Used to be that circumventing official methods for accessing any kind of media was just a way to get free shit. Nowadays it's also necessary to get basic functionality.
this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2025
250 points (98.1% liked)
Self-hosting
3710 readers
6 users here now
Hosting your own services. Preferably at home and on low-power or shared hardware.
Also check out:
founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
I have an iPhone for work. iMessage is turned off, because fuck that shit. You don't like the green? Either suck it up or use our corporate messenger.
Why would anyone use iMessage/SMS on a corporate/work phone, if the corporate messenger is already installed?
Because the built in sms is easy to use and built into the phone and contacts app.
The app that got me into self hosting!! Thank you bluebubbles 💙
How?? How do I do this?
Server Installation
On the macOS device you'd like to use for the server... And I'm out.
Well I think you can run it on a VM, but yeah, I'm out as well.
I don't even understand the purpose. Who the hell cares what colour your texts are?
In my case, I worked for someone who only communicated via iMessage. When I got hired they said, "Either get an iPhone or figure out some magical way to get iMessage on Android."
Abracadabra mfer
That's some seriously awkward shit. What was the job?
Wish I could say! But many influential people in tech/media/politics are iMessage diehards, and she was no exception
I'd respond "If it is required for the job, send me a business phone that has imessage". I hope that you didn't subsidize their business expense on your own dime
Nah, I had them buy me a used Mac Mini for $50. But you're right: if they made me get an iPhone it would have been on them
In the UK most people use Whatsapp regardless of their platform. That has its own issues but thankfully you never hear people talking about blue text bubbles.
I'm in the UK too and the gradual shift to WhatsApp has been a relief considering it used to be WhatsApp, Snapchat, messenger, Instagram, iMessage and twitter about ten years ago, not that anyone did all of them.
It's a shame it's meta but it's so nice that it's not a huge pile of useless features, just a few.
Twitter never took off in my area for some reason but lot of people I knew used Facebook messenger about 10 years ago which was a pain. I'm pretty sure the popularity of Whatsapp is thanks to Vodafone. They had contracts years ago that allowed unlimited use of Whatsapp without affecting your data usage. This lead a lot of people to believe that happens on all contracts. I still can't convince my Grandma that calling through Whatsapp uses both of our data.
Only those who care about status symbols aka unfortunately almost everyone
Thank god I display my status amongst my peers by rejecting mainstream status symbols. Yay for counterculture being part of the system!
Come on down to your local counterculture bookstore and boy do we have some sewn patches to sell you!
Not me, I'm out tryin' to live my worst life!
To live your best life to don't need any of that but here we are.