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Show HN: Improving WhatsApp
- matthaeus 12y agoI want that re-share feature in every messaging app!
- maxkiener 12y agoChris Velasco said the exact same thing! https://twitter.com/chrisvelazco/status/524987169463894017 https://twitter.com/chrisvelazco/status/524987169463894017 Thanks!
- akramhussein 12y agoGreat ideas. How did you prototype/demo them?
- maxkiener 12y agoThanks! I built it as a .js webapp, added to the iphone homescreen. Check out the source-code in the browser dev-tools!
- wackergoal 12y agoCan't wait. Whatsapp 2.0
- maxkiener 12y agoDanke!
- rob 12y agoFYI: 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
- maxkiener 12y agoWHAT?! I was using it for over 2 years under that assumption! Thanks
- toomuchtodo 12y agoFunny enough, Telegram (the open replacement for WhatsApp) works in the way you had expected (double check is read confirmation).
- maxkiener 12y agoI 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.
- toomuchtodo 12y agoFirst checkmark confirms it hit store and forward servers. I prefer second checkmark to indicate delivery, as I care less if someone read it and more if it just made it to their device.
- maxkiener 12y agoHow about the first checkmark indicates delivery and the second "read". do you guys care about the "it left the phone" state?
- toomuchtodo 12y agoDefinitely. 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.
- 12y ago
- njsubedi 12y agoJust 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]
- maxkiener 12y agoI'll take it.
- graup 12y agoNice ideas! I wonder how the read circles scale. How do you imagine this looking for groups of 10 or 20 or more people?
- maxkiener 12y agothank 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.
- vanillacedar 12y agoCrisp video! Did you make it yourself?
- maxkiener 12y agoDanke! It took several attempts but i hope it brings the ideas across.
- guybrushT 12y agoWhat 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.
- maxkiener 12y agothanks for the feedback, i'm glad you got something out of it. i think proximity in IM-apps are a really interesting topic.
- hamiltont 12y agoHonest 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
- maxkiener 12y agothe 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).
- what_ever 12y agoLooks 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.
- zan2434 12y agoWhy 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.
- maxkiener 12y agothe thinking was that an empty circle shows the message has been delivered. once it is filled, it is read.
- joshfraser 12y agoWhat 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.
- maxkiener 12y agomy guess would be that every whatsapp account is associated with only one phone number, and you might have to introduce a separate layer of identification. personally, i like having one reliable messenger on one device.
- afatc 12y agoThis is the main reason me and my friends use Telegram. It has a web client.
- downandout 12y agoThere 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.
- joshfraser 12y agoI have a lot of international friends.
- imaginenore 12y agoWhatsApp 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.
- 12y ago
- lavingiasa 12y agoGoogle Hangouts does read messages really well in groups. There are little portraits showing how far someone has read.
- maxkiener 12y agotrue. 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...
- dscrd 12y agoWhat is it about WhatsApp that made so many people adapt it over all the alternatives, I cannot understand it.