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Comment by tbrock | Hacker News Reader

I don’t think Apple would bat an eye if Facebook decided to not publish their software on their platform.

Facebook could not afford not to as they would lose a huge amount of users. Apple is just doing to them what FB does to people: Accept these terms, be tracked everywhere, or miss out on all the people providing us free content on our platform. Many people accept that because they don't want to be unable to communicate or view things in their garden. That is leveraging their huge scope to push less favorable terms.

So FB has Apple with some leverage over them saying accept this or else. FB is in a weak position because it would be hard to tell your users hey leave Apple because they won't let us take all your data without permission. I don't feel for them at all.

I think they would. Facebook products are a huge part of any app ecosystem, and without them, Apple customers would be pissed.

Ecosystem concerns aren’t as relevant today, since both Android and iOS have everything you’d want, but in the olden days of Blackberry, Microsoft, and many other mobile operating system vendors trying to compete, they were always seriously hampered by their lack of ecosystem.

You’d be surprised how many fb users (mostly less technical) just use a browser to access fb.. They don’t need an app in the App Store to do so.. So this might actually be a fight against the strange people working at Facebook that will get them to rethink what it is they do everyday..

I think this is a good case for what Apps bring to the table and highlighting what the cost is privacy wise. As a developer I think apps are cool, the way they're leaking data is awful. This is something the platforms need to step up control over and I think that because this isn't the case there's an incentive to keep things as they are. Like automotive and the iterative improvements.

This is me - and Facebook does not miss an opportunity to ask me to download messenger.

I use the low bandwidth option if I need to get on there. mbasic.facebook.com no nagging about apps and you can actually use the messenger web interface.

I tell my mom she needs to use FF containers for FB. I set it up so she can't do anything else. She's happy & gets to see her extended family pics/updates.

Isn't this done automatically now in Firefox? As in, you don't need to even install the containers add-on as Facebook and related properties are automatically opened in a default Facebook container?

Not true. Facebook doesn't do any of this automatically, manner of speaking, unless the user explicitly informs the addon to do so.

Wow that'd be great news - when did that happen?

Apple customers generate a large chunk of the content there is to see in Facebook products, so losing them would diminish engagement across all remaining platforms. If competitors can capitalize on the opportunity, that could very well trigger a death spiral that would destroy Facebook within mere months, whereas Apple could weather that easily.

Few things could flat out annihilate Facebook, but punching a large hole in their network is probably one of them.

I would be delighted to have that sh-t gone from everyone's iPhone,

because it would create an obvious a compelling opportunity for someone to finally break the stranglehold of FB's monopoly.

I miss my friend and family connections, but most people in my community won't go near that ecosystem with a flaming 10' pole any longer, and many friends like me, despair that our loved ones' reaction to e.g. the Social Dilemma and ongoing revelation after revelation of sociopathic corporate amorality is "yes that is sad but I have choice" because "all my friends are only insta" or "my cottage business depends entirely on my pages" etc etc.

I cannot wait for them to go down in flames.

Bring it Apple.

I’d be delighted as it would give me an excuse to not use WhatsApp

The looks people give you when you say you don’t have WhatsApp are gold. In France in particular.

Utterly baffled.

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