I mean, sure, there could be "Whatsapp clones" (aren't there already?!), but wouldn't Whatsapp still benefit from the phone number user base it has, thus maintaining a certain lock-in on its users from which it already benefits?
Sounds funny if you consider that Whatsapp itself is just a branded deployment of FOSS XMPP server Ejabberd, with feature of federation taken away. Plus a client app implementation, of course.
Nothing in the AGPL prevents either from occurring.
No idea whether the assumption is true that Whatsapp is just a branded deployment.
As the countless messaging apps out there demonstrate, the value of communication apps lies in the network they build. If they provide a decent UX, and successfully bootstrap a network large enough, it wont matter if their code is open.
you replace Whatsapp.sendMessage(string,Jonny) with WhatsApps.sendMessage(EncryptString(string,Jonny),Jonny)
And EncryptString taps into your keystore to find jonny's key.