for BBM in the long run (although the abundance of BBM Stickers seem to indicate somebody is buying them).

I actually have BBM Protected, but it was very tricky to get it. I think they should make it a priority to offer it within the BBM Shop. I am really uncertain why this isn't offered more easily to consumers. I think there will be consumers who see this as an absolute advantage over the regular BBM (which I consider compromised any way).

Would you pay 10 USD once and then get forever use of the Hub+ Suite? Because I think their monthly plans doesn't really work. Sure, you can say that you use the Hub every day, continuously, so you should every day of use, but is it really that advanced to actually demand a monthly subscription? I am not sure here either.

I think BBM should focus on offering more substantial features. But I agree, it is hard to be creative.

BBM jumped on the monetising bandwagon years too late.
if they had gone crossplatform years earlier they could have got away with it.
But now the competition has overtaken, and offers superior services for free.

The only way I can see BBM successfully monetise is to use the old Whatsapp sub model. But that probably wouldn't be enough in the short term.
Not many people will pay a monthly sub for a service that they could get for free elsewhere.

They need to build a userbase before trying to grab money, but as they've shown with BB10, they're not capable of nurturing a product

Yes, they should have gone cross platform far earlier than they did. And even now, they are effectively a duopoly, because only their Android and iOS versions get the latest features. In what way are the alternatives superior in your opinion?

That's the thing again. Their whole assumption is that monthly subscriptions work. What about a single fee?

[Troy Tiscareno]

That's the thing again. Their whole assumption is that monthly subscriptions work. What about a single fee?

That would be great if they could talk their datacenters and ISPs into a single one-time fee for service forever, but it doesn't work that way. They need continuous ongoing revenue.

Back when they were collecting BIS fees (SAF), they could afford to fund things like BBM that, themselves, made no money. That time has past, and now they're running up against the wall of financial reality, which is brutal - especially to those who ignored that reality for so long and weren't prepared for it.

[darkehawke]

Yes, they should have gone cross platform far earlier than they did. And even now, they are effectively a duopoly, because only their Android and iOS versions get the latest features. In what way are the alternatives superior in your opinion?

That's the thing again. Their whole assumption is that monthly subscriptions work. What about a single fee?

bear in mind different needs breeds different opinions
Whatsapp for a long time was inferior to BBM, slower to deliver, no read notifications etc.
BBM went cross platform, and I have to stress this, worked fine between BB10 and Android for a long time. But after a while, BBM started playing up, well after I went from BB10 to Android. Messages would deliver late. I ended up testing it one day. BBM took a hour to deliver a message. Not sure why the service degraded like that.

So why I think others is superior, Whatsapp, ease of use, not exactly hard to set up, reliable messaging. Widely used, you'd have to look hard to find someone NOT on Whatsapp. True crossplatform until recently when they pulled BB10 support

Hangouts. Well its baked in, but suffers from lack of users much like BBM. offers video calls for free. reliable enough service to a degree.Only problem is only Googlephiles use it. Even with Google desperate to kill Hangouts off, it still receives support. Completely ad free and free to use.

Skype. I actually dont like Skype, I think BBM is better than it, but Skype is bigger and if you use a computer you have a skype account, whether you know it or not. Just as bad a memory hog as BBM if not worse.

Facebook Messenger. This started out not very good and has improved the most out of all the apps. Free to use. reliable. offers calls and video calls for free. Forget its facebook messenger and use it and you'll be happy with it. Again, easy to connect as it has the biggest social network powering it.
With Facebook Messenger and Whatsapp, it is very hard to persuade someone they need a third messenging app.

Used to love BBM, used it all the time. It was sad to see it fall as far as it did before i made the decision not to reinstall it on my device