This is entirely a USA problem. No one in Europe uses iMessage as their primary messaging app.
What do they use? Whatsapp? Wechat? Signal?
Whatsapp
Interesting ty!
So before you can message anyone you have to download whatsapp? iMessage is preinstalled and is also e2e encrypted. Idk if I’d rather Facebook or Apple (who can access iCloud backups of normally otherwise encrypted data, etc.) in charge of my messaging infrastructure, honestly.
Americans with Android are left to use literal SMS which is atrocious, or a different messaging solution, probably whatsapp I guess
Yes, most people in western Europe use Whatsapp. Yes, they have to download it before they can use it. Maybe some phones have it preinstalled, but most smartphone users do know how to download apps. More tech-savvy and privacy-conscious people often have Signal as well.
So before you can message anyone you have to download whatsapp?
I love how this seems like a near insurmountable hurdle. Install an app?? On a phone?!
I have a relative who is ~85 years old; he uses WhatsApp. It’s really not that hard.
It was just a question - I’m not remotely saying what you are
whatsapp is e2e encrypted
So they say.
In the congress hearing zucky boy did, he was asked whether Facebook could read Messenger and WhatsApp messages
his response was to more or less trip over himself avowing that Facebook couldn’t read WhatsApp messages—even when a follow up question specifically asked him about Messenger, he chose to ignore it and reaffirm that WhatsApp messages were private
i don’t really see why he would’ve done that unless WhatsApp actually was encrypted, given that if he were lying about one it would be a lot easier to just lie about both
Germany uses Whatsapp and Signal. Whatsapp for the older generation, Signal for the younger ones. But almost everyone has both. Telegram is a niche messenger for conspiracy theorists and alt-righters, because it’s russian and those people love Russia.
Yea, that’s totally why people I know use Telegram / 🤦♂️
Might be different in other countries, but in Germany its only used by them.
in Germany its only used by them.
Factually wrong.
i live in germany and to me telegram doesn’t feel niche at all.
a lot of younger people use it a bit like discord, like for group stuff. organizing (like e.g. political activism), finding apartents in berlin, and yes, getting drugs as well. also some worklplaces use it (which i think is terrible). it is also preferred by a lot of people to communicate via telegram over signal or whatsapp in situations where people don’t want to give away their number, like online dating.
That’s a wildly generalizing and inaccurate statement
True, a small minority uses iMessage but it’s so small, the EU didn’t even look twice at iMessage when assessing digital gatekeepers.
Everyone who has an iPhone uses iMessage as a main communication app. Nobody bothers to replace their default SMS client and literally all banks, institutions, 2FA and key communications rely on sms to work.
The fact that most people seem to prefer to have their personal or business chats on WhatsApp is secondary to SMS and iMessage (on iPhone obviously).
Nobody in europe that has an iphone uses imsg as their primary anything. Because Europe is an android dominated market.
“Nobody who drives a car does that. Because most people drive bikes.” Please go back to school and try again
Do you really want to know how dead iMessage is in Europe? I was on iPhone for 4 full years, with bunch of friends and colleagues with them as well. I never even knew that it was anything but SMS app - that no one uses. Everything is on other applications, and SMS is just for automated messages and like 5th backup communications method if nothing else is available
In what country do you live? I live in Germany and not even iPhone users use iMessage.
Use your reading eyes and understanding brain again and reread what I said
Not a problem for me lmao. No one I talk to uses apple products because we have self respect
The elephant in the room, of course, is that this is literally only a problem in the United States. Everywhere else in the world, folks are totally fine using messaging apps. WhatsApp is pretty popular worldwide, and there are regional favorites too. But, the point is, it’s only in the States that people seem to be against this idea. The answer for why is very much up for debate, but the conversation is, at this point, just getting exhausting.
Can confirm, as a Brit. We probably would have a sardonic explanation for why only people in the States are against using other messengers too…
I went to great lengths to get my family group chat migrated from FB Messenger over to WhatsApp, and then Meta bought WhatsApp. I’m doomed. I’ll never get these Americans to transition to something like Signal
I’m Canadian and use a ton of messaging services. It had honestly become ridiculous until I started using Beeper!
Yep. In Japan we all use LINE with a small fraction of (largely Western foreigners) using whatsapp. Korea has kakaotalk with some (also?) using LINE. I’m not sure what’s most popular in Chinese circles these days; WeChat, maybe?
I think this might be changing in the U.S., because my friend group only talks on Discord. I don’t even have their phone numbers.
Yeah the vast, vast majority of folk use Android, it’s Apple that fucked up SMS.
Fuck them, nobody uses SMS for that reason, let Apple sort it out, or be forced to by the EU again lol
Not in the US. Apple has about 60% of the market.
True, but my entire family uses iPhones and I made them all switch to Signal.
iMessage isn’t required.
All my family uses Android, except for a few exceptions. They all dropped signal when it lost sms support. So we use sms instead, fucking cool move signal.
We don’t use Signal for SMS, we use Signal for E2E encryption. Signal for SMS is useless.
I’ve basically started telling people to either message me on Signal or I likely won’t respond in a timely manner, if ever. Not my problem. Urgent? Better call.
Dick move? Maybe. But fuck SMS and fuck iMessage.
Yeah I don’t want to be a dick to my friends and family I guess.
I really hate that some people I know only use Facebook Messenger, some use Instagram, some use Discord, and some use text.
It’s a nightmare when working in groups for uni, so I just email everyone. Email has all the features I like.
I have plenty of folks in my circles who never read or reply to emails :p
I want to use good apps, but my family members don’t. I can’t just avoid my family.
tell that to everyone i know
