[hnbad]

Telegram and Signal have been gaining some traction in Germany (don't know about other EU countries) but the former saw most of its adoption among "COVID skeptics" and has had some kind of falling out with the German government over refusal to cooperate with the authorities, so its reputation is mixed and its legal status going forward is unclear. Signal doesn't seem to suffer the same reputation but doesn't seem to control much market share.

WhatsApp is ubiquitous, at least among millenials and above. I'm not sure what the zoomers are up to. It's unavoidable for parents especially because parent groups exist for everything from kindergarten to sports. Usage may decline in the years to come over Meta's data protection issues but there's no end in sight.