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Spotted this sign on the street in Amsterdam, on my way to #PubConf2026.

Disclaimer: I donโ€™t speak Dutch, but Iโ€™d like to think it says: โ€œBeware WhatsApp steals your dataโ€ ๐Ÿ˜†

#Meta #BigTech #privacy

in reply to Elena Rossini ๐ŸŒˆ

it doesn't alas ๐Ÿ˜€ it does mean the neighbourhood is in a WhatsApp group watching for suspicious people ๐Ÿ˜€
in reply to Elena Rossini ๐ŸŒˆ

Hahaha!
In fact it says "Whatsapp neighbourhood prevention".

People here use it to keep each other update on suspicious things and characters.

in reply to Elena Rossini ๐ŸŒˆ

You know it doesn't mean that, but it should. Friends don't let friends use WhatsApp.
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glitchsoc - Link to source
Andy Carolan
Does this mean that Elena is now a subject in that whatโ€™sapp group chat under โ€œperson suspiciously taking photos of the whatsโ€™app signโ€? ๐Ÿ˜…
This entry was edited (1 week ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ๐ŸŒˆ

Through the years those signs continue to amuse me everytime.

It's supposed to be a sort of 'neighbourhood watch' connected by WhatsApp. Literally translated though it's: WhatsApp Neighbourhood Prevention. And as all things Meta are anti-social I agree.

in reply to Elena Rossini ๐ŸŒˆ

ah yes, the common Dutch โ€˜WhatsApp neighbourhood preventionโ€™-sign (people must really care about preventing neighbourhood formation, otherwise I wouldnโ€™t know why theyโ€™d choose that exact phrasing)
in reply to Elena Rossini ๐ŸŒˆ

The sign indicates that residents in this area have set up a WhatsApp group to share information about suspicious activities, burglaries, vandalism, or other safety-related incidents.

The Dutch term โ€œbuurtpreventieโ€ literally means โ€œneighborhood preventionโ€ and is commonly used for neighborhood watch initiatives. Such WhatsApp neighborhood watch groups are particularly widespread in the Netherlands. They are often organized by local residents and sometimes operate in cooperation with the police or the municipality.

The purpose of the sign is mainly deterrence: it signals to potential offenders that residents are alert and can quickly communicate with one another.

From a privacy and civil liberties perspective, these groups are sometimes criticized because they can:

* encourage hasty suspicions,
* lead to profiling based on appearance or background,
* promote informal surveillance structures,
* depend on the use of a Meta-owned service (WhatsApp).

in reply to Elena Rossini ๐ŸŒˆ

we use it to alert neighbours if a loose chicken or cow or horse is wandering the streets so they can be collected
in reply to Elena Rossini ๐ŸŒˆ

I know a bit of German so it's easy to see that they advertise WhatsApp Birth Prevention. I've heard it works pretty well.
in reply to Elena Rossini ๐ŸŒˆ

I deleted my post after reading that the sign wasn't what I hoped for....๐Ÿ˜‚ but I still โคAmsterdam! ๐Ÿ˜Even if these neighbourhood watch groups are really spooky...๐Ÿ‘ป๐Ÿ‘€ they are watching their neighborhood and deliver all data to big brother who's watching....
This entry was edited (1 week ago)
in reply to Elena Rossini ๐ŸŒˆ

Sadly it is the opposite - everybody please submit to WhatsApp (Meta) aka Big Brother for 'safety'.
in reply to Elena Rossini ๐ŸŒˆ

It translates to "this neighbourhood is populated by affluent nosy people with no lives".
โ‡ง