#paypal account without phone number

[narcia]

i counted earlier today but i literally have almost 50 marijuana seeds. the worst part is that i can't grow plants to save my life and i dont have a medical marijuana license to grow them. but i have them all in a medicine bottle in my room now. i thought it went missing but nope. mom put it with a bunch of my other meds that i wasn't allowed to take when i got out of inpatient psych ward.

[georgeromeros]

On the heels of my last "Old Man Yells at Cloud" post, I've needed to make an update post about where things are at with me. I've just had zero motivation for anything, honestly.

📣 📣📣📣🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️

I was approved for my disability/SSI case!

🥳🙌🥹🎈🎉

I'm still broke AF right now. I'm negative broke squared. And still living in my vehicle. There's some hope there with the approval, but I still have the regular problems of being homeless. So it's been hard to really be happy just yet. 40-60 days is the timeframe I was given for my first payment. More waiting, of course - which I expected. That first payment is sort of a lump sum back payment for all the times I was denied. Not sure of my exact numbers for my pay until I have a phone interview with Social Security on this Friday, March 7th. Then the regular monthly payments begin. Some of that money will go to paying off my negative bank account. I think I'm around -$600.00 in the hole. I might be able to get some of the overdraft fees waived, if I'm lucky. I'm still going to need a little help if you folks out there can spare it, while I wait on pins and needles for the SSI money to come through for me.

⬇���⬇️⬇️⬇️

paypal

🙏🙏🙏🙏

Thank you all for helping me out so far with donations, reblogging my fundraising posts, and words of encouragement. I wouldn't have made it this long without help from you awesome folks. Hopefully I'm reaching the tail end of this terrible chapter of my hero's journey (lol) and I can start living what resembles a real life again soon.

☮️

Mikey

[aspiffygoat]

how would you recommend starting a NSFW account? like, protecting email and privacy and stuff. i’m worried about Big Data, idk

There's A LOT of ground to cover here, so bear with me: I am writing this under the assumption you are an artist who wants to draw gay kink stuff, and you wish to protect this identity from your irl peers and maybe employers. The FIRST major thing to handle is your accounts. Signing up for services require you to give information about yourself, which is something that could easily be leaked #1) have a separate email for your NSFW stuff. all accounts for your NSFW life will use this email. I recommend using Proton Mail or Tuta. (Warning: the free version of proton mail and tuta will auto delete accounts that have remained inactive for more than 6 months) #2) Being an artist on the internet means having 10 billion social media accounts. DO NOT give them all the same password. Ever. Get a password manager. They will generate strong passwords for you, all of which are unique. I recommend Bitwarden, KeepassXC, or Protonpass. #3) Any accounts that handle finances (paypal patreon etc) should be under your irl email. Your government ID and bank will be linked to those. Also taxes. #4) Do not provide your phone number for your nsfw accounts. This will provide a link between your nsfw life and your personal life. Discord and Twitch force you to provide a phone number. Either make a new email, or link your non nsfw email to them. You could spoof a phone number but that comes with risks. Your call. #5) If you can, set up 2 Factor Authentication with your emails. This will also help you log in to them more often, keeping them active. Now that your accounts are secured and compartmentalized the next thing to do is BE MINDFUL WHEN TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF. You dont need to be too mysterious and aloof just don't get too careless when sharing your life with others. maybe strangers dont need to know you have a brother, or where you normally shop. what's left now are dealing with websites tracking your browsing habits. This post is too long so a very quick and easy set up is: -Switch to a privacy respecting browser. I recommend Firefox. -Avoid installing browser extensions. -Except for Ublock Origin. It will block so many ads, trackers, and malware. -Pick a privacy respecting search engine. Duckduck go is a popular choice Theres still a shitload more you can do but this will put you so far ahead of everyone else, without requiring you to spend money, and its not too difficult to set up. anyway i wrote all of this for you so pls be nice to me

[frootynovak]

casey + alex vs. smartphones

when bored or taking a break from reviewing her case notes, casey plops down on the couch (most of the time accompanied by a beloved bag of potato chips) scrolling through instagram reels of cat videos that she sometimes sends to alex.

alex calls casey out from the dining table where she’s preparing her cases and yells at her to stop sending her stupid videos because her phone keeps pinging. under grumpy breath, alex opens casey’s messages to watch the videos she sent. she smiles and wonders whether it is time for them to try and adopt a pet.

other things casey does with her smartphone:

1. casey learns new recipes by watching youtube videos so she could impress alex with her cooking skills. she also browses tagged restaurants on instagram reels so she could take alex there if she thinks they’re worth it.

2. she leaves movie reviews on letterboxd, especially if the ending of a movie really upset her

3. when she’s antsy, she plays harvest moon/stardew valley

4. casey has pinterest boards that she updates regularly: “date with alex ❤���”, “small tattoo ideas”, “poems that remind me of alex ❤️”, “stupid memes”

5. she has a reddit account but never posts. she uses it just to read the ridiculously funny and the questionably morbid.

casey’s google search history:

how to handle anxiety symptoms / sous vide vs. pressure cooking / are all orange cats crazy / gone girl actress / is orange from the color or the fruit / do fish pee / is bloodbending illegal / duck penis / date night ideas / is mayonnaise better for grilled cheese / padded sliding mats / jurassic park survival guide / new ways to pleasure your girlfriend / silly cat names / sneaky ways to ask your girlfriend to marry you / will our cat attempt to eat our pet fish if we decide to also keep fish pets / gelato vs. ice cream / what to give wife for first anniversary

things alex does with her smartphone:

(the first thing alex does in the morning after brushing her teeth is checking whether she has important emails that need to be urgently responded to)

1. she has a binaural beats/nature sounds app so she can listen to them to help her with anxiety when casey is not around

2. her mobile games of choice are (a) duolingo - to channel her competitiveness and always get to number 1 on leaderboards; (b) merge cooking; (c) nyt games - to pass time when she can’t sleep

3. casey encouraged alex to start journaling to help relieve some symptoms of anxiety. for convenience, alex uses the notion app as a semi-journal, semi-to-do list. at the end of a tiring day and esp if casey is on a work trip, she scribbles a brief narrative of how her day went and how it made her feel. sometimes, she shares her notes to casey.

4. convenience apps: uber, uber eats, doordash, pocket yoga, skyscanner, wise, paypal, opentable, airbnb, booking.com

5. alex has subscription to both apple music and spotify. she insists that sound quality is better in apple music but spotify’s user interface is friendlier. she has different playlists for each mood, and made playlists for casey. she hasn’t shared all those playlists to her though.

alex’s google search history:

are there any advantages to castling queenside? / how do you politely ask someone for their instagram account but as a friend? / what does it mean when young people say that ���this is sending me”? / how to tell your girlfriend you love her without having to say it explicitly? / are intrinsic motivations learned? / what restaurant serves the best grilled cheese in manhattan? / list of fragrances with subtle sillage appropriate to wear at work / what signs to look out for which indicates that your girlfriend wants to marry you? / list of the most romantic places for honeymoon / best galleries to visit while in Barcelona / how hard is it to raise a child?

[noxthesynners]

Trying to raise $780 to be able to pay off this phone bill and for a week in our hotel room. It's too expensive to pay every day. There are ways you can support us! This is urgent, we need to be able to pay them before 11am Monday 3/24/25 or we will have to leave and throw our stuff out. Please spread the word so we can try to get funded for a week, or a least a few nights at a time.

Our last urgent issue has been taken care of, but we are always in need of support until this situation is resolved. Job searching is hard without a phone, and paying daily as said is much more expensive than paying weekly.

You can help by purchasing a commission (we offer writing and art commissions) or outright donation, or you can help by sharing our posts on various social media platforms including Tumblr. We are on Bluesky and Mastodon (because Meta/X are fascist garbage) so if you're on either of those please follow us so you can share our posts there as well.

For commissions: Ko-fi, Discord (mention this post when you join, 18+ only, must be ready to buy a commission if you join the Discord)

PayPal: noxjackson1987@gmail.com, Cash App: $noxsender or $noxsyn, Venmo: noxthesynners, GoFundMe. (Currently cannot log into the account managing the fundraiser because our phone is off, GoFundMe logged it out and requires a phone code and getting the number changed is too much hassle! If we could get one big donation there it would be a life saver.)

[mappingthemoon]

In light of Elom rummaging around in everyone's private personal information and probably selling it on the dork web, may I advise: NOW IS A REALLY GOOD TIME TO FREEZE YOUR CREDIT.

It is free to freeze your credit. You can unfreeze and re-freeze it for free as many times as you wish.

When your credit is frozen, it means no one can open up an account in your name, including bank accounts, credit cards, loans, mortgages, I think also some cell phone companies, etc. (any account or service which requires a credit check, pretty much). When you want to open an account, you can lift the freeze temporarily so they can do a credit check and then re-freeze immediately. This is super easy to do and adds an extra layer of protection against identity theft.

You will need to set up freezes with each credit reporting company: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. This post from Experian includes info for all three credit bureaus: https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/credit-education/preventing-fraud/security-freeze/

Setting the freeze online is very simple, but you can also do it via phone or mail. If online, you may have to sign up for accounts with all three bureaus, and in some cases you may have to submit your SSN online to verify your identity, so if you don't want to do that, choose the phone or mail option.

(Added bonus: You may receive less junk mail credit card offers and stuff since these companies will no longer be able to see your credit report all the time without permission.)

You can monitor your own credit for free at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/

You used to only be able to request a report from each bureau once a year, but during COVID they changed it to free weekly reports. I personally request one company's report every four months (first from Equifax, then Experian, then TransUnion). Looking at your report regularly will help you stay on top of any bad shit like accounts opened under your name that you didn't open. You can do this perfectly fine by requesting your reports from the source; I would NOT recommend using services like Credit Karma where you have to connect all your accounts to some company's database so they can try to sell you shit under the guise of offering "monitoring" services.

Note: Your credit report will NOT show your "credit score" for free, if you want that, you'll have to pay money, but tbh the entire concept of a credit score is a scam and paying money for the arbitrary number is more of a scam. It's more important to pay attention to keeping your accounts in good standing (paid on time) and obvs making sure you don't get mixed up in identity theft or some dumbass clerical error that isn't your fault. (Example: At age 21 upon taking out my first loan [narrator voice: and that was her first mistake...], I discovered that my parents' mortgage was associated with my credit report, and even though it was taken out before I was born and my name and SSN are different than my parents', I had to submit tons of evidence in triplicate to prove that it wasn't my loan and get it removed from my report!)

Ok one last thing, I'm not trying to veer off into an identity theft prevention master post rn, BUT, it's also a good idea to avoid letting your debit/credit/banking info sit around in various shopping websites' databases. Every single online store is all like, "Save your card for faster checkout?" Fuck that, it's a trap! When possible, I mediate every payment through PayPal or Venmo. Those companies are also not great, but at least there is less risk in only having your banking info in a couple of databases rather than 50 different ones for each store you bought something from.

GOOD LUCK OUT THERE. Who knows, maybe money will become obsolete and/or irrelevant in the next few years and none of this shit will matter anymore 🫠

[goostiebee]

As it has been days since I have heard an actual response from a ‘human’ at Twitch, I will make it public on what happened.

On Thursday night, January 16th, around 8:30 PM EST, I was doxxed live on stream.

A new user entered my chat, making their username my street address, and announcing my legal name, full address, and phone number to everyone that was on my stream. My moderator quickly deleted the messages, but before we could block or ban the user, they immediately followed me, as they knew that information would stay on my chat no matter what.

In addition, they attempted to sign into my PayPal account multiple times. I saw all the attempts on my phone, as I require any sign in to send me a code to ensure it is me. They seemed to realize that after a few minutes and stopped. I froze for a few minutes, then I ended my stream, took down the VOD, but I still have the recording on me for evidence. I have changed all my passwords.

Unfortunately, I am unable to hide my private information on PayPal. Even when making a business account, it did not give me the option to. 

The moderator that was there that night reported this individual as soon as they realized this was my private information. They got a default response saying the report would be addressed soon. Roughly an hour after stream ended, they received a message saying action had been taken. They did not say how or in what way.

I was shell shocked when this happened, but when I recovered a bit, I reported the account in the morning. I made a ticket through their contact page, as I was unaware of how to report an account. I got a default response saying they would address my situation. An hour later, they responded, saying I was not addressing this the traditional way and told me to report them as I should have. They ignored the fact they doxxed me. I got a default response when I reported the traditional way they asked for immediately, and I have not heard anything since then. I am surprised there was no more detail about the actions they took, as the severity of doxxing doesn't feel like it was taken as seriously as it should. Their phrasing gives way to the smallest punishment being possibly just an account removal, as opposed to something permanent like the IP ban they mentioned being possible in the email, or legal action being taken through Twitch.

I am unable to contact my local authorities regarding this issue. This is due to my location. Where I live, there would be no chance of a case standing in court. The police closest to my area are only volunteers, we have no actual authority. Even if I discussed this with another town nearby, it would be dismissed and I would be told sorry, and that be it. This is due to the police in my area not willing to investigate situations like this. And, as much as I hate to say it, it also does not help that I am a woman. Female cases get dismissed quickly where I live.

The best I can do is contact Twitch regarding this case. They only told me to report them, as submitting a ticket through their contact page was ‘not sent the proper way.’ Ever since I submitted again, all I received was an automatic response on that same day. For all I know, this user could make another account and submit the same information. They didn’t tell me nor my moderator if anything will actually be done to stop this from happening again.

Now comes the question as to why this happened. I have no idea, as I am not able to get any answers. I don’t even know if I will without Twitch’s help. I do not know of anyone specific that would want to do this. Currently, however, there is one suspicion I have. I signed up for the TikTok replacement, RedNote, on Tuesday January 14th, that same week. When I was filling out my bio via my profile, I was forced to show the state I lived in. There was an option to make this private; however, even when switching it to private, it still showed it publicly. In addition, there are one of two ways to sign up for the app: entering your phone number and logging in via your store account (i.e.: Apple or Google Play). I did not want to put any card information on, so I went with my phone. I never posted anything on this account, I made this ahead of time in case the TikTok ban took effect. This, combined with my state being shown, feels like it was enough to hone in on where I am.

I want to stress, this may not be it. I could be completely wrong. I hope I am wrong. I saw how nice the community was in welcoming ‘TikTok refugees’ and what type of conversations everyone was having. However, I don’t want to rule out this could have been the reasoning behind my doxxing. Just because everything seems nice to everyone does not mean there won’t be any bad actors in that crowd.

Until I get some kind of response, I am in the dark. There have not been any other signs of this person emerging again, but if anyone sees a message formatted like above, please let me know.

And now is the most important part. I don’t want anyone else to get doxxed. It does not matter how big or small you are, you can get doxxed on your livestream like I did. I was reminded about blocked terms after the incident. For the love of god, please add your address and your phone number. If your legal name is uncommon, include it. Do all sorts of variations of all this information. Do your I/P address as well, just in case. Make all of these terms private. This means not even your mods can see this, it will only be you. 

Always ensure, as well, you have a trusted moderator in your chat. I am lucky that I had one moderator in my chat that night that deleted the messages as soon as possible as well as flooded chat so it would get hidden on my side and cleared chat once I ended stream.

Please get this out there. @ Twitch on this. I want this situation to be solved, and I want to feel safe, even if this really was just a one time thing. But being pushed to the side like this makes me terrified for my life. I cannot tell the authorities and I cannot even afford to move, let alone my family. All I can do is pray to whatever god that nothing happens to me nor my family. Please let this be known.

[jcollinswrites]

Ko-fi

I set up a ko-fi account, if anyone is interested :) There is nothing on it yet (it's set to donations/tips only), and I had to wrestle with the Ko-fi support service to even set up the account because it was bugged out (they were very fast tho, so hats off to them). Aaaand I can't use my own paypal because I'm forever locked out of it for daring to change my phone number without telling them (honestly, paypal can go f******** **** *******). So if you decide to donate and then get a receipt with a name that's not mine, do not panic, that's my friend. I'm using their account now until I can set up a business one.

Link to the ko-fi page: KO-FI

[apply-moneypak]

Learn how to use MoneyPak without an account 🟢

How to use MoneyPak without an account 🟢 at https://account-moneypak.com/guest-deposit/

Learn how to use MoneyPak without an account 🟢 https://account-moneypak.com/guest-deposit

Now you can deposit MoneyPak without an account by following the steps below. 🟢 Simply have your MoneyPak ready, then go to account-moneypak.com. 🟢 At the top of the page, hover over login, and a drop down menu will appear. Click on the, Guest Deposit option. 🟢 Enter your MoneyPak number, located on the back of the package. 🟢 Next, enter your Prepaid or Bank Debit Card of the account where you would like to deposit your MoneyPak funds. 🟢 Now click Deposit and your funds will be available instantly once the deposit is complete.

MoneyPak Customer Service Phone number: 1–586–277–1373

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[warensupremo]

CHILEAN WILDFIRES DONATIONS

Hi! I don't have a lot of followers but my country, Chile (which you might know as being Pedro Pascal's home country!!!) has been suffering from a lot of absolutely devastating wildfires, especially the Valparaiso Region.

The death toll so far is 122 people, which doesn't take into account that hundreds and hundreds of people have lost everything. Pets and native flora and fauna have been destroyed. Children are supposed to start the school year in march and they lost everything.

What can you do from abroad?

There is currently one NGO that accepts money from abroad via paypal!

Desafio levantemos Chile

And here is how to donate

Go to their webpage in the link above and click the orange button that says "donar" (donate).

Once you click that, it should look something like this:

You need to put the amount in chilean pesos but paypal will charge you in dollars (keep in mind that 1 CLP equals ~0.0011 USD).

It asks you for a chilean phone number, just put +569 (chilean area code) and then any 8 numbers you want.

It also says you need a rut (chilean id number) but people without a rut can just put 11.111.111-1 in order to donate, as it says in this pic

Additionally, Sam Westphal on TikTok is an American currently living in Chile, near the zone most affected by the fires, you can reach out to her on her TikTok account or on Instagram, as she was accepting donations via Venmo for other organizations that do not have the option to send money from abroad, such as the Chilean Firefighters which are a purely volunteer organization.

If you can't donate please reblog to spread the word.

[how-to-send-venmo-money]

Venmo Payments: The Fastest Way to Send Money

Venmo has become one of the most popular peer-to-peer payment platforms, allowing users to send and receive money effortlessly. Whether you want to split a bill, pay a friend, or transfer funds to your bank, Venmo makes it easy. In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about how to send money through Venmo and more.

What Is Venmo?

Venmo is a mobile payment service owned by PayPal that enables users to transfer money electronically. It allows seamless transactions between friends, family, and businesses using a mobile app. To use Venmo, all you need is a registered account, a linked payment method, and an internet connection.

How Do I Send Money With Venmo?

Sending money with Venmo is simple and quick. Follow these steps to complete a transaction:

Step 1: Open the Venmo App

Ensure you have downloaded and installed the Venmo app on your smartphone. Open the app and log in to your account.

Step 2: Tap on the “Pay or Request” Button

This button is typically found on the home screen. It allows you to either send or request money from other Venmo users.

Step 3: Enter the Recipient’s Details

You can send money to someone by searching for their Venmo username, phone number, or email. Ensure you are selecting the correct user to avoid sending money to the wrong person.

Step 4: Enter the Payment Amount

Type in the amount you want to send. You can also add a note or emoji to specify the purpose of the transaction.

Step 5: Select Your Payment Method

Venmo allows you to pay using your Venmo balance, linked bank account, debit card, or credit card. Choose the payment method you prefer.

Step 6: Confirm and Send

Review the details to ensure everything is correct, then tap “Pay” to complete the transaction. The recipient will receive the money instantly in their Venmo account.

How to Receive Money on Venmo

If someone sends you money via Venmo, you can access the funds immediately in your Venmo balance. Here’s how:

Open the Venmo app and log in.

Go to the “Notifications” section to check if someone has sent you money.

The money will be added to your Venmo balance, which you can use for transactions or transfer to your bank.

How to Transfer Money From Venmo to Bank

Once you have received money on Venmo, you might want to transfer it to your bank account. Follow these steps:

Open the Venmo app and go to the “Me” tab.

Tap “Add or Transfer” under your balance.

Enter the amount you wish to transfer.

Choose between Instant Transfer (which charges a small fee) or Standard Transfer (which is free but takes 1-3 business days).

Confirm the transfer and wait for the funds to appear in your bank account.

How to Send Venmo Money without a Bank Account

If you don’t have a bank account, you can still send money through Venmo using your Venmo balance or by linking a credit/debit card. However, keep in mind that using a credit card for payments may incur a 3% fee.

How to Pay Someone on Venmo

To pay someone on Venmo, follow the same steps as sending money. Just enter their details, the amount, and your payment method before hitting “Pay.” This process works for both personal and business transactions.

Security Tips for Using Venmo

Enable Two-Factor Authentication: This adds an extra layer of security to your account.

Verify Recipients Before Sending Money: Double-check usernames and email addresses to avoid errors.

Use Venmo’s Privacy Settings: Set your transactions to private to prevent them from appearing in the public feed.

Monitor Your Account Regularly: Keep an eye on your transactions to detect any suspicious activity.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How do I send money on Venmo for the first time?

Simply open the app, tap “Pay,” enter the recipient’s details, amount, and confirm the payment.

2. Is there a fee for sending money on Venmo?

If you use your Venmo balance, debit card, or bank account, there is no fee. However, credit card payments incur a 3% charge.

3. How do I receive money on Venmo?

You don’t need to take any action. Once someone sends you money, it will be added to your Venmo balance.

4. How to transfer money to Venmo from a bank account?

Go to “Manage Balance”, select “Add Money”, enter the amount, and confirm the transfer.

5. How long does it take for money to transfer from Venmo to a bank account?

Standard transfers take 1-3 business days, while Instant Transfers are immediate but come with a fee.

6. Can I cancel a Venmo payment?

No, Venmo payments cannot be canceled once sent. You must request a refund from the recipient if needed.

7. Is Venmo safe for sending money?

Yes, Venmo uses encryption and security measures to protect your transactions. However, always ensure you send money to trusted contacts.

8. Can I use Venmo without linking a bank account?

Yes, you can send and receive money using your Venmo balance or a linked credit/debit card.

Using Venmo is an easy and convenient way to manage peer-to-peer transactions. Whether you need to send money, receive payments, or transfer funds to your bank, this guide has covered everything you need to know. If you found this article helpful, be sure to explore more resources.

[judypierce]

How Does PayPal Protect Your Financial Data?

PayPal is concerned about security. Encryption is used to safeguard your information. Your financial information is secure as a result. I have years of PayPal experience. Never did my bank details go out. Additionally, the platform offers fraud detection. It continuously watches over transactions. This aids in identifying questionable behavior. I once received a warning regarding an unfamiliar login. PayPal swiftly disabled it. My bank account was secure.

Also, PayPal conceals your financial information. Sellers do not see your credit card number or bank account information when you pay with PayPal. This enhances security on top of it. I've bought a lot of things online. My bank information was never shared. PayPal serves as a barrier to protect your privacy. Particularly useful on lesser-known websites is this.

Two-factor authentication is an additional layer of protection. This requires an additional step to log in. A code supplied to your phone is entered. On my account, I turned this option on. I felt more secure as a result. Without my phone, someone cannot log in even if they figure out my password. PayPal has robust security protocols in place. They successfully safeguard your financial information. But exercise caution at all times. Turn on every security feature. Your account is even safer as a result.

[mariacallous]

Last week, Elon Musk rebranded Twitter as “X.” New CEO Linda Yaccarino tweeted that X would be “centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking,” a step toward Musk’s vision of creating the “everything app” for the Western world. Musk has been focused on this vision for Twitter since before he even bought it, repeatedly praising the Chinese app WeChat in a June 2022 town hall at Twitter. WeChat is known for doing virtually anything an app can do—messaging, audio/video, meetings, translation, social networking, shopping, payments, ride sharing, food delivery, and more. It’s an indispensable app in China, and Musk wants to build X into that app in the United States.

Musk has been laser-focused on his vision of the everything app for longer than most realize. He’s also long been obsessed with the letter X—he named his original online bank X.com, founded SpaceX, and even named his son “X Æ A-12.” His X-ray vision, if you’ll forgive the pun, dates back to his founding of the original X.com. Musk described that firm, which would eventually merge with Confinity to form PayPal, as a “global financial nexus” that could handle bank accounts, mortgages, credit, insurance, stocks—anything and everything financial.

On the face of it, none of this seems unreasonable. Such an app would be one of the most valuable companies in the world if it succeeded. It’s a tall task, but Musk has been involved in the founding of three separate multibillion-dollar companies. WeChat (along with competitors such as AliPay) has proven that such apps can reach scale and be wildly successful. And WeChat was initially built on the back of parent company Tencent’s popular social network, QQ. If it can be done, why not Musk? And why not start with Twitter?

Unfortunately for Musk, his vision of creating a Western WeChat is doomed to failure. Companies like Meta and Alphabet have made attempts before. These companies have every advantage—more cash available than Musk, larger pools of technical talent, better public reputation, and more successful lines of business in the app ecosystem. Nevertheless, none have succeeded in building an everything app. WeChat exists in a very specific Chinese context, and attempts to brute force it in a very different context will crash and burn.

The most important function of an aspiring everything app is payments, which unlock enormous value for the app and convenience for the user. But mobile payments in China are an outlier—87 percent of Chinese people used mobile payments in 2021, almost double the next highest nation. And that outlier status comes from the unique way that China’s payment economy developed.

China’s explosive economic growth over the 2000s saw the country transition from being a mostly unbanked, cash-based economy to a phone-based, app-payment economy without ever having a middle phase of adopting credit cards. As China’s new middle class grew, credit cards were available to a limited upper class—but never became a commonplace part of national financial infrastructure.

What China did have was a lot of cheap smartphones. By the early 2010s, most people there still didn’t have a PC, but they had a mobile phone, and increasingly they were switching to cheap smartphones. But those smartphones were mostly low-end products, with limited processing power and storage space. A high number of bloated apps wasn’t going to cut it for an average user, so many basic functionalities began to cluster inside a small number of super-apps. With the public hungry to abandon cash, apps like WeChat were the natural and widespread solution. Most vendors didn’t have existing relationships with payment companies. But they were happy to jump all the way to taking mobile payments—especially since all they needed to do so was a cheap smartphone, not an expensive terminal. China essentially leapfrogged credit cards all the way to mobile payment.

The United States in 2023 is not in that same position. Americans, for the most part, are not newly middle class and unbanked. Americans love credit cards, have deep experience with them, and use them regularly. And the country is filled with an enormous number of financial firms competing at every level—banking services, credit services, payment apps, stock brokerages, and more. Musk’s X will be entering a far more crowded and competitive market for customers who are already using far better and more developed alternatives.

Competitive is the key word there, because there are many Western companies that would have loved to compete with apps such as WeChat. But China’s government long ago banned nearly every non-Chinese alternative to native Chinese apps in areas including social media, video sharing, messaging, news, search, finance, and more. The list of apps banned in China is so extensive that it’s likely faster to point out the few that aren’t banned.

With so much of the competition absent, it was much easier for Chinese apps to dominate many fields at once as Chinese internet adoption skyrocketed. The Chinese government mostly didn’t pick favorites domestically at first—but it kept out foreign competition and let domestic products thrive. Twitter/X doesn’t live in that same world. The U.S. government won’t protect Musk from competition.

One of the ironies in all this is that the window to develop an everything app may be over in China as well, as the Chinese government’s approach to the tech sector has changed. During China’s boom years, the state often took a laissez-faire approach to tech regulation. The Hu Jintao government and even the early Xi Jinping years saw a booming economy, where tech companies were allowed to grow rapidly and dominate markets as long as they cooperated with censorship, handed over information to the government, and paid off the right people. Analyst XiaoFeng Wang explicitly links this flexible environment with WeChat’s growth, saying, “The more flexible regulatory environment in China at the time gave internet companies like Tencent and Alibaba more room to extend to a wide range of businesses. WeChat benefited from that and grew into a super-app.”

But the Chinese government has grown deeply worried about the power of the super-apps, for both good and bad reasons. Any power that does not reside directly in the party’s hands is distrusted at a time when Xi has demanded total party leadership of everything—and the influence and reach of tech companies has been sharply curtailed in the last few years, wiping billions off their value. Chinese regulators were also genuinely worried about the sheer degree of anti-competitive practices. It had become common, for instance, for firms to block links to their competitors’ products. Breaking down those “walled gardens” has become a major part of regulation since 2021.

Building a super-app would be hard in China today—and even harder in the United States or Europe, with their anti-monopoly legislation and political skepticism toward powerful tech companies. Even if Musk’s X could theoretically succeed, it probably wouldn’t be allowed to do so legally.

Yet paradoxically, while regulators raised eyebrows, elements of the Chinese government also welcomed the opportunities that WeChat and other ubiquitous apps offered. Chinese firms exist at the pleasure of the state and are always subordinate partners to it. WeChat’s parent company, Tencent, is well known for collaboration with the Chinese Communist Party in areas large and small, producing sycophantic patriotic games and engaging in widespread censorship and espionage. Foreign Policy has reported that Tencent was even partially funded by the Ministry of State Security in its early days.

These incidents highlight why an app such asWeChat would be permitted to thrive—because it’s useful to the party. In the James C. Scott sense, WeChat increases the legibility of Chinese society. You can’t control what you can’t see, so make sure you can easily see everything. If all of Chinese daily life is funneled through a single portal, it’s that much easier for the party to observe and control lives. Monitoring a single WeChat account could allow police to see an individual’s travel patterns, spending, and social contacts, which is why many dissidents or activists avoid using the app when possible.

Chinese consumers have become more privacy-conscious about the data they hand over to companies—but are hopeless or unaware of the amount of information the government can get from them. Western companies hoping to emulate WeChat not only don’t have the government on their side, but also face a much tougher and more skeptical audience. And in Musk’s case, who—apart from the most ardent of fans—is going to trust him with their money at this point?

WeChat and its counterparts in China grew up in unique, nonrepeatable circumstances. They faced a massive middle class with plenty of cheap smartphones but no traditional banking or credit cards. They were protected from Western competition by the Chinese government. That same government applied a very light regulatory touch as the companies grew, and also encouraged centralization as a way to maintain greater control.

None of those factors exist in the United States today, and Musk’s dream of building the X app for everything is essentially impossible without them. American consumers already have dozens of easy payment choices through credit cards, debit cards, and existing mobile apps. Musk won’t be protected from competition by the government. Instead, he’ll be treated in a more hostile manner by regulators concerned about privacy, monopoly power, and his general history with flouting the law.

Larger and more important tech firms than Twitter—or, as Musk now insists, X—have tried and failed in this area. Meta owns several social networks and several messaging apps, and has tried expanding into areas like marketplaces, video, payments and more. But most of these experiments have failed to reach any sort of scale, and Meta’s successes have come from disaggregating and breaking things apart rather than bundling them together. Google’s Alphabet parent company has succeeded in a wide variety of areas such as search, video, email, payments, and more. But its attempts to build a social network flamed out spectacularly, and like Meta, their biggest successes have come from separated apps and brands, not a singular everything app.

For all its cultural importance and for all that the chattering class is addicted to it, Twitter’s just never been that large. Meta has nearly 4 billion monthly active users across its family of apps. Twitter/X, even if you believe Musk’s suspiciously cropped data, is a bit more than a 10th of that. Meta and Alphabet are orders of magnitude larger and more important than Twitter/X. If they’ve tried and failed to create the everything app, there’s no reason to believe that Musk can succeed.

Musk’s vision for the original X.com impressed Silicon Valley. By 2000, X.com had merged with Confinity, and Musk took over as CEO of the new company. He focused his vision on the global financial nexus, the proto-everything app, despite investor and board skepticism. He pursued that idea maniacally, to the detriment of PayPal/X’s core product of payment by email. He also insisted on branding the company as “X,” despite PayPal’s strong existing brand.

And in less than a year, he was coup’d out of the company and replaced as CEO by Peter Thiel. PayPal was saved as a company because its board ejected Musk. This time around there’s no board that matters except Elon, and there’s no one to save him from himself.

[pettyrevenge-base]

Rude buyer threatens me with a chargeback, then loses both the item and her payment.

A woman bought a designer handbag from me online, then about a week later sends an extremely rude message, claiming it had damages and smelled funny. She wanted her money back IMMEDIATELY, and demanded I send it to her on Venmo (against policy and massive red flag for fraud) or else she would file a chargeback (threatening sellers with chargebacks is also against policy). Being as it was the weekend, and her language was really abusive and gross, I decided not to interrupt my weekend and waited till Monday morning to respond, which is within the TOS.   

She was really aggressive, and sent me more rude messages demanding I relent and pay her off site "or else". I checked her feedback and at least one other seller reported that she also tried to coerce them into an off site refund with a chargeback. Buyers have enormous latitude in online sales, and tbh, I just didn't want to deal with her anymore so on Monday I responded offering her a full refund in exchange for a free return, and though I did not believe she was being honest, I gave her the benefit of the doubt and said maybe it was damaged in transit. I fully expected her to return the wrong item, but after I gave her a free return/refund option, she filed then a chargeback anyways claiming the item is not as described, then left very negative feedback. Both the feedback and existence of a chargeback claim harms my presence on the site and hits me with fees and an automatic refund for her, taking money out of my account automatically and messing with my budget. There's a reason why most sellers will do most anything to avoid chargebacks, it really is inconvenient and damaging for us.  

Now being as this used to be my profession, I know that it's considered fraudulent to file a chargeback when the retailer has offered a full refund. So naturally, I appealed the case and it was decided in my favor, and her refund was reversed. I blocked her and moved along. Fast forward about two weeks, and the original item shows up on my doorstep, returned, and without any of the damages that she complained about. Now. I realized in this situation I have no legal obligation to refund her at all, but better still, is that when I went to the seller dashboard to try, I don't even have the option to refund her because the case SHE OPENED was closed and decided in my favor. I still felt a little funny about relisting, so I emailed the site for more direction.  

Apparently, when you file a chargeback you are forfeiting your right to seek a refund directly from the retailer in favor of seeking a refund from your financial institution. She had apparently messaged the site and modified my feedback to demand a refund after the chargeback failed, and sent them the tracking number of the item she ultimately returned, saying that since she had a tracking number they had to refund her. But a failed chargeback is final in this case, and because her behavior was deemed fraudulent, the website itself is not able/willing to refund her anymore either. The only way I could give her her money back was if I unblocked her, exchanged info, and sent the refund on venmo or paypal, which are linked to my personal email and phone number. Given how rude she had been I have no interest in opening up any unmediated communication, and I'm certainly not going to give her my personal contacts of any kind.  

So by following through on her coercive threat to file a chargeback against me, she managed to lose both the item and her money. A chargeback is not the silver bullet people often think it is. If she'd been even reasonably polite, I'd have had no issue communicating with her directly to give her money back, even if she had filed the chargeback. 

Source: reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge

[zebracorn-chan]

LyraLaney, An Important Update.

Full Name: Catalina Soriano Quesada.

Nationality: Native South America, Mexico.

Sex: Female (she/her).

Spoken languages: native Spanish (Mexican), English (second language).

Town: Santisteban del Puerto, Jaén, Spain.

Phone Number: +34 953.401.023.

List of DeviantArt Accounts:

-https://www.deviantart.com/Hikarichan-21 (deactivated account),

-https://www.deviantart.com/retroanimediva (deactivated account),

-https://www.deviantart.com/LyraLaney (deactivated account),

-https://www.deviantart.com/LyraLaney02 (deactivated account),

-https://www.deviantart.com/LyraLaney03 (deactivated account),

-https://www.deviantart.com/LyraLaney4 (deactivated account),

-https://www.deviantart.com/LyraLaney005 (deactivated account),

-https://www.deviantart.com/Lana-chan56 (deactivated account),

-https://www.deviantart.com/lanalee056 (deactivated account),

-https://www.deviantart.com/zebracorn-chan2 (deactivated account),

-https://www.deviantart.com/suckmydick056 (deactivated account),

-https://www.deviantart.com/CatalinaQuesada57 (deactivate account),

-https://www.deviantart.com/teamoaxelcode60 (deactivated account),

-https://www.deviantart.com/marinkitagawa026 (deactivated account).

Discord Accounts:

-LyraLaney#2990,

-Hikarichan21#3409.

Twitter Accounts:

-https://twitter.com/retroanimediva (deactivated account),

-https://twitter.com/LaneyLyra (deactivated account).

Pixiv Account: https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/85408517

Reddit Account: https://www.reddit.com/user/aestheticlover2012/ (deactivated account)

Sailor Moon Forum Account: https://sailormoonforum.com/index.php?members/aestheticlover2012.24998/

PayPal Accounts:

-"Anne Igartiburu", mail peachcofee12@gmail.com,

-"hikarichan-21", mail electraadams12@gmail.com.

Additional mails she has:

-aestheticlover@gmail.com,

-ajungonzalez@gmail.com,

-ajugonzalez39@gmail.com.

-electraheart65@gmail.com

YouTube Channel:

https://youtube.com/@catalinasorianoquesada3124

-https://youtube.com/@retroanimediva6083

-https://youtube.com/@Lyra_Laney12

Crimes she committed: ban evader, scam, robbery, bullying, stalking, sending sexually explicit pictures without consent (to both adults and minors), impersonation.

Supporters:

-Biancaxyou (new account of @Biancaxyouu),

-josevieira,

-ThatGuyChilll,

-LukaCoffineDBAfJelsa,

-ZhonglisLeftCheek,

-Zeta24,

-Discord546,

-DirtyData2,

-mastertu,

-Indy67,

-brenovaisuicidar, openly asks Catalina the stolen parts she robbed from others: https://www.deviantart.com/zebracorn-chan/journal/Beware-of-brenovaisuicidar-LyraLaney-s-supporter-962612556

People she scammed:

-blueoaks (put in the red by $70),

-Narashadows,

-DaniZaya,

-LeaDoll,

-Leomarie,

-Newbie,

-ChrisieBDK,

-Chilkad,

-LunaAnimation,

-Omega-slender,

-RavenGethwine,

-Petryyv,

-Felipe Cardoso,

-Futatabi6,

-MMDKitsune-Fox (also now has privated their patreon/booth content),

-xxSnowCherryxx (put in the red by $380),

-RayFierying (suffered a chargeback of $155).

She notoriously commissions/buys MMD assets, does chargeback and posts said MMD content for free download. She has put a few people in debt on Paypal already.