Because sending a message with data was cheaper than the cost of sending one SMS. And it was free on WiFi.
That’s why WhatsApp took off.
Some countries like mine have free whatsapp even if we run out of common-mobile-internet-points (packages?)
Plus network effect of WhatsApp is pretty strong
You have explained something I’ve wondered for a decade+
Because SMS sucks, always has, for many reasons
Give me a federated XMPP based messenger with all the same features as WhatsApp and then… Well, I’ll install it but I still wouldn’t use it because nobody is using it
That is the core of the matter: everybody uses WhatsApp because everybody uses WhatsApp
AFAIK WhatsApp is actually based on xmpp
It’s not such a mystery. WhatsApp came out in 2009. RCS would not be rolled out widely on Android until 2019. RCS was not implemented properly on iOS until literally a month or so ago.
Therefore its competition has been SMS mainly, which it is directly better than in every way. SMS is not encrypted. WhatsApp is. SMS (technically MMS) heavily compresses pictures & video. SMS splits up long blocks of text into multiple texts, which may or may not come in the correct order. SMS used to be limited in cell phone plans around the time of WhatsApp’s release, and STILL is in some parts of the world. SMS requires a consistent cell signal which requires a paid monthly subscription, WhatsApp only requires internet. Sometimes it is easier to find public Wi-Fi than a good cell signal in some places, and it was a popular thing for some teenagers to get an iPod touch or parent’s old phone and only be able to use it with Wi-Fi. Then there are stickers & video chat.
People got used to it being the best for at least a decade, and don’t want to switch. Even nowadays, RCS is nearly as closed a standard as WhatsApp being limited to an app. You have to use Google Messages or iMessage specifically. In Apple’s case, your messages aren’t encrypted on their servers unless you specifically request it, and they hold the keys. I suspect Google is the same, despite what they say. And RCS still is routed through your carrier and the receiver’s carrier, who have varying policies.
Of course, WhatsApp doesn’t have zero access encryption for their servers either, and they’re ran by Meta, so it’s nearly a lateral move at this point. The real solution is a better WhatsApp replacement like Signal. Signal is making progress but it takes time.
One thing you missed… WhatsApp took off BEFORE facebook (now meta) bought it. So it had a huge network effect while it was independent.
Exactly, and they’ve been uncharacteristically quiet about it. You have to dig through settings for an option to link it to Facebook or Instagram, and I’ve never got a notification prompting me to. They’ve been hesitant to roll out enshittification too, so most people don’t see a reason to move. Which is why I still haven’t gotten rid of it. I can’t force everyone at once.
Whatsapp requires all of my contacts in order for me to send a message. I can’t just type a recipient in. I hate it.
I have to use it because a lot of my coworkers are in India and that’s what they use.
what progress does signal need? or you mean in adaptation?
Yeah, social adoption mostly. Not needing a phone number would be cool too, but functionality & security/privacy is pretty great. The only thing that could improve it is being decentralized like Matrix, but Signal is more functional as of now so I don’t recommend Matrix as much to people. Signal takes 2 seconds to set up & is visually familiar.
intertia. I try to get as many friends onto Signal as I could but some are just entrenched that until they get forced, they’ll just stick with what’s comfortable
SMS is insecure as hell, RCS suffered from issues between Apple and Google, both were limited for a long time by Telecoms and priced too high after reaching your allowance (i remember my first mobile contract having a whooping 10 SMS/month included). The amount of data messenger apps use is negligible even with pretty low data limits as long as you are not attaching whole movies.
I personally only use Signal - i have removed all Meta products from my life. If someone without Signal wants to contact me, they can use snail mail, i really don’t care - i won’t sacrifice my privacy for the convenience of others.
I’ve got through to some mates but some cunts just don’t care about their privacy and ruining yours. Signal is great but sadly United states of shitsville owned so I’m moving away
I hate WhatsApp for no other reason than it’s a Facebook product.
Meta*
No, it will never be meta to me. The only reason they changed their name Facebook is because there was so many negative connotations from their shitty business practices. I will never call them meta just like I will never call Twitter x. I also will never call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America nor will I ever call the lake lake America.
I mean, X is worse than Twitter because that’s when it became fascist.
Facebook used to at least employ some content moderation folks. Meta, likewise, went full fascist and misinformation.
The name changes provide a delineation for magnitudes worse enshitification.
cause whatsapp is older than rcs, and costs zero unlike sms
Consumers, like voters, are stupid and hold a lot of things more important than values and morals.
Network effect.
And the reverse of that is true in the us. I don’t know anyone who uses that app, so I won’t. Actually it’s true in a general sense as well: there’s never been sufficient people on any specific app to make me want to use it
The part of the US I’m in its associated with sketchy dudes cheating on their girlfriends. Or maybe that’s just my social circle.
It was, one of, the first widespread free global messaging services.
So became default for most.
(if you don’t count ICQ, MSN Messenger, Skype, etc…)
I’ve had SMS messages read to me by a third party, not a cop. I’ve had transcripts of ‘private’ cell calls read back to me by a third party, not a cop.
I survived the entire lifetime of skype without having the same, and I guess I hope the same happens with whatsapp.
Could you share more about this, safely?
That definitely didn’t happen with Skype. Many, many people have saved your Skype messages.
The question is historical but posed as a tech choice. Convenience is the answer now.
Why does most of the world feel the need to broadcast their communications? (he said while typing into the internet).
SMS costs money, no idea what RCS is. Other than that it’s probably just inertia. I prefer to use Signal but only about 30% of my whatsapp contacts have that.
Still? SMS used to cost me money as the cell vendors tried to maximize their profit on new technology. But I don’t think that’s been true here since smartphones
For ~150 other countries, yes, carriers charge per SMS
Yes, they still cost money in most of Europe, which is why nobody uses them.
The only sms I’ve received in the last few years were roaming-infos, voice mail reminders and 2FA codes.
That’s crazy. Even pre-smartphone, there was always the argument that sms costs less than the effort to meter and bill for them …. And maybe that’s the entire difference between the us using sms/rcs, and Europe using WhatsApp
Some VoIP plans still charge per text/call. It’s cheaper if you don’t use much.
Still?
In the EU yes and no. Most mobile internet plans here include unlimited SMS and phone calls as well. At least I know very few people who choose to have plans that include ONLY internet and those plans tend to be only marginally cheaper. However, the unlimited SMS and phonecalls (for most plans) only apply for messaging inside the EU. So if you regularly message friends outside EU you again either pay per SMS/call or have to get a more expansive plan that also includes that.
So overall it’s the most convenient (and mostly cheapest) to do all messaging and calls over mobile data or WiFi
RCS is Google locked
It was never ‘Google locked’, its an open standard developed by the GSM Association that IOS has supported since 2024.
All RCS goes through google servers, they have to approve the devices. Graphene OS and e/os can’t use RCS
That’s not true, network carriers can also run RCS backends independently of Google. Graphene OS is currently working on a new messaging app that supports RCS without Google services. Both the app and the carrier have to support RCS which is why Google made their own backend.
Google locked?
Exclusive to Google’s texting app.
Are you sure? I definitely RCS message with friends who have iPhones.
Turned out to be a misunderstanding on my part from the last time I looked into it (which was quite some time ago). It’s not exclusive to Android/Google, but it is extremely exclusive app-wise and none of them had the feature parity of my SMS app so I didn’t pursue it further at the time.
Support was added relatively recently, and a lot of people didn’t notice. I think it also used to default to off, not sure what the current default is.
RCS has been on iPhones a couple years. The recent update was encrypted RCS.
I don’t know whether the implementation is still Google, but in August I noticed RCS chats now have a “lock” icon
