[sdepablos]

Sometimes I think HN people were born out of thin air and don't have families. That or mine is special, because if I said to them to change from WhatsApp to whatever in the basis of privacy concerns they'd say that: 1. FB already knows everything about them (btw, a social network the still use) 2. They'd lost contact with a lot of people

And all this without taking into account features that can make the product even more pervasive (I'm thinking payments)

The problem is that once a product becomes the de facto solution and everyone is onboard, is hard to change it, specially one with network effects. If it wasn't we would be using e.g. other search engines, wouldn't be?

Finally, I'd say the announcement of this change is perfectly timed: just after Christmas and in the middle of a pandemic. By the time we meet again with our extended families and we do the de rigueur holidays' technical support this change will have been forgotten by most people ;)

[benhurmarcel]

I thought Facebook was too popular to ever fall down. And yet here we are, it's easier than ever to ignore it.

Also, installing an alternative doesn't make you lose contact with anyone. You can set up Signal and make yourself available there without removing Whatsapp.

Many people slowly stopped using Facebook without ever deleting it. Still has the same effect.

[sdepablos]

I'd say they're two really different products, so even if FB popularity is falling dow, that does not mean that WhatsApp would follow. In fact I'm pretty sure that thanks to services like money sending WhatsApp is poised to grow in quite a few countries.

[chalst]

The app most useful to me in reaching family in the UK is Telegram. I realise WA is hard to dispense with for many people, but it is not a hegemony.

[sdepablos]

Unfortunately I'm from Spain where WhatsApp penetration is around 90%, vs a ~65% in UK, so I still know plenty of people, specially family, without a Telegram account (I'd say almost no one over 50 has an account)

[jeofken]

You reject WhatsApp and tell your family that they can write you on Signal, because it’s important that your communications are only for you, not for Zuckerberg

[acct776]

re: #1, couldn't fathom having a family that ready to give up.

Mine asks me to set up sandboxed browsers/block scripts etc.