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> So yes, using SMS as anything is just another pointless American thing, The thing you're not grasping here is that SMS exists on every phone. WhatsApp does n
by jwestbury 3y ago
> So yes, using SMS as anything is just another pointless American thing,
The thing you're not grasping here is that SMS exists on every phone. WhatsApp does not. Signal does not. Telegram does not.
Communication benefits massively from network effects. In the US, most people do not use third-party messaging apps. Those who do -- and I have Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp on my phone, so I'm in this group -- are in a minority. People who have multiple messaging apps are even more in the minority.
For Americans, third-party messaging services don't offer any significant benefits, either. Most people can't care about encryption. And I can easily send various media -- photos, videos, etc. -- via the default text messaging app on my phone. The cost is transparent to Americans, because phone plans have always been expensive -- and, frankly, they wouldn't get cheaper without free SMS/MMS, which is a point driven home by broadband prices (which are equally expensive in the US in comparison, despite not having this artificial cross-provider SMS cost).