A Genuine Friendship Should Be Built On Absolutely Free Software

A genuine friendship should be built on absolutely free software.

Nowadays, nonfree software and its developers rule the world. People get connected with their friends via nonfree software. Skype, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, LINE, WeChat, QQ…

However, nonfree software itself is injustice. Proprietary IM apps is get us ostensibly in strong connection, but actually in great danger. The camaraderies with our friends are threatened by those proprietary monsters; the happiness and sadness shared with our friends is under the surveillance of nonfree software.

It’s nonfree software that is thoroughly malicious, especially nonfree IM apps. Nonfree IM apps don’t respect its users’ freedom. They do spy on their users, selling their users’ data to the advertisers or leaking their data to the governments. Particularly, Skype spies on its users. in 2013, it spies on its users and send their data to NSA.

Nonfree IM apps is even more threatening compared to other nonfree software, as it requires the both side to install that nonfree software that is used to communicate. If someone uses Microsoft Office, Photoshop, PotPlayer, or ACDSee, only himself or herself loses his or her freedom; But if he or she uses Skype and invite his or her friends onto it, they all lose freedom at the same time.

Without learning about how an IM app works, you cannot ensure he or she is actually that person you are talking with. The nonfree IM software developer can pretend one of your friend to chat with you. Therefore, the relationship built on nonfree software is unreliable, a genuine friendship cannot be built on nonfree software.

If someone invites you to nonfree IMs, he or she is your fiend, not friend - he or she is letting you to give up your freedom. If someone does so, simply reject him or her.

Try free software communication tools. There is already a plenty of free software IM protocols: Jabber, Matrix, SIP… and a wide range of libre apps compatible with these protocols, for example, Gajim, Conversations, Element, FluffyChat, Linphone… is already available for you. Simply choose one or more of your liked ones, sign up for account, and start communicating with your friends. Free software end-to-end encryption ensures your and your friends’ privacy, and free software face-to-face verifications verifys the one you are chatting with. The most important thing is that the free software communication protocols and their compatible free software IM apps are designed to be used with an free software operating system, it means that you can use them on GNU/Linux, or Android with F-Droid.