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I hear this a fair amount on HN and it doesn’t chime at all with my experience (I’m in the UK). WhatsApp is popular with parents of school-age kids but even the

I hear this a fair amount on HN and it doesn’t chime at all with my experience (I’m in the UK). WhatsApp is popular with parents of school-age kids but even then there’s no “second nature” expectation that you’ll use it - I don’t and no-one bats an eyelid. I don’t know any older people who use it at all. Facebook Messenger is popular too, and SMS/iMessage is the default for “I just want to contact someone”.

ajvs 5y ago
Strange, I'm in the UK as well but everyone I know and meet uses WhatsApp. Got a few friends who are on Signal and Telegram also, but those are only in my more technology-oriented circles.
- tomduncalf 5y ago
  Likewise, I’m in the UK and everyone I know uses WhatsApp aside from one or two who use iMessage for whatever reason (but I am sure are also on WhatsApp). I’m quite happy with it, it works well, shame it’s a Meta product
  - twic 5y ago
    UK here, all my friend groups are on WhatsApp except one which has moved to Discord. I have one individual friend who sends text messages. My parents have WhatsApp but are probably 40:30:30 email:text:WhatsApp. My broader family has a WhatsApp group (that i'm not in!). Until recently, one friend group was on Facebook Messenger, but only because one guy was a WhatsApp holdout who eventually gave in. I don't know anyone who uses iMessage, but then i have an Android phone. Maybe they're all having cool and sexy group chats on that without me.
oblio 5y ago
It's per country. Especially poorer countries use it a lot.
- eXpl0it3r 5y ago
  I wouldn't consider Switzerland a poor country, but it's still the de-facto standard messaging app for all age groups in my circle.
- DocTomoe 5y ago
  Yeah, poorer countries like Germany. /s (We are trying to switch to something more data protection friendly, but we have not agreed upon the next golden app, and the government is actively trying to ban Telegram, so ...) It really comes down to network effects - the app that got popular first tends to stay.
  - kergonath 5y ago
    > We are trying to switch to something more data protection friendly It’s kind of difficult if we want to mandate backdoors at the same time. That’s not against Germany specifically; most European governments seem to be under that delusion. Well, those who need to look like they care about privacy anyway; the others don’t care about the “data protection friendly” aspect.
  - herbst 5y ago
    Maybe op ment poor as in 'poor internet coverage' ;) Germany trying to ban telegram is new to me tho, sucks how stupid old people are trying to understand the modern world ...
- bouke 5y ago
  Poor countries like The Netherlands, where nearly anyone with a smart phone has got it installed?
  - kergonath 5y ago
    “Especially poorer countries” does not mean “only poor countries”.
throwaway744678 5y ago
French here; my usage is mostly: WhatsApp for group conversations (circle of friends, family, setting up some event/holidays/whatever), SMS for one-on-one conversations. I am definitely not a heavy communicator, though: perhaps younger folks have different usage patterns. As a reminder: most cell phone plans here include unlimited (free) SMS messages
- kergonath 5y ago
  Same here: WhatsApp for group discussions and whatever the default message app uses otherwise (SMSes or iMessage; does not matter much but we use iMessage features when we can). And Discord for the guild mates. And Facebook messenger for one group, but I don’t quite remember why we went down that route.
wodenokoto 5y ago
You need to move a little bit out of Europe for WhatsApp to be all encompassing. In Dubai almost half my bank correspondence has been on WhatsApp. Guy asks me which credit card I want and starts sending me snapshots of a printed brochure. Advertisements have WhatsApp contact information listed, most businesses has a chat line open in WhatsApp. Delivery drivers will text you on WhatsApp if they have trouble finding your place. It’s really everywhere and that is despite the fact that phone calls on WhatsApp are blocked. But it’s not like people aren’t on Facebook or nobody snaps or anything. And of course, in China it’s WeChat, Japan and Taiwan it’s Line and I think South Korea still live and breathe through kakaotalk. But for the majority of the world WhatsApp is really the first line of contact.
- paganel 5y ago
  WhatsApp rules in Eastern Europe, too, at least in Romania (where I live). This whole "blue bubble" thing is a little bit confusing to me, I do own an iPhone and it bugs me the wrong way that sending a SMS is not really sending a SMS, it's first trying to do it via web and only then go the old, SMS way.
  - kergonath 5y ago
    > it bugs me the wrong way that sending a SMS is not really sending a SMS, it's first trying to do it via web and only then go the old, SMS way AFAIK it’s sending it over the Internet, but not over the web ;) If it annoys you, you can disable it easily in your devices’ settings. Personally I don’t care much, and iMessages instead of SMS is convenient for mates in the US or Australia.
    - paganel 5y ago
      TIL, thanks. I only use it from time to time when communicating with my SO, didn't know I had that option available.
dkdbejwi383 5y ago
Another anecdotal UK experience: all contact with humans is via WhatsApp except one older relative. My SMS inbox is 99% 2FA codes, appointment reminders and delivery updates
- coremoff 5y ago
  this is my own experience too. Also in the UK (except that there's no exception; it's all whatsapp)
- goodlinks 5y ago
  For me its whatsapp for everyone under 90 (over 90 is email or phone) and signal for everyone who is in IT or is close to someone IT. With the caveat that as almost all signal users are on WhatsApp too sometimes we forget and use it anyway. Sms is mostly for when you want to add urgency and be less likely to be muted. I would love to get rid of WhatsApp due to FB and hope to do so somehow soon.
xbl 5y ago
Not my experience at all in the UK, in all my social groups it's basically assumed you have WhatsApp and we aren't all parents That assumption even extends to the business environments I work in. I'm often in the position of needing to coordinate with groups of customers, third parties and contractors during a change window. WhatsApp is the lowest common denominator
bengale 5y ago
Yeah I'm in the UK too, I don't even have whatsapp installed.
rovek 5y ago
I'd be interested to know what drives these differences, whether it can be measured, and why there seems to be limited crossover of "circles". In the UK, I've had WhatsApp for about 12 years since the Nokia N900. If someone gives me their number, it's assumed we will communicate by WhatsApp. As an interesting crossover, my American friends communicate with their friends/family in the US with iMessage but use WhatsApp for everything else and the only Brit I've met who used iMessage by default had spent significant time in the US in recent years.
mmcnl 5y ago
"Outside the US" is a big world where not everyone does things in the same way.

ajvs 5y ago

Strange, I'm in the UK as well but everyone I know and meet uses WhatsApp. Got a few friends who are on Signal and Telegram also, but those are only in my more technology-oriented circles.

tomduncalf 5y ago
Likewise, I’m in the UK and everyone I know uses WhatsApp aside from one or two who use iMessage for whatever reason (but I am sure are also on WhatsApp). I’m quite happy with it, it works well, shame it’s a Meta product
- twic 5y ago
  UK here, all my friend groups are on WhatsApp except one which has moved to Discord. I have one individual friend who sends text messages. My parents have WhatsApp but are probably 40:30:30 email:text:WhatsApp. My broader family has a WhatsApp group (that i'm not in!). Until recently, one friend group was on Facebook Messenger, but only because one guy was a WhatsApp holdout who eventually gave in. I don't know anyone who uses iMessage, but then i have an Android phone. Maybe they're all having cool and sexy group chats on that without me.

oblio 5y ago

It's per country. Especially poorer countries use it a lot.

eXpl0it3r 5y ago
I wouldn't consider Switzerland a poor country, but it's still the de-facto standard messaging app for all age groups in my circle.
DocTomoe 5y ago
Yeah, poorer countries like Germany. /s (We are trying to switch to something more data protection friendly, but we have not agreed upon the next golden app, and the government is actively trying to ban Telegram, so ...) It really comes down to network effects - the app that got popular first tends to stay.
- kergonath 5y ago
  > We are trying to switch to something more data protection friendly It’s kind of difficult if we want to mandate backdoors at the same time. That’s not against Germany specifically; most European governments seem to be under that delusion. Well, those who need to look like they care about privacy anyway; the others don’t care about the “data protection friendly” aspect.
- herbst 5y ago
  Maybe op ment poor as in 'poor internet coverage' ;) Germany trying to ban telegram is new to me tho, sucks how stupid old people are trying to understand the modern world ...
bouke 5y ago
Poor countries like The Netherlands, where nearly anyone with a smart phone has got it installed?
- kergonath 5y ago
  “Especially poorer countries” does not mean “only poor countries”.

throwaway744678 5y ago

French here; my usage is mostly: WhatsApp for group conversations (circle of friends, family, setting up some event/holidays/whatever), SMS for one-on-one conversations. I am definitely not a heavy communicator, though: perhaps younger folks have different usage patterns. As a reminder: most cell phone plans here include unlimited (free) SMS messages

kergonath 5y ago
Same here: WhatsApp for group discussions and whatever the default message app uses otherwise (SMSes or iMessage; does not matter much but we use iMessage features when we can). And Discord for the guild mates. And Facebook messenger for one group, but I don’t quite remember why we went down that route.

wodenokoto 5y ago

You need to move a little bit out of Europe for WhatsApp to be all encompassing. In Dubai almost half my bank correspondence has been on WhatsApp. Guy asks me which credit card I want and starts sending me snapshots of a printed brochure. Advertisements have WhatsApp contact information listed, most businesses has a chat line open in WhatsApp. Delivery drivers will text you on WhatsApp if they have trouble finding your place. It’s really everywhere and that is despite the fact that phone calls on WhatsApp are blocked. But it’s not like people aren’t on Facebook or nobody snaps or anything. And of course, in China it’s WeChat, Japan and Taiwan it’s Line and I think South Korea still live and breathe through kakaotalk. But for the majority of the world WhatsApp is really the first line of contact.

paganel 5y ago
WhatsApp rules in Eastern Europe, too, at least in Romania (where I live). This whole "blue bubble" thing is a little bit confusing to me, I do own an iPhone and it bugs me the wrong way that sending a SMS is not really sending a SMS, it's first trying to do it via web and only then go the old, SMS way.
- kergonath 5y ago
  > it bugs me the wrong way that sending a SMS is not really sending a SMS, it's first trying to do it via web and only then go the old, SMS way AFAIK it’s sending it over the Internet, but not over the web ;) If it annoys you, you can disable it easily in your devices’ settings. Personally I don’t care much, and iMessages instead of SMS is convenient for mates in the US or Australia.
  - paganel 5y ago
    TIL, thanks. I only use it from time to time when communicating with my SO, didn't know I had that option available.

dkdbejwi383 5y ago

Another anecdotal UK experience: all contact with humans is via WhatsApp except one older relative. My SMS inbox is 99% 2FA codes, appointment reminders and delivery updates

coremoff 5y ago
this is my own experience too. Also in the UK (except that there's no exception; it's all whatsapp)
goodlinks 5y ago
For me its whatsapp for everyone under 90 (over 90 is email or phone) and signal for everyone who is in IT or is close to someone IT. With the caveat that as almost all signal users are on WhatsApp too sometimes we forget and use it anyway. Sms is mostly for when you want to add urgency and be less likely to be muted. I would love to get rid of WhatsApp due to FB and hope to do so somehow soon.

xbl 5y ago

Not my experience at all in the UK, in all my social groups it's basically assumed you have WhatsApp and we aren't all parents That assumption even extends to the business environments I work in. I'm often in the position of needing to coordinate with groups of customers, third parties and contractors during a change window. WhatsApp is the lowest common denominator

bengale 5y ago

Yeah I'm in the UK too, I don't even have whatsapp installed.

rovek 5y ago

I'd be interested to know what drives these differences, whether it can be measured, and why there seems to be limited crossover of "circles". In the UK, I've had WhatsApp for about 12 years since the Nokia N900. If someone gives me their number, it's assumed we will communicate by WhatsApp. As an interesting crossover, my American friends communicate with their friends/family in the US with iMessage but use WhatsApp for everything else and the only Brit I've met who used iMessage by default had spent significant time in the US in recent years.

mmcnl 5y ago

"Outside the US" is a big world where not everyone does things in the same way.