[Am author] I chose WhatsApp because it was a good example for a case study and because recent events made it a hot topic. I also described two non-WhatsApp examples exhibiting user domestication (one of which wasn't even an instant messenger). It wasn't my intention to imply that WhatsApp was the first instant messenger to exhibit these behaviors; I even linked to a Wikipedia article comparing instant messenger protocols to illustrate how WhatsApp wasn't a newcomer.

That being said, several others have mentioned how WhatsApp wasn't the first IM platform of its kind. When a misinterpretation is this prevalent, it's the author's (i.e. my) fault: https://xkcd.com/1984/

I've since updated the article to clarify that point. Diff: https://git.sr.ht/~seirdy/seirdy.one/commit/93846a469b5581ec...

> It then made its point about User domestication. Which really is a FOSS, GPL, Richard Stallman angle on Software. I argue it would be the same with many of today's software.

So did I; I listed two more examples. User domestication is a widespread problem worth addressing. WhatsApp is a good example.