Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

BlackBerry Makes Privacy and Control Subscription in BBM Free

Posted by msmash on from the good-guy-BlackBerry dept.

BlackBerry, on Monday, announced it is making all the privacy features in BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) messaging app free to use. Prior to the announcement, the Canadian company charged $1 monthly premium subscription for the advanced privacy and control features. From the company's blog post: These enhanced privacy and control features give users full ownership over what they share through BBM -- even after it leaves their phone. With "Retract," users can retract messages and pictures from recipients they sent mistakenly or no longer wish to make accessible. "Timer," meanwhile, gives users control over how long their contacts can view shared messages, pictures, or location information.

32 comments

  1. Except for.... by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The servers where BB gave the local government the keys to everything.....

    This mostly sounds like BB trying like hell to stay relevant.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    1. Re:Except for.... by bobstreo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The servers where BB gave the local government the keys to everything.....

      This mostly sounds like BB trying like hell to stay relevant.

      Less than trying to stay relevant, more like trying to stay in business, and not declare chapter 11 or 7 (or whatever the Canadian Equivalent is)

      http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=B...

    2. Re:Except for.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Still valued way too high given how irrelevant they are.

    3. Re:Except for.... by Pizentios · · Score: 1

      Makes me said in a way as a Canadian to see another one of our tech companies in it's death throws.

      --
      -Pizentios
    4. Re:Except for.... by nine-times · · Score: 1

      This mostly sounds like BB trying like hell to stay relevant.

      And it doesn't seem like it will be at all successful. I work with a lot of companies, and I haven't heard anyone mention RIM/Blackberry in the past few years, except as a joke.

    5. Re:Except for.... by gstoddart · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This mostly sounds like BB trying like hell to stay relevant.

      Which is pretty much what they've been trying to do since Apple and Android phones came onto the market.

      They may have created the smart phone, but they've subsequently had their market share taken away by other companies with products consumers want more.

      I'm just not convinced they're succeeding at staying relevant. The only people I know who use BB stuff have been using it so long they're saturated with the koolaid.

      Once they rolled over and started caving on security to governments around the world, their claims about bring more secure can't be trusted.

      I'm just not seeing them recovering enough to matter much.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    6. Re:Except for.... by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1

      The only people I know who use BB stuff have been using it so long they're saturated with the koolaid.

      I owned an Amiga past the point where it was no longer cool to do so, and what I see of the remaining BlackBerry faithful looks much like the last of the Amiga crowd. Every competitor is branded with dumb nicknames ("Lamedroid", "pOS", etc.). Everything is a conspiracy ("Facebook won't support BB OS 10 because they're threatened by the Hub and don't want competition!"). All of their hardware is inherently better than everyone else's in all possible ways, their battery life is better, their security is better, their apps are better, and any day now the sheeple are going to come around and beg forgiveness from the BlackBerry faithful so that they, too, may join the club.

      To BlackBerry's credit, they're cutting ties with all that and moving to make Android phones. That's a double-edged sword, though: the only people who don't see BB as a "legacy" label are the ones who don't want to migrate off their current platform at any cost.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    7. Re:Except for.... by wjcofkc · · Score: 1

      This mostly sounds like BB trying like hell to stay relevant.

      Unfortunately they are so very late to the party everyone is thoroughly drunk off their ass from Android and iPhone. I hear the chips & dips are pretty good. I worked for a carrier back in the day and a vendor let me handle what was very much a pre-release BB 10 phone. I believe it became the Z10. I was pretty quickly hooked on the BB 10 OS\Interface. It was new, it was innovative, and it was absolutely elegant. I also knew by then that it was simply too late so I went about my merry Android way. A couple of months ago I was at my local T-Mobile store. I picked up the Classic demo phone and after two-hours was in love. I slept on it and ordered one the next day. I have never been happier with a phone and as far as the app deficit goes, getting access to the entire play store is trivial and most but not everything works. I know is all but dead, I know that BB's Android heavy road map shows a BB 10 refresh next spring, and I know that will not likely happen that the platform will be officially killed off for Android. I'm just glad I am able to spend some quality time with such a remarkable device\OS\interface while I can.

      Might have gone a little off topic, but there isn't a whole lot to say in any conversation about BB.

      --
      Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
    8. Re:Except for.... by narcc · · Score: 1

      I still have my z10, my wife and I each got one the day it was released. I don't see any compelling reason to upgrade. They're still supporting and updating it, after all. The kicker, as you point out, is the UI. Why no one has thought to copy it is beyond me. (Even BB! No peek, for example, on the Priv. Insanity.) I could probably adapt to an Android handset, but every time I try one it feels like I've stepped back in time.

      My wife was seduced by the Classic and upgraded. It's a very nice phone, feels very high-quality. The keyboard and trackpad, however, are what really pushed her over. She uses her phone heavily for work, and it's made her dramatically more productive. That's always been the area where BB shines. It would be interesting to see if other players (my money would be on MS here) could compete on that front.

      I know they're not 'cool' and that they're struggling to find their place in the new mobile landscape, but the devices themselves are fantastic. They're certainly not the garbage Slashdotters have made them out to be.

      --
      Required reading for internet skeptics
    9. Re: Except for.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I am amazed they are still somewhat in business. If i would have betted on their demise it would have been years ago...

    10. Re:Except for.... by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      If BB wants to stay relevant... Switch to a PURE android with hardened hardware and OS extensions that warn the users of FBI/NSA/HS fake cell towers, insecure routes, real security like the uber secure android phone out there but at a reasonable price.

      Yes, they need to piss off the worlds governments. but corporations are willing to pay to keep the GOV out of their communications.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    11. Re:Except for.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have a BlackBerry Classic and an Android Nexus 5. The Nexus is a nightmare to accomplish things with when compared to the Classic. The Nexus is great for all the apps and games, but if I have to review/edit documents, send files to people, organize things and send a bunch of email then I have to use the Classic. I haven't installed any apps on it, I know there aren't a lot but everything I've needed is built into the OS already.

      What I don't like about the Classic:
      -can't set email as plain text by default
      -I don't want the android runtime on the blackberry
      -don't feel I get updates very frequently(I know thats sort of in the hands of the carrier)
      -people look at me in disgust(haha)

      What I don't like about the nexus:
      -everything seems scattered about, I can't explain it
      -google gets to know me too well
      -the user interface is super ugly and too bright - it burns out my eyes
      -MTP for file transfer with cable? give me a break, I can't use that
      -no buttons(yeah, I'm hooked on the buttons again now)
      -no sd card slot, but I know some other droids have them

      I think if the Classic died and there was no more Blackberry 10 I'd probably be hoping for a microsoft phone to save me.

    12. Re: Except for.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And it's interesting that they're still buying more companies:
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_BlackBerry
      Guess they have lots of cash still.

    13. Re: Except for.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People like you forget that it's a fucking PHONE first, which works pretty well for that. Out of the box, a BB10 phone is way more capable than an iPhone. Check the head to head competitions done at the last two CES by journalists for example.

      Where it does suck, is big name app support. There's a reason "there's an app for that" became popular. An iPhone out of the box is pretty fucking useless.

      For people who don't need every social app or banking app, BB10 is way undervalued. It was designed from the ground up, not adding kludge after kludge on aging operating systems...

    14. Re: Except for.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Found the CrackBerry addict!

  2. All three customers rejoice! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So what happened to the BB Android runtime they were promising, eh?

    1. Re:All three customers rejoice! by mlw4428 · · Score: 2

      They have one in BB10 and have had it for some time.

    2. Re:All three customers rejoice! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It was released with the playbook in 2011 and development continues to this day through the BB10 OS.

      Why? Jealous?

  3. That's great! by Pedestrianwolf · · Score: 2

    All 12 of the remaining BB customers will be thrilled, I'm sure.

    1. Re:That's great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      All 12 of the remaining BB customers will be thrilled, I'm sure.

      I'm always amazed at how much energy some put into bashing BB. If they're so irrelevant, why do some feel the need to remind us of this "fact" at every opportunity?

    2. Re:That's great! by jm007 · · Score: 1

      'cause it's low hanging fruit

    3. Re:That's great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So pick on the weakest kid. It's sad that the nerdy kid is the one who gets picked on. He or she is usually the smartest, as is the case with BlackBerry. They have some pretty impressive stuff.

  4. Incompetent or lying, pick one by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    These enhanced privacy and control features give users full ownership over what they share through BBM -- even after it leaves their phone.

    ...unless the recipient uses the notorious hacker tool known as "the screen shot". Seriously, either the blog author is too non-technical to be writing about such things or they're OK with flat-out lying to their readers.

    If someone can write a Blu-ray ripper, they can trivially keep copies of any other data you send them. Once information has left your device, it is no longer "yours" in any meaningful sense. Implying anything else is flat-out deceptive.

    --
    Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    1. Re:Incompetent or lying, pick one by R33P · · Score: 1

      I dunno, timed messages seem to be working well for Snapchat. Turns out the plebs prioritize fun features and iBaubles over security and privacy. Who knew!

    2. Re:Incompetent or lying, pick one by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 2

      I dunno, timed messages seem to be working well for Snapchat.

      ...as long as the recipient doesn't screenshot them, or take a picture of the screen, or pass it around their friends before it can be deleted. "Private, but shared" is an impossibility.

      Turns out the plebs prioritize fun features and iBaubles over security and privacy.

      Which is fine, as long as you know that's the decision you're making and haven't been misled into thinking you can have them both at the same time. I love Twitter, but no one at Twitter ever told me "you can delete your message and no one will ever be able to see it again (as long as they haven't posted a picture of it to their blog)".

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
    3. Re:Incompetent or lying, pick one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...unless the recipient uses the notorious hacker tool known as "the screen shot". Seriously, either the blog author is too non-technical to be writing about such things or they're OK with flat-out lying to their readers.

      If someone can write a Blu-ray ripper, they can trivially keep copies of any other data you send them. Once information has left your device, it is no longer "yours" in any meaningful sense. Implying anything else is flat-out deceptive.

      Take a screen shot and the other party gets a notification in BBM that a screen shot was taken.

    4. Re:Incompetent or lying, pick one by Just+Some+Guy · · Score: 1

      Take a screen shot and the other party gets a notification in BBM that a screen shot was taken.

      It's not exactly moving the goalposts to suggest that someone could physically take a picture of their screen if they were motivated enough. If there were important data or a naked celebrity, people will find a way.

      --
      Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
  5. Neato by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All this fuss about a $20 computer? Well, I, for one, certainly don't see the harm in that! I hope they continue to expand so all the kids can learn to code.

  6. Good news by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Good because I am getting one. https://www.flickr.com/photos/77539652@N07/8080649731/

    you can keep your "touchscreen-my-precious-my-oh-so-shiny-shiny" phones.

    Provocateur

  7. BlackBerry Messenger? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought they closed that place down.

    1. Re: BlackBerry Messenger? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Shows how misinformed you are?

      What the fuck kind of question is that?

  8. It's QNX. by paradisaeidae · · Score: 1

    So look under the hood of a Z10. It takes many years to get a good real time OS singing and dancing. Lucky for BB QNX was available. So good they can launch a decent slidy droid on the side. Drivers in application space. Basics. Someone's done it. It took time.