
Show HN: Improving WhatsApp - maxkiener
http://www.maximiliankiener.com/digitalprojects/whatsapp/
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joshfraser
What I really want is a desktop version of WhatsApp. I have a lot of
conversations on there and typing on a piece of glass is just never as
efficient as typing on a laptop. I haven't been able to find a desktop client
that isn't blatantly laden with spam or viruses. I might take a stab at
building one myself. I'd be curious if anyone has already reverse-engineered
their backend API.

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downandout
There is already an instant chat solution with both desktop and mobile
clients: Skype. Whatsapp is useless to me, and, I suspect, most people in the
US. Out of ~1200 contacts in my phone, 11 are currently registered with
Whatsapp. I suspect a desktop client would be useful in Europe, India, etc.
but be prepared to spend some real money on internationalization.

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imaginenore
WhatsApp is not useless, it's pretty freaking huge.

One year ago WhatsApp had 400 million active users.

Skype has 663 million registered users, out of which 280 million are active
monthly users.

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downandout
I didn't say it was useless to everyone. I just said that it's pretty clear
that it has a relatively small US footprint, and language fragmentation in
Europe - where Whatsapp is pervasive and useful - is a significant issue. Thus
writing a desktop client isn't as simple as it would appear to be at first
glance.

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rob
FYI: double checkmarks means your message was successfully delivered to their
phone [0], not that they necessarily read your message.

[https://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/general/20951546](https://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/general/20951546)

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maxkiener
WHAT?! I was using it for over 2 years under that assumption! Thanks

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toomuchtodo
Funny enough, Telegram (the open replacement for WhatsApp) works in the way
you had expected (double check is read confirmation).

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maxkiener
I always assumed that the first checkmark indicates "delivered" and the second
one "read", since right after you post it it shows a clock-symbol. also
interesting, that i assume with current network speeds sent=delivered.

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maxkiener
How about the first checkmark indicates delivery and the second "read". do you
guys care about the "it left the phone" state?

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toomuchtodo
Definitely. You want confirmation it got to someplace same until delivered to
the recipient. 1 check for got to server, 1 check for delivered to recipient
device, and then "Read" underneath the furthest part of the conversation that
has been read. Or I'm just crazy and niche.

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maxkiener
I'd say: clock symbol till it left the phone, one checkmark for delivered,
another one for read.

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toomuchtodo
Perfect!

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what_ever
Looks like I am in the minority but I don't like the drag to share action. You
would need to long press the message as you need to do right now in the
current app. Pressing the forward button and then tapping on the
person/group's name (the current implementation) is much easier to me.
Specially with the ever increasing size of phones. I would be always worried
about dropping the photo/message on the wrong group/person's bucket.

As others have pointed out, the double check is not read confirmation but is
delivery confirmation. I like the way FB messenger does it right now instead
of the colors that you have. I don't think it would scale very well. The
average size of the groups that I am part of on WhatsApp right now is about
10.

Notes/bookmark feature is fine but I don't know how much would I use it until
I start using it.

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guybrushT
What I learned from this is a great way to prototype/demo and share an idea
before building the whole app. The three improvements you suggest - 1) re-
sharing in groups 2) read confirmation in groups and 3) saving - aren't the
pain points that I have.

Personally, my pain is just p2p sharing with a person sitting in front (or
next to me) - I want the app to understand (say, when both users press a
button - its like scanning for a nearby bluetooth connection) to add a person
on my whatsapp, allow me send stuff (pics), share a contact, or share a
meeting invite - stuff like that. WhatsApp would be great to do this.
Proximity-based p2p connections should be quite easy, and apps could make it
"feel" more automatic/magical.

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maxkiener
thanks for the feedback, i'm glad you got something out of it. i think
proximity in IM-apps are a really interesting topic.

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lavingiasa
Google Hangouts does read messages really well in groups. There are little
portraits showing how far someone has read.

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maxkiener
true. I like the ideas behind hangouts (and they have the best emoji). but it
is just so painfully slow and unreliable with notifications for me...

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hamiltont
Honest question: Can I use the "last seen" time as a rough proxy for "they
have read your message"? I've been wondering this for a while.

At least on Android, my 'last seen' counter doesn't update until WhatApp is
brought to the foreground on my chat partner's phone, which is normally a good
sign that they have read my message. If they just see the notification but
don't open the app my 'last seen' counter does not update

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maxkiener
the current implementation leaves room for speculation. especially, since
others have pointed out, two checkmarks only show that it has been delivered.

the "last online" time means (AFAIK) the last time the user was using the app
(could also be in a different chat).

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dscrd
What is it about WhatsApp that made so many people adapt it over all the
alternatives, I cannot understand it.

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Geee
Device support. WhatsApp works on Nokia's dumb phones, which is what everyone
has in Europe/Asia if they don't have a smartphone:
[http://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/general/20951556](http://www.whatsapp.com/faq/en/general/20951556)

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zan2434
Why are empty circles even necessary for the read status of a message? If the
colors and names are known at the top, then you only need to show which ones
have read the message as filled circles and those who haven't will be known as
the difference.

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maxkiener
the thinking was that an empty circle shows the message has been delivered.
once it is filled, it is read.

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njsubedi
Just a simple acknowledgement, your name resembles with Maximilian Kohler
(from Dan Brown's novel, Angels and Demons). I was shocked for a moment! :D

[Edit: fixed stupidity]

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maxkiener
I'll take it.

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graup
Nice ideas! I wonder how the read circles scale. How do you imagine this
looking for groups of 10 or 20 or more people?

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maxkiener
thank you! i imagined it to be similiar to fb messenger. (there would be a
symbol that inicates "all others" if the groups size exceeds 6.

I also expeimented with more checkmarks, or colored lines that come down and
show read progress for individuals (like a race).

there would also be more information when you click the status bar of the
chat.

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matthaeus
I want that re-share feature in every messaging app!

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maxkiener
Chris Velasco said the exact same thing!
[https://twitter.com/chrisvelazco/status/524987169463894017](https://twitter.com/chrisvelazco/status/524987169463894017)
Thanks!

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akramhussein
Great ideas. How did you prototype/demo them?

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maxkiener
Thanks! I built it as a .js webapp, added to the iphone homescreen. Check out
the source-code in the browser dev-tools!

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vanillacedar
Crisp video! Did you make it yourself?

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maxkiener
Danke! It took several attempts but i hope it brings the ideas across.

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wackergoal
Can't wait. Whatsapp 2.0

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maxkiener
Danke!

