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Comment by delta_p_delta_x | Hacker News Reader

> how many people buy iPhones just for being in their iMessage circles

This is news only in the US. Literally everywhere else in the world (where iPhones don't have a supermajority market share), third-party apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Line, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, etc have been used for the past decade, with no problems whatsoever. My own WhatsApp account has been active for a decade, with chats going back exactly that far.

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My experience is that third party applications are the norm in the US, too. Everyone I know uses Facebook Messenger or Discord, and that situation has been the norm for at least a decade (and Discord itself is nearing a decade of existence now). Facebook Messenger is easily the default multi-platform option.

90% of my Messages app is SMS threads, and the vast majority of my messaging activity is Slack, Discord and Facebook Messenger.

I would probably go as far as saying that this is only the "norm" on HN or in crowds where they think people spend $1200+ on a device just for the color of text bubbles.

My teenager and his friends don't even use iMessage, they use Snapchat almost exclusively to communicate. Someone messages them on iMessage they read it and then respond on Snapchat.

I think saying its US only is oversimplifying, its at least also true in some european markets.

Which ones? I have friends (young and old) all over Europe and everyone uses WhatsApp. Everywhere I've been in Europe defaults to WhatsApp, even for business communication.

Like, it's n=1, but still, my experience is quite broad.

In Denmark hardly anyone uses WhatsApp by default. No business I’ve seen uses it. Android is common.

I’m currently in Indonesia however, and it’s universal both privately and corporately.

EU: I'm trying to get everyone i know onto signal. Hard fight. I tried whatsapp for a month and it was so facebooky (that I also got rid of yeeaaars ago, after trying for a month) that I deleted it. Whatsapp is very common, though and I am gradually being pushed out of various communications (my doctor, for example, pharmacies). At least I don't have to bugger about with Teams which is the requirement for my kids' schools. Amicable divorce, but I don't have that on my phone, unlike my ex (who hates it).

At least in my experience most of the nordics is mostly iPhones and WhatsApp is somewhat rare.

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