I managed to quit WhatsApp for about a year and have recently been sucked right back in.

I nearly lost a significant sale because a client claimed they sent me a message on WhatsApp about a new purchase, which I obviously never received. It was only that about a week later I made a client contact call that I found out and the sale was made.

More recently, my young son’s sporting clubs only seem to communicate crucial information via WhatsApp - is training going ahead, what time, which equipment to bring and changes in location etc.

The above really made me realise that the vast majority of people care not a jot about the same things I do in terms of privacy and autonomy.

I did, because I don't want anything to do with Meta. Back when I used it I typed up a copypasta with the links to installers for the platforms I would be available on from then on. Since then I set up a Matrix server with double puppets for those services to add a layer of obscurity (to throw off surveillance from those platforms, their apps are no longer installed anywhere) and to consolidate all messaging to a single app.

Works well for me, but then a majority of people I talk to already had alternative platforms or installed them for my sake. The people who didn't bother aren't people I had that close a relationship with anyway.

What do you mean? What’s so unique about Whatsapp?