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Everyone I communicate with uses Signal now. In Europe using Signal costs the same amount as using WhatsApp, if not less because of the missing bloatware (backu
by dguest 3y ago
Everyone I communicate with uses Signal now. In Europe using Signal costs the same amount as using WhatsApp, if not less because of the missing bloatware (backups etc).
In a lot of the world, WhatsApp is free (I assume some kind of payment from Meta to the telecom). There's no way Signal will compete with something that is bundled with every phone contract for whatever reason.
- BLKNSLVR 3y agoIn Australia both Signal and WhatsApp are free, aside from using the data service rather than the "telephone" service, and we pay for a monthly or annual data quota with our phone plan. Do you have separate charges for Signal and/or WhatsApp?
- dguest 3y agoYeah I guess I confused a lot of people: the charges are for the data, not the app. They are tiny, but if you use the app heavily and rely on it, you don't want to be disconnected when your data runs out.
- Ylpertnodi 3y agoYou pay for signal? Which bit of Europe are you being ripped off in?
- 0x20Fearless 3y agoI read this as a phone contract having a bundled: unlimited whatsapp, Spotify, Facebook bundles where data usage is not counted towards your total data allowance in the contract. For example in my country in the middle of Europe you have bundles with unlimited traditional communication and 20 50 80GB of mobile data. When you WhatsApp all day sending videos, gifs, messages, voice messages, pictures, documents..I can consume up to 12GB per month, this costing me an amount of my 20GB data plan. While a other provider I can choose has a 20GB data plan with a unlimited WhatsApp bundle. Sadly they don’t offer eSIM and 5G so it’s a no go for me.
- zowie_vd 3y agoNot sure where in Europe you're from but in the Netherlands WhatsApp and the likes are just considered Internet usage, no special costs.
- api 3y agoWait… in Europe it costs money per app somehow on a phone? Or for data?
- adql 3y agoIs it still impossible to use Signal without phone ? That's the biggest stopper for me
- dunefox 3y agoYes. You are identified using the phone number.
- flagrant_taco 3y agoThis has been a big downside for years, I'm surprised it hasn't been fixed yet. Your account has to be tired to a phone number (though you can use voip) and only their mobile apps act as a primary that can register the account.