HelloTalk language exchange app

[PerpetualChange]

37 minutes ago, roddy said:

Zac's been a very good example of how a business can use this site to help users out and raise awareness of products without coming across as annoying and spammy. It's unfortunate to see him be given a hard time in already uncomfortable circumstance. I hope he'll be back.

Not sure if this is directed at me but it appears to be so I'll respond: Yes, it's unfortunate. A lot of things about this situation are unfortunate. I am providing feedback that I would have provided more diplomatically had I known it was a PRC-based app from the start, as had I known this information my expectations for what kinds of things to expect from the app would have been much lower. Does Zac care that someone who was a VIP for the better part of a year will cancel that membership because the site now shadowbans posts containing certain external links and keywords? I guess so. Please keep in mind that I have never posted about politics on Hellotalk, I found posts of mind were being shadowbanned just for linking to things my language partners would have otherwise enjoyed seeing, such as movie review websites.  Do the authorities who apparently have demanded such measures care that I just go somewhere else? Probably not at all.

[Weyland]

43 minutes ago, PerpetualChange said:

a PRC-based app

Moot point, but IIRC; Hong Kong-based with an office in Shenzhen. Moot point because most HK companies work with a similar setup.

 

[AdamD]

Thank you @HelloTalk Zac for keeping us informed. I can’t imagine how difficult this has been for you all.

 

I’ve been using HelloTalk less often (an absolute mound of personal issues has obliterated my mental tolerance for language), but when I do I talk mainly to people in Taiwan, so I’m guessing that will be impacted in some way by this change. I’d love it if it were possible to keep chats between non-大陸 people on separate servers outside the firewall. HelloTalk is the best app of this kind that exists, so I’ll miss it greatly.

[Flickserve]

@HelloTalk Zac

 

I would like to ask, is there any difference in Hellotalk app within China and Hellotalk with the rest of the world?

 

Rather like 抖音 and Tiktok have different versions.

[HelloTalk Zac]

We only have one app the same app globally (unlike Tiktok and 抖音). 

[Flickserve]

@HelloTalk Zac

 

Hi 

 

I have sent you a direct message.

 

Could you look into the matter. 

 

Thanks

[HelloTalk Zac]

Thanks for the heads up. Looked into it and replied your message. 

[tallcity]

I have actually had Chinese users ask me if I have been shadowbanned because they notice I get a maximum of maybe three likes on a moments post, even if the post has no political content. I do remember being banned several years ago for unknown reasons they would not explain except that someone was offended, but I appealed it and my account was reinstated. The only way it seems I can get engagement is to Like or add a Comment and hope the user will check out my profile. Otherwise it is like being on a deserted island. At this point I may totally switch it to other languages as it is easier to engage in these languages without fearing another ban, or continually being shadowbanned for several years, as I have been.

[Flickserve]

On 1/17/2022 at 11:27 AM, tallcity said:

Otherwise it is like being on a deserted island.

 

Where are you based?

 

I have this problem as well and the changes happened after the upheaval in HK.

 

For example, if I post on my moments for language exchange, I get nobody replying to me in real time. Basically China (but not Taiwan) users are blocked from my moments  because of location. If I were to set my location to somewhere else apart from HK/Taiwan, then I can get loads of people seeing my moments.

 

The only way China based users can see my moments is if they click on my profile via a group chat or I have liked their moments.

[Flickserve]

The biggest drawback I have of HT as a learner is the inability to export voice message recordings to an external file that I can use in my computer or to shadow.

 

I think this would be a huge feature and would be very appropriate for a paid user but not available for unpaid version.

[Flickserve]

On 3/21/2022 at 1:21 PM, Flickserve said:

 

The biggest drawback I have of HT as a learner is the inability to export voice message recordings to an external file that I can use in my computer or to shadow

 

This feature is easily available in Mac. Quite a number of months ago, I moved HT to my iPad. I just discovered you can save voice recordings from conversations to the files folder and then airdrop the sound file. I transferred it to my MacBook where the .WAV file can be opened by audacity.

 

 I remember it was an absolute nightmare trying to find the sound file on android.

 

 

BTW, Chinese users still blocked from seeing my moments.

 

 I am only in one group. The Cantonese one got dissolved by the admin.

 

I contact people individually for language exchange.