Some other countries still charge for text messages, so using WhatsApp is cheaper.
This was the reason WhatsApp caught on in Germany, then it kind of became the default
same here in brazil, everyone has it and everyone loves it
Same here for Italy I think
Same in Ireland, text used to cost money WhatsApp was free everyone started using it, text no longer costs money but everyone is used to WhatsApp now so don't bother going back
And it's just way more comfortable than text messages.
[deleted]
No, its because international texts cost silly money and aren't free unlike domestic texts or texts to other EU countries
How did different electrical outlets from country to country become a thing?
I’ve been using WhatsApp for so long that I don’t even know if I still have to pay for texts
Having unlimited data is common in many countries (including mine), whereas texts may incur a cost.
Weirdly, here in Canada unlimited texting is much cheaper than unlimited data.
My data plan here in Canada is 50 gigs per month. Until a few years ago it was a measly four gigs a month. I got so used to it that 50 might as well be infinite.
Mine is 400GB at SGD $10 per month
That’s insane. We pay about 30$ can just for 50gb of data for one phone on our plan with virgin mobile in Canada. This doesn’t include the phone plan.
Is WhatsApp big in Canada?
Among teens, but not most adults.
It is in my world. I basically only use it. I dont know anyone in Canada that does not. I live in Toronto and have traveled across the country. Everywhere I have been they use it.
You don't need unlimited data for texting in WhatsApp. You couldn't text a gigabyte per month, no matter how hard you try.
I can get unlimited texting from Canada and the US to anywhere in the world for $15 per month.
The cheapest plan with any data is $25/month.
Including pictures and video?
I pay $9 for a plan with 50GB of data and 100 sms. No unlimited sms plan available.
How does group messaging work though?
This makes sense, thanks! And I guess also when I’ve used eSIMs in various places it worked for data which included WhatsApp but not for my regular texts.
Unlimited data is free?? I pay out of my ass for data where I live. Unlimited data would make my time outside so much better.
Whereabouts do you live?
Bangladesh, so yea South Asia. We typically get shit for cheap but I guess that's not the case with data. This reminds me of how surprised I was when I went to thailand and every tourist sim just came with 20gb to 30gb, like holy shit I get 20gb of internet for "free" to spend in a week?
In the US unlimited texting plans became pretty common before smartphones were even a thing to run an app like WhatsApp.
By contrast, much of the world got cheap data or very common access to public wifi way before they got unlimited access to texting if they even have it as a common option now. So there was a demand for an IP based messenger like WhatsApp to avoid those charges by using data instead.
Tldr; we didn't need it and it was about money before it was about features. Since we didnt need it, we never got a critical mass of people on it to make it necessary to reach people.
Having lived abroad, WhatsApp makes cross-border communication easier too, which is a bigger deal in places like Europe, but a non-factor to most people in a country as big as the US. Most people I know who use WhatsApp in the States either picked it up while travelling and/or they have relatives/friends overseas they communicate with. For the other 99% of people, texting via SMS is fine enough (though I agree WhatsApp has more features than the default texting app).
Yep, this. It’s the main way we communicate with my sister over in the UK.
How do you have a group chat though?
The only people in the US that I know who use it, use it for... "Illicit" sales
My job insists we use it for work related communication
In addition, in other countries, it appears to be the case that your messages app is full of spam and ads, while your WhatsApp is clean. My experience as an American has been the opposite where my WhatsApp is full of people trying to get me to buy crypto
Interesting!
this is no longer the case, WA is the new sms for companies to spam you.
I would use default texting when I was in the States because I was mostly only texting other people in the States and it was free. When I moved to Europe I've used exclusively WA because it now costs money for me to text my US friends from afar and all the Europeans local to me use WA.
That’s cool that you’ve had experiences with both- that makes sense, thanks!
Texting is free on US phones, and it’s never given me any issues, so I don’t really see a reason to download another app and text via that one.
Is "texting" in USA the same as SMS?
How is the support for group chats, emoji, reactions, edit-sent-msg, simple formatting?
"Texting" practically means iMessage, because Americans overwhelmingly use iPhones. IMessage basically has all the features of WhatsApp, but SMS doesn't integrate well between Apple and Android. This is why kids get bullied for having green bubbles - because Apple doesn't want to get with the program and make SMS functional on their phones
Ehhh not to me. I have an iPhone but several of my close friends don’t. I’m in a ton of mixed-phone group messages.
LOL you’re so behind dude! apple had a new ios last year/ early this year that integrated android messaging systems more seamlessly with RCS. I have an iphone but my sister and her bf have android and they can do all the same things i can do with iphone between our messages, outside of iphone games. i can even see when they’re typing and they have read receipts lol no one gives a fuck about green bubbles dude lol and even before that ios update, i had many group chats with non iphone users lol
So what you are saying is that until last year apple.was not capable of having a functional messaging system. That is far behind all the other companies.
This is just in the last year, how did you do in the last 10 years?
The exact same as WhatsApp
It is SMS yes.
Features are basic. Whatsapp does these better. But just a couple years ago it was pretty basic too.
I've been using Whatsapp for years in the US though, not just for the features but because it rises above the Apple/Android feature incompatibility to provide everyone the same experience.
The first time I used WhatsApp (in the US) was specifically because of incompatibility issues. We were sharing photos from my sisters bachelorette party and the quality got downgraded between platforms and we didn’t want that.
You probably were sending MMS and MMS quality is super low
For many Americans, it’s not really necessary to have due to unlimited texting/data to domestic numbers on most plans. Any American that travels internationally or have friends/family abroad definitely need it, though. When I travel and try to book stuff like tours, transfers, and sometimes even restaurants, etc., they’ll ask for my WhatsApp.
Do Americans not to group texting though?
We do. Texting (sms and MMS) work just fine, even when the group is a mix of android and iPhone. There are some weird things that happen sometimes when someone emoji responses a message, but that doesn't really matter.
You do realize you don’t need an app to do group texting?
I'm Australian and same.
The only person I've ever used whatsapp with is a real estate agent I bought my last house from. I'm spending hundreds of thousands of dollars with her... but she insisted I download whatsapp.
I immediately deleted it after purchase. We have a housing shortage. I just had to work with her.
No no no, not the same ! I'm an Aussie and my Australian based extended family of over 100 people (yes that large) plus many friends use WhatsApp. It's very popular in Australia so I have no idea how you avoided knowing about it.
I’m in Australia and the only time I’ve used WhatsApp was for a specific work client that runs a lot of shit via WhatsApp.
Deleted it once I no longer dealt with them. The less meta shit on my phone the better.
Ok, well good for you ! What is with this younger gen going stuff this company but I'm pretty sure the other companies you buy from are just as bad. Rant over
It's free in most other places too. That isn't the reason.
It’s not in Brazil.
There’s also a comment above saying it’s not in Germany.
Nowadays most plans in Germany include unlimited calls and texting, but that wasn't a thing back when smartphones got started and WhatsApp became a thing. Since then it has basically become the standard.
Im in the uk and its not free here unless u have a contract with unlimited texts (many contracts do have that but not all)
Nope, 0,19 EUR per message definitely was the reason in the in Germany. It's a bit cheaper now and many plans include limited free messages or unlimited messages, but I guess that doesn't matter because no one really uses them anyway.
It wasn't as common back when WhatsApp became common in many other places. That drove lots of people to use WhatsApp, then when free texting became more common in more places, those people were already used to using WhatsApp.
There are often international charges for calling and texting between Europe’s 44 countries but not between the US states.
People will tell you that it is because of unlimited texting. They actually believe the lie that the USA was early with unlimited texting. Ignore them.
The reason is that Iphone was too popular in the USA. Innthe USA the vast majority uses (used?) Iphone. For them the internal Iphone app works fine.
However the fact is that the internal messaging app of apple is objectively absolutely crap. Apparently they finally made a decent version but until recently it couldn't communicate well with other phones. This is not a big issue if most people use apple, but it does become an issue if more people search for something other than apple crap. People use WhatsApp because Iphone was incapable of offering a decent messaging app.
Apart from that, neither in the USA nor outside of it is international messaging part of unlimited plans. With whatsapp you can still message with people in other countries for free, and if you're abroad you can message anywhere where there is wifi available.
It's convenient. Not the stupid "they have a different colour bubble and their messages show up slow af" shit that iPhone fans say.
Yes. Americans know that for a long time apple did not manage to create a functional messaging app and they still wonder why people prefer whatsapp.
Why lie? Apple has had its own fully functional messaging app while Android spun its wheels with a new half baked effort every year. Why lie?
Why lie? Apple hasn't been able to create a fully functional messaging app until last year. Before they were incapable of creating an app that treated all messages the same regardless of the phone it was sent from.
Unlike android on which the phone being used didn't matter.
Unlimited texting was available sooner in the US than in other countries. We also don’t have the issue of not being able to text people from other countries because the vast majority of texts exchanged are between US carriers. For both of those reasons, we never had the need to use a third party app that does what our texting or iMessage do. Europeans had the need for a third party app, so it got popular over there.
No. It wasn't. Unlimited messaging and calls was also available in other countries. The USA always felt behind on the cost of messages and calls, for example I remember people saying they had to pay to receive calls and texts.
The difference is that whatsapp offered more than messaging, it was better at group chat, pictures and files. Also very important, until last year apple, a popular smatphone brand, was incapable of making a functional messaging app. (A functional messaging app is an app that can deal with messages bot from their own system as other systems. In a functional messaging app you have no clue what system a peson you chat with uses.)
Next to the fact that whatsapp worked better than texting, it also has the advantage of using data, which means that you only need to find wifi to be able to messag for free when abroad.
Wifi is readily available and texting still costs in many places.
Yeah you don't even need a data plan or sim card to use whatsapp.
You can talk to anyone in the world.
You can send all kinds of content over it, that may not be possible over sms in some countries
As people said, it's because texting is not free everywhere.
New Zealand and Australia dont typically use whatsapp either, because SMS is typically free on most phone plans and between both countries as well.
I blame iPhone users. There's a lot of them in the US. And they love using the default text app. Because iPhone blue, everybody else is green 😂😂. It makes a lot of them feel special lol. The rest of the world is much more into android, so they're more willing to use other apps because they don't feel as much illogical brand allegiance as Apple users.
SMS lacks a lot of features people want like, knowing if a person received or read messages or even offers any reliability that the receiver can even receive the message. Sending photo's or using more than 160 chars converts a text to MMS which generally occurs charges on many networks. MMS can occur a charge even if the receiver never receives the message or cannot read the massage.
Basically, SMS/MMS is a shitshow, so we won't use it.
Data was actually cheaper than calling and text so WhatsApp became common. First started using it back in 2014.
I am from New Zealand, and at any point in time someone in my family is overseas. Roaming costs in other counties are high for calls and texts, usually a per day charge, data is a lot cheaper - and free while you are at your hotel/youth hostel.
So when people travel it’s common to turn off their ‘phone service’ - and rely on data apps ( like WhatsApp ) instead.
So for my family and friends - it’s to make sure everyone will get the message, regardless of the part of the world they happen to be in.
Makes sense. That’s been most of my experience using WhatsApp as well- internationally.
In Paraguay 98% of people use WhatsApp while in the US only 20%
Group texts mainly and sharing photos and videos.
In NZ most are on unlimited calls/txts but that only applies to text txt not pic txt. You want to send a meme to 15 of your mates? That's going to add up $$
You can't even send videos on a regular txt message.
Plus group messaging way easier
Apple marketing because most teens have iPhones in the US. In other places the types of phones are more varied so Whatsapp is better. When everyone has an iPhone iMessage just works better because Apple intentionally makes cross-texting worse.
My son is 14. He talks about people being dropped or added to the group chat.
I asked him, how does that work with Android users?
"We don't include them in the group chat."
Your son is doing peer pressure for a trillion dollar tech company and not even getting paid for it.
it rly sucks makes the tech competent people buy iphones to fit in
Maybe, but I wasn’t talking about teens specifically. I’m 39, and almost everyone I know here in the US exclusively uses their default messages but I’ve used WhatsApp when traveling internationally, and I feel like literally every book i read that takes place in another country in the current time period, people seem to be using WhatsApp.
They are getting better about it. Now read status and reactions are compatible.
So more than a decade too late.
I'm in Australia and everyone I know either uses sms or messenger. Usually a combo of both, even for the same people.
Yeah messenger is my number one, SMS number 2 and WhatsApp number 3
What’s messenger? Facebook messenger?
Yah
True. That was funny in Australia to have to go back to messenger.
The US is one of the few countries where the iPhone is the most popular smartphone where else it’s Android. People in the US don’t primarily use SMS but instead iMessage.
Uh, android phones can send texts too.
Yes. But iphone does not work well with android phones in imessage. They are not even capable of making text the same colour. It's the crappy quality of imessage that makes people prefer whatsapp in countries where peole are less blinded by apple bling.
texting is included in your phone plan in the USA, because why they hell wouldn't it be?
Because carriers make a shitton of money off the average phone user. We use Tracfone where you pay for what you need and not more than that. Pay under $300/year for 5 lines currently. Three of our phones are iPhones and two are Android. Only drawback is that you have to monitor usage (texts, talk time, data) to make sure you don't run out. If you run out, you have to restock. Also buy service plans (to keep phone active) yearly for about $50/year. If you don't want to make Tmobile, AT&T, etc richer, Tracfone is one option. :)
We pay $76 for two regular cell lines. Don't have to monitor, or worry about buying more minutes. Pretty average user.
It's a conspiracy instigated by Apple to perpetuate the Android vs. iPhone division via the text bubble colour.
As someone in the US, we have probably always had an unlimited texting plan. Such plans were not common in many countries, so there was a financial driver to use IP-based apps for messaging, since the data cost was so much cheaper than the SMS/MMS cost.
I mean, if your phone company started charging a nickel per text, you'd probably use something else too.
Now, a lot more places have unlimited SMS, but by then WhatsApp had become the de facto standard in many places for messaging, so people continue to use it. And, of course, as a proprietary system, they can upgrade and enhance the app in a way that's not really practical for something built into phones from different manufacturers and operating systems.
Believe me, we have NOT always had "unlimited texting". Teens from the early 2000's were getting in deep shit with their parents for $150 and up bills just from texting.
We did however add unlimited talk and text earlier than most places.
I remember waiting until after 9 for texts and calls.
Yeah. To be more specific, it's the era of the smartphone that's relevant here, where third party apps could be added. Before that, you were stuck with what was on the phone you bought. By the time that the smartphone era really started, there were very few US phone carriers that didn't offer unlimited texting, which was unusual in the global marketplace. In other countries, the data usage of the app was much, much cheaper than the texting cost, which really drove adoption of apps like WhatsApp.
You have all the answers! Thank you!
In addition to what others have said. iPhones had peer to peer encryption for iMessage very early on. So we didn’t need that feature of WhatsApp.
omg you just unlocked a core memory, i had a nokia brick with an awful tracfone plan in high school in the mid 2000s where every single text message cost 50 cents (to send OR receive). my boyfriend at the time was a little older than me and so when he went off to college states away, we texted up a STORM, all day long. every goddamn cent i had in this world went towards that stupid phone and its stupid expensive phone plan. every paycheck from my part-time job went towards that stupid phone. every check i got for birthday or christmas went towards that stupid phone. i'd scrounge small change out of literal couch cushions to buy credit for that stupid phone.
i was SO happy when that phone got stolen at the bus stop in like 2007 and my parents let me get a new one with a proper phone plan. i still think texts weren't unlimited just quite yet, but i stopped bleeding dollars literally overnight after that
I got a new phone & plan when I went to college in 2003 because Verizon was said to work better in the area I was in. However I literally couldn’t even call most of my new friends at college because I was from Connecticut and my plan didn’t include calls to most of Massachusetts, where I was 😆 this was of course a flop phone.
Even in 2010 Verizon was still charging per call. 10 cents per minute! Found out after using my work phone for personal calls.
999887
You are aware that people were already on international forums well before smartphones right. If there is one thing I remember isnthe ridiculous costs of texting in the usa while it was unlimited or virtually unlimited here.
The primary reason is that there were no good messaging apps. Especially iphine is famous for having a horrible messaging app that doesn't work well with android.
I am, but what happened before smartphones really isn’t relevant to a discussion of how a smartphone app became popular.
Pricing structure.
because it works without having a data pack, but just on wi-fi?
because you can't "schedule send" a message in whatsapp.
I didn’t even know you could do that anywhere except Gmail lol
samsung galaxy texting app has schedule send as a standard feature since the very beginning.
This question is by no means stupid, but I swear I've seen it like five times in the last day or two, across different subs. Just a strange thing.
Hahah weird! To be honest I didn’t search to see if it has been on here, because I’ve been thinking about asking it for weeks and finally just did lol
Increasingly people in the US use signal, but if you want to include that friend who won't download the app, you can at least add them to a regular old group text
Unlimited calls and text are popular plans in the USA. Other parts of the world don't have it or it's much more expensive.
In Australia/NZ (and apparently a lot of other countries according to website listed in another thread), RCS is not yet supported by the carriers. So iPhone/Android MMS (e.g. photos, particularly when internationally) can be problematic, and setting up mixed iPhone/Android groups impossible (in my experience).
So I & my like-minded correspondents tend to use the default texting app for most cases unless either: international &/or group chat.
I don't use WhatsApp because I don't see a benefit.
It works better, you can send audio notes that don't suck. If you are an android guy you can see if its been read or not or if they are typing like iphone. You can see last time theye were online so for example if you want to make a call in the morning or late at night you can see if they are awake or not. At my house, my service is terrrible so I can call in whatsapp no problem. Videocalls with people who have android. Plus theres fun stickers!
I live in the us and prefer whatsapp
It’s interesting ,a lot of foreign friends that hate Meta/Facebook and don’t even realize that they own WhatsApp. I’ve surprised quite a few of them saying it. Maybe it was m established in most countries well before Facebook bought them?
Apple.
Is anyone here using Telegram? Free calls, free chats. What’s the downfall?
Other people like sending stickers
The irony is that WhatsApp is an American app
Good group chat functionality.
Why lie? iMessage came out in 2011. It had end to end encryption, read notifications , and you could send audio and video messages. RCS is an infant. Apple Derangement Syndrome is strong with this one. Why with all the lies?
Last time I was on whatsapp I got death threats by someone trying to extort me. That has never happened over my regular texting.
It costs money to send a picture message
The answers here are correct. It's also a good way (if you live in the US) to sniff out scams. If you get a text that directs you to communicate further in one of these apps but claim to be local? They're not.
I always felt Europeans had more family/friends scattered around the continent and it was the easier way to stay in touch
Because fuck Meta
This. People hate Facebook
I didn't know people still used SMS as a primary means of messaging
TIL: Americans apparently don't use WhatsApp?
Unlimited data and per message fees for texting. I have had an unlimited data plan for as long as i have had a smartphone (i am old enough to have used a flip phone until fifth grade). When whatsapp came around it was very convenient to have group messaging on your phone and have it be free. No across borders extra costs either.
Many people in america probably never have to message people outside their country because of how huge america is, america also has a much bigger marketshare of iphones, so the imessage ecosystem has had time to grow. Most importantly they have unlimited texting and limited data.
Here in europe people have more androids so whatsapp did what imessage was in the states.
lol you are not old. I used a flip phone until grad school. My boomer father used one until like 3 years ago 😆
Also, you had a cell phone prior to 5th grade? I know tons of kids do now but I never would’ve thought that happened before smartphones and social media
Yeah I was in high school when the Razr released and at least in my area that was the first cell that started being common. Even that didn't happen until I was a senior. My first phone was a samsung snap, I still have it in a drawer with my nano.
Maybe consider reading glasses while you are at it.
My comment clearly reads "old enough" not that i am old. "Old enough" means i was around to experience something or that my age is enough for something, not that i am objectively old.
A seven year old child is old enough to go to elementary school. A grandpa in his seventies is old.
Notice the difference between saying someone is old vs someone is old enough?
And yes. I got a phone when i went to first grade. Very common in my country even before smartphones, almost everyone in my class had a phone already in first grade.
Americans also use imperial system for measurement... And other dumb stuff
Not much different than people like you saying dumb shit
Incompatible SMS networks globally. People outside the US are more likely to be communicating across multiple countries an SMS might have problems.
100% wrong.
SMS is built-in to the core infrastructure of cellular networks - if you have a cell phone number, you have an IMEI, and the IMEI is how messages get routed. For example>
1. A user on AT&T (USA) sends an SMS to a Vodafone (UK) number.
2. AT&T’s SMSC forwards the message to a global SMS hub (e.g., Sinch).
3. The hub queries the HLR and discovers the number is active on Vodafone UK.
4. The hub forwards the message to Vodafone’s SMSC over SS7.
5. Vodafone delivers the message to the phone.
In practice some brokers didn't deliver SMS in time. A one hour delayed SMS, yay.
Italian SMS didn't come through on all Austrian virtual providers.
You had your phone off and an SMS would not be re-delivered.
WhatsApp solved that across borders.
I’m in the U.S. and don’t even know what WhatsApp is. Texting in default message app on phone seems to do what anyone I know wants.
Whatsapp is heavily associated with scam calls/texts, I only use it if I have to.
[deleted]
My family uses Tracfone, where you buy what you need (texts, data, minutes). So we are actually charged for texting. However, we save a TON of money this way. I manage 4 of our 5 lines (3 teens, myself) and just check in once a month to see if anyone needs more of anything. Seriously, we may not have unlimited but we pay under $300/year for 5 lines! 3 of our phones are iphones so we just use imessage, but when I had android I used Messenger or Snapchat to message many people.
Whatsapp is a great scammer program
Fake cell number
Many foreign countries use WA because its cheaper for data than sms
We don’t believe in encryption
Facebook struck deals with mobile operators in many developing countries to give free data access to all their properties (Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram). They collect the data and entrench themselves in people's lives, mobile operators get paid, dumb users use WhatsApp et. al. for "free" without realizing how much of their behavioral exhaust they give to Facebook in return.
That's one of the main reasons why you see WhatsApp as the main option in lots of countries. The next reason is network effect.
Cheers!
Sheeple in the USA have been convinced that iPhones are best. However, apple doesn't play nicely with others and the rest of the world can't afford their extraordinary prices. Everyone else has agreed on the other communication apps that aren't tied to Apple so we can all communicate despite their efforts.
Texting and calls in the US are generally free and most people on the US only text or call others in the US.
When I need to text in Europe or Japan I always use WhatsApp or Line. Free and can do voice or video calls without charges.
My first exposure to this was anime/manga and I thought it was one of those "made up fictional companies" until I actually saw it for real.
My guild in a mobile game from over 10 years ago used Line for chatting outside the game, but other than that I’ve heard of nobody in the US using it
it's so fucking horrible. Where I live it's the default app, and if you don't have the original sim card that you signed up with, get ready to be randomly signed out one day forever and be told that nothing can be done, you'd better get that number back, bad luck if you used it for work.
Thank god my country switched from Line to WhatsApp for some reason. We used Line when it was still useable but if you open it today you have fucking ads.
I live in Australia where it is also free. Most people use whatsapp or messenger. Its easier for group chats, videocalls etc.
Maybe 10 years ago it was easier
How the hell do i do a group videocall via sms mms trch on an android?
Idk androids for the poors
I lived in Korea for a while. Kakao is still my go to. Line just didn't do it for me. I still use Kakao to talk with several of my expat friends I met along the way
I actually use both. Since I’m in the US and have many friends and business associates in Japan. A few are on Line and most on WhatsApp. I sometimes mix up how to get in touch with them.
Just that, most people don't need to talk to anyone outside of the US/Canada. Are US-CA calls free? I grew up in Michigan and I think I remember calling to Ontario being free but I could be wrong. We used to drive over there when food or gas was cheaper to shop, they'd do the same when we were cheaper. Now it's like entering the fucking deathstar to get across the border.
although free sms is one reason but its not the only reason. another main reason is iphones. imessage has features similar to WA like groups messaging, sending media, reactions, formatting etc. so you don't have to use a separate app to get these features when you are texting between iphones.
iphones were not very popular outside of US before so people started using WA but now iphones are everywhere but its hard to change your messaging app when everyone is already using it.
I bet if it was not because of imessage, people in US would have started using WA when rest of the world started.
By free you mean included in the plan that you pay for?
Yes, free even if someone in the group doesn’t have an iPhone. But if you go overseas, usually you have to pay for that green box. WA is free regardless of phone mix in your group.
I'm still confused. I'm talking about "Texting and calls in the US are generally free", what do you mean free and how is it different than Whatsapp being free?
[deleted]
Confidently incorrect
Not necessarily. When I lived in Taiwan, my sim card was data only no texting or calls. It's extremely common there because of the prevalence of LINE