>Finally, we are effectively coerced to using these products

Google may still be the best search engine, but I use Facebook solely for the chat functionality. If some competitor comes along that offers the same features with the same quality but better privacy I would have no problem with switching.

(In case somebody smells a startup idea or already know a solution, I am looking for a service with good, easy to use Android, Apple and Windows Phone Apps, website for desktop use (desktop client for Windows and Linux is fine too), decent direct-message as well as group chats with consistent message ordering. I should be able to view all my messages, including history, in Apps on all my phones as well as on my desktop.)