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Comment by deeringc | Hacker News Reader

Especially WhatsApp, I would say. It is the absolute standard for communication in much of the world.

That’s surprising. Nobody has yet asked me for my WhatsApp contact details and thereby forced me to create an account. (Germany, previously UK).

That is surprising. Whatsapp is used by 81% of messaging app users in Germany[1] and almost 70% of Britons[2].

1. https://www.messengerpeople.com/global-messenger-usage-stati...

2. https://www.messengerpeople.com/global-messenger-usage-stati...

Ditto. I've never seen WhatsApp in the wild. I've been asked if I have iMessage and Venmo more times than I can remember, but nobody has ever asked me if I have WhatsApp.

Messaging platforms are very regional. From your mention of Venmo (which is US-only) I assume you're American. WhatsApp has it's popularity outside of the US.

I've not once in my life had someone ask for an iMessage, and Venmo I've only heard about online. The last time I sent an SMS was probably a decade ago.

Currently I live in LINE-land. 90% of my communication is on LINE. Among friends abroad, everyone has Facebook messenger but it's nobody's preferred method, rather a fallback. WhatsApp is popular among friends in Europe (Sweden/Spain). Don't know anyone who's mentioned Telegram/Signal.

Whatsapp is used by 81% of messaging app users in Germany[1] and almost 70% of Britons[2].

It hasn't caught on as much in the US.

1. https://www.messengerpeople.com/global-messenger-usage-stati...

2. https://www.messengerpeople.com/global-messenger-usage-stati...

January of 2018. At the time, Zuckerberg said WhatsApp had 1.5 billion monthly active users.

Zuckerberg also counts both of my cats as active Facebook users.

That hurts my head, having separate chat history and ads for your cats.

Its mostly used in third world countries. South Africa, Brazil, ect. Doesn't seem to have caught on that much in the first world, from what I've read.

Whatsapp is used by 81% of messaging app users in Germany[1] and almost 70% of Britons[2].

1. https://www.messengerpeople.com/global-messenger-usage-stati...

2. https://www.messengerpeople.com/global-messenger-usage-stati...

Really? Everyone uses WhatApp over here (Germany).

I've been casually following incidents of a number of governments blocking WhatsApp/Facebook to disrupt organizers of protests: every single time Telegram usage blooms literally overnight as it's harder to block. WhatsApp is not as sticky as I thought, if the entire network graph is forced off.

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