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Same - WhatsApp has become mandatory in many nations like India even though I despise it with a passion. I wish the United Nations made a resolution to standardize messaging protocols and develop open-source common messaging libraries with no data given to advertisers.

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The UN kinda already did. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is part of the UN. Its ITU-T H.350 recommendations include a famous one for instant messaging: XMPP. It's not only encrypted but also fully decentralized.

Which is why it hasn't been adopted. Everyone with any power, from governments to telcos to big enterprises, prefers centralized services. Hence SMS, its upgrade, RCS, and the many private protocols.

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