Honestly - and EU-regulation that Apple faces over iMessage would just be collateral damage from EU targeting Whatsapp.
At scale yes, signal, telegram and whatsapp are perhaps more significant than the apple ecology and the ratio of android to apple outside the USA and canada probably shows why.
“Installs” are muddied by the fact that everyone with a Facebook account has a Messenger capability, and every Apple user has an iMessage app downloaded.
“Messages received” is distorted by group chat dynamics and commercial messages.
“Messages sent” is distorted by the unequal value of relationships.
For example, I generally communicate with FB marketplace sellers & acquaintances from high school on Messenger, but use WhatsApp for talking with overseas family members.
More generally, there are social dynamics which make messenger apps radically different from one another. Even when the feature sets of the applications are very similar.
But it gives normal users a choice if they want it. Maybe it would get some to think oh maybe I should try Signal. That's how some people found out about Firefox - unimaginable I know.
Meanwhile, wait until Mr. Zuckerberg looks for new ideas to monetize their messaging ecosystem.
Thats the reason why until now they only added non intrusive monetizing ideas than company accounts and so on. And when you ask me, they found a way to make whatsapp better. I can now order sushi via whatsapp. Here in Germany I know no other messenger that makes this possile.
WhatsApp is the current leader because it's no-nonsense and works everywhere. The moment Facebook fucks that up even a little bit, people will have moved on to the next thing.
The last messages on a dying messenger are always instructions on how to move on to the next thing. In skype, my status and most recent messages are just informing people of my discord handle. I accept that I may not be the norm, because generally I don't reach out to people and don't initiate contact, meaning that the onus is on them to use the appropriate channel to reach me.
Maybe it's worse for people who voluntarily stay in contact with many others using different messengers, but I don't see the problem with just having multiple messaging apps, especially since modern phones just consolidate all messaging services's contacts into your contacts app (at least on Android). You don't even need to remember who is reachable where.
This is the problem I was expressing. If I want to contact Joe I have to use Signal, if I want to contact Sarah it is WhatsApp. Sam is SMS. Its hard to remember who is using which app.
> but I don't see the problem with just having multiple messaging apps, especially since modern phones just consolidate all messaging services's contacts into your contacts app (at least on Android). You don't even need to remember who is reachable where.
That is easy enough if you use the contacts app. I usually go straight to the app I want. Regardless, it doesn't solve the core problem because people use multiple apps. How am I supposed to remember which app they prefer? I could message them on their non-prefered app, but I don't like doing that if I can avoid it.
Most of my family, friends and colleagues are on iMessage. I often need to explain why facetime will not work.
Whatsapp is also common, but different as it does not as easily replace SMS.
Facebook's business model is predicated on being able to sell access to me to third parties.
I can control the first one directly.
But messages falls back to sms and that I can notice.
Thats was the way to my blacklist. Droped Signal caused by unreliability.
Additionally, same as now iMessage, close out of other clients. Other asshole, same shit.
Wasn't that in 2014, so literally 9 years ago? Things are pretty different now.
There’s no other good group chat encrypted option for both iPhone and Android.