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I just lost my IG account after having it for literally a decade. Short story: I thought my engagement was low, so I manually went through my not-very-large follower list (2400 or so) in the IG app, identified about 100 accounts that I thought were bots (accounts that were following 6000+ people), and then went to each one and removed them as a follower. I made it about 40 in when suddenly I got meaningless errors, logged out, and that was it. My account no longer exists.

All of the avenues to contact Instagram are meaningless and don’t lead anywhere. There are no actual humans anywhere that review these things. No one cares when their crap algorithm screws up and deletes your 1000 photos and memories and all the interactions you had with your friends.

The irony is I got kicked out for doing something that should be their job.




>All of the avenues to contact Instagram are meaningless and don’t lead anywhere.

I feel you. I got permabanned from tinder when I emailed their support asking how the verification process worked with couples. They replied with a ban notice and I was confused, turns out couples profiles are against Tinders T&C. I hadn't actually done ANYTHING to violate their T&C in-app yet, just asking their support about it was enough to ban for life.

To top it off, they embedded a secret key in my iOS keychain that synced across all devices. Even wiping the phone would get new numbers banned on sign in. I ended up having to use a fresh device on a fresh iCloud account on a new number to bypass their ban (I'm a dev with 100+ devices at my disposal and multiple VPS VPNs, good luck Tinder).

Tinder can go fuck itself, but they have an absolute monopoly in my area/demographic so I have to put up with them.


The monopoly on dating is definitely not tinder… it is: real life.


I wonder. Standards might have changed for the younger population, necessary flirting skills in person are no longer maintained as widely as they used to. Generally, things that are challenging tend to be taken over by technology.

It is not that different from how people forgot to orient themselves in a city without navigational apps. Or how they no longer know how to, say, make butter (unlike in 1900).


It's not just that, those flirting skills are not safe to use anymore. You can get an harassment charge for touching someone in the arm these days (happened to some lonely autistic kid). Having confirmation of mutual attraction first makes things both easier and safer.


This simply not true, or way blown out of proportion. I'm single, so I go out almost every weekend (West LA): plenty of people flirting, making out, touching, dancing, etc. Dating apps are a complete waste of time when compared to meeting people in real life.


Ah yes, West LA is a representation of the rest of the world, and to people with incredibly busy, corporate lives.

I've heard stories of lesbian women, especially, FLYING ACROSS THE COUNTRY to meet another person they have interest in because it's that hard to find matching personalities.


That‘s BS. I hear this say a lot of guys who are just too scared to approach a woman. A real decent excuse.

People are just too scared and lazy and hide behind other reasons. Of course it‘s convenient, but it is so strange if you think about it.

But then, i, as freelancer, get even cringes out when using linkedin. So part of the issue obviously lies with me.

Still to all guys: at least be honest to yourself and don‘t use the „you‘re not allowed to…“ argument, when in reality: you‘re just scared.


Search for Jamie Griffiths on google and stop being a knob. This shit is serious. At least for people on the spectrum. Lots of shy guys out there with no experience who can't get it either because stuff like this happens. The girl wasn't in the wrong either.


I think that say what you will about the social media and the ills of it, Tinder is definitely a net positive for society. This is because matching on Tinder removes the ambiguity of attraction from the whole confusing dance of social interaction. So in the long run, when Tinder and its clones take over, there should be much less stories about unwanted sexual attention: either you make it on Tinder or you do not make it at all.


Touch-consent is as easy to do as asking a question. Not really sure what the big deal is.


First you'd need consent to actually ask the question, and prior to that, you'd need consent to speak with the person (you'd have to get that in writing).


Not sure where you're getting that from. I would like to assume positive intent and the best interpretation of your position, but it's really difficult to not read this as "If we have to get consent for touching someone, then we have to get consent for all interactions. Therefore touch-consent is non-viable." Please help me understand how you aren't saying that.


As someone who's been on the receiving end of unwanted touches, just keeping your hands to yourself and not asking at all would be perfectly fine.


I feel like on dates, light touching should be an expected possibility. Trying to hold a hand, put an arm around one another, etc.

If it isn't wanted, simply decline it.

The idea that no physical touching can be initiated in any manner before asking on a date is a bad thing.


People don't know how to make butter? You just shake up milk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=couD2IawoGw


This is why the anti-trust movements against FAANG have such a hard time gaining mainstream traction. People start hijacking the word “monopoly” and it becomes incredibly diluted and undermines the credibility of the narrative.


> The monopoly on dating is definitely not tinder… it is: real life.

For how much longer?


> To top it off, they embedded a secret key in my iOS keychain that synced across all devices.

If you’re in the EU or from the EU it might be possible to nag them with data protection request.

Of course only if you enjoy nagging.


Wow never heard of the embedded secret key on you iOS keychain after you uninstalled the app. Is this legal to fingerprint your AppleID like this?? Can you view your iOS keychain and wipe any fingerprinting bs apps leave behind or feed them poisoned data to dissociate your AppleID?


No, there’s no way for you to view it. Apps can spin up a new keychain that iCloud will sync and you can put arbitrary strings in there. The user has no idea.

I’ve used it myself to persist auth tokens.


That’s nuts thanks for the info, I hope this becomes a bigger topic of discussion on HN


Perhaps if Congress ever actually considers regulating these companies, whether or not you can get some legit customer service should be part of determining who is big enough to regulate.


I was banned for trying to create a 2nd account for my business.


Not bad! Perhaps people on Instagram don't want to see "businesses"?


I'm ok with that, if so. I find it's just a weird situation. They are in the middle, moderating what people "want", I suppose. I see a lot of other businesses succeeding there, though.


That is great. Why would you have a "business" account on tinder?


The comment you're replying to was responding to another comment relaying an experience with an Instagram ban, not Tinder.

Though the idea of a business making an account on Tinder did give me a chuckle.


Grandparent mentions IG, so assuming they created a business IG account.


The irony is last time I used Tinder it was clear they're totally unable or unwilling to deal with all the women using Tinder for "business".


That makes sense if in the USA since prostitution is illegal in 49 states.


I think you missed my point, which is that Tinder does seemingly very little to stop it. Even in markets where it is legal, like in the UK where I am, it is actively detrimental to the user experience for most users.


Is the parent saying there is a lot of it on Tinder, and that Tinder isn’t following the law?


Yes, I was saying Tinder is full of straight up prostitution and people seeking sugar daddies who ge offended if you call it out as prostitution. I have nothing against prostitution (and I'm in the UK where it is legal), but I do find it really annoying when dating apps don't do more to keep it off their apps.

Often patterns of fake profiles that were immediately obvious to me as a user took months for them to block.


I personally don't have a problem with prostitution or sex for money as long as it's two consenting adults and not the result of human trafficking like the traditional pimp/prostitute enslavement version. That's why it should be legal and regulated.


Prostitution?


Yup same thing happened to me but it was just because I accessed it with random vpn. No recourse whatsoever, can’t even get a list of all my friend’s accounts I lost access to


It is time these services were treated like a utility. If my energy supplier screws me around I can contact the regulator.


And if your town's Walmart bans you... drive to the next town? We should have clear principles over what is a utility and what is not. What principle unites both Tinder and your power company in regulatory conversation?


Why should Instagram, a FREE social networking site where you share pictures and videos be a utility?! There are countless ways to accomplish the same thing, including email and text, both of which are also (thankfully) not utilities.




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