I have reluctantly been using Whatsapp to contact non-technical friends. In the past week, all of them have adopted Signal and/or Telegram, and I've deleted my Whatsapp account.

It doesn't matter what they say now; Whatsapp needs to be crushed pour encourager les autres.

I mean, it's not that wonderful. Like, I don't understand what was the point of Statuses. Never used it. Much prefer the cleanliness of Signal.

The most wonderful thing about WhatsApp was that everyone you knew was there.

It's historical. IIRC WhatsApp started out as an app for people to post those statuses as they travel, to let know their family and friends their whereabouts. To that effect, the founder of Whatsapp was first talking about it in online frequent flyer forums such as FlyerTalk that he was already a member of. Chat came later.

Quick Google search would suggest that the current status feature was only added in 2017.

rolleiflex is referring to the text status along with profile picture. The other new Status feature was added in 2017 when Facebook went crazy adding Snapchat Story like features to all their apps (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Whatsapp)

Me too. I am just waiting for my family members to switch, then I can be off FB once and for all..

I am actively evangelising my family members to start using alternatives.

> I am actively evangelising my family members to start using alternatives.

Which specifically? I've finally succeeded in showing them the light regarding Signal.

The only usable alternatives that come to mind is Gab for Twitter (or Mastodon but that'd be a stretch for most of them). With respect to Facebook and Instagram, I don't see a clear path to a seamless switch as with Whatsapp and Signal.

Telegram and Signal.

I know it's a non-starter for most of these group messaging and social media apps, but it'd be interesting to see one optimize for privacy (i.e. not mine user data/behavior/contacts) and fund the endeavor by charging for the app and/or usage.

So, Threema?