[quantumsequoia]

None of the existing chat apps have established themselves as viable alternatives

Meta has trashed their privacy image so FB Messenger/WhatsApp non-starters for lots of Americans. Signal, telegram don't have enough PR, 90% of Americans have never heard of them. Kik was popular but died due to their financial trouble. Discord/Groupme have found success by marketing themselves towards particular niches, but people don't really think of them as general-purpose messaging apps

[venusenvy47]

I'm curious why privacy issues of WhatsApp and Facebook are only a concern for Americans. Does the rest of the world know that WhatsApp has been owned by Facebook for 10 years?

[oefrha]

Americans use Facebook, Google, etc. as much as anyone else. Claiming that the mythical “privacy” is a meaningful factor in iMessage’s adoption over Facebook properties is delusional.