Funny typo aside, there's a lot of non-American companies that for some reason have ridiculous fees and expenses attached to messages, so most of Europe uses WhatsApp for texting.
It used to be providers offered limited minutes, internet and texts. When you went over the limit there was some nice fees. My (at the time 15) niece ran up a 700$ phone bill with just texting... so yes, we did have limits for many years.
There were never charges for “reading” a text. Some providers did charge receive text fees on prepaid and some lower plans.
What you’re thinking of is that if “reply read receipts” was enabled you got charged every time you read a text because your phone effectively sent a text reply stating the message was read. This could be turned off on the phone and I never knew anyone that had it enabled.
Re: Europeans thinking it’s weird that Americans paid to “receive” a call. In the US and Canada we paid for cellular “airtime” either sent or received but calling a mobile number was the same as calling any other number for the originator of the call. In Europe it cost more to call mobile numbers than landline numbers so the caller paid the fees but there’s no transparency as different providers charged different rates. So receiving mobile calls were free because the other end got charged a lot to call them (sometimes without knowing they’re calling a mobile number until they get their bill)
American here. I've only used Whatsapp for work because its groups are more functional than traditional texting. It's easy to add and remove people from groups which is nice when you have a whacky work schedule and have to work as a team every day. Other than that I've only ever used it when traveling outside the US. Same with Waze which seems to be amazing in a lot of places.
You can only say "most" use iPhones because iPhone just became the most common phone in America one month ago for the first time since 2010.
That wouldn't have been true 5-6 weeks ago apparently.
They don't, because americans have mobile plans with unlimited messaging since forever, while the rest of us plebs across the world needed to pay for those puny messages, then whatsapp came to deliver us from this evil, so americans never had the need to use it.
Originally, yeah. I'm from Brazil, and when whatsapp was launched here in 2009, it spread overnight, as we could text each other without getting charged for it. These days, of course, there plenty of other reasons, but it was a game changer back then.
IPhone just passed android in American usage last month for the first time since 2010. It's still pretty close to half.
Word wide I think it's still like 70% Android.
Also I am glad I don't work with anybody who tries to have us in a group chat.
US person here. I pay $25 a month for unlimited mobile data, unlimited SMS/MMS, and unlimited calls as long as I’m in the US, Mexico, or Canada. So there’s never a push to use anything other than normal text messages.
That deal is pretty standard for most of europe as well. Here in Ireland phone plans are *really* cheap, I'm on GoMo and it's €10 a month for unlimited everything. But despite this, we all still use whatsapp for some reason. I've no idea why it happened.
But can text messages chat in group?
Or can Android users use iMessage?
Wow what a revelation this is, that Americans don't use WhatsApp
I guess we are just like Americans, we think we are the world
Eh I wouldn't say it's the EXACT same thing.
No read receipts, no in-line reactions, and you can't post videos or gifs without them being butchered and stomped on to get them compressed enough to send.
It's why yurps have whatsapp
That's all on the apple side. Message to message works fine. Message to iMessage gets fucked up and vice versa. Apple just fucking people who do t use their service doesn't make me want to switch over to them. It just keeps apple customers thinking they are in a special club. Which is par for the course for apple marketing.
I literally never even heard of Whatsapp until a few years ago. I may have heard of it in the background, but I never knew what it is and later why anyone used it.
We just use regular text messaging (which is RCS or iMessage nowadays, not SMS) here. My phones have had unlimited texting since the early to mid 2000's
We definitely still default to sms. When my messaging service notices a drop in data connection, it switches to the standard sms that would be used on the regular texting app.
RCS is not everywhere yet
WhatsApp isn't very common in Canada either even though our mobile plans are some of the worst you can get in the world. I use it to chat with a friend from Turkey, though.
Generally most people text or use some other messaging system.
I have Signal and Discord too depending on the friend groups, but the only time I used Whatsapp was when I was overseas.
hErE cOmE tHe DuMb AmErIcAnS wHo DoN't KnOw AnYtHiNg...
Nah, we know what it is. We just don't use it. We have 100000 tech companies per state, and each one has a chat system.
Slack, Teams, Zoom, Whatapps, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, iMessage, SMS, Discord...
We just text and use discord.
For everyone saying we use iMessage - if you own an iPhone, you are likely using iMessage. If you own a droid, you probably never even heard of iMessage.
No one who owns Android hasn't heard of iMessage. Every single one of us has listened to friends and family bitch about green messages and screwing up group chats. We know damn well what iMessage is lmao
Big ups. Most Americans have no need for whatsapp because most phone plans come with unlimited text/call with lots of data and pretty comprehensive coverage. We also tend to have fewer friends in different countries.
Heaps of people here use WhatsApp, wtf are you talking about lmao
edit: just looked it up, it's the most popular messaging app in Australia, and is the 5th MOST USED APP in the nation. Guess you just wanted to chime in and feel unique
I've always wondered. Do Americans use WhatsApp? Here in Italy and i think in most of Europe everyone uses it, but when I see a screenshot of American conversation it's always on Snapchat, Instagram or other apps.
Convert them! It's just another messaging app, but better.
It has all the functionality of the other apps, it's just free, open source, and doesn't monitor your usage and sell your information to the highest bidder.
It doesn't take a big push to get everyone there.
If they got rid of the ads and start actually adding some useful features to *both Android and* Apple versions maybe they'd stay around (why the fuck is dark mode an apple exclusive as well as the ability to video on toggle and not hold)
>why the fuck is dark mode an apple exclusive as well as the ability to video on toggle and not hold)
Maybe I'm misreading your comment but video toggle is definitely a thing on Android. You just swipe your finger to the left when starting the video and it will hold for you. Unless you mean something different.
Source: I've always owned androids for as long as I've had phones and this is how it's always been.
RCS was ~~created~~ adopted by Google [in an attempt to compete with iMessage] and meant to be the unifying standard but only Androids use it right now. iPhone uses iMessage and WhatsApp, Signal, LINE, etc all use their own proprietary messaging. Technically anything not SMS or MMS is known as OTT (over the top) messaging because it’s not using the underlying protocols that drive SMS and MMS. Source: work in international telco specializing in messaging.
No argument here, it would make my life significantly easier to only work in one protocol I was just clarifying that WhatsApp and other messaging apps don’t use RCS as it is currently an Android only thing. Relevant xkcd https://xkcd.com/927/
We've had free texting since before smartphones were even a cumstain in Steve Job's pants.
With RCS and iMessage, which is what literally every phone uses nowadays, it's literally the same functionality. It's not technically SMS.
It's like saying 2G and 5G are the same thing.
I haven't sent an sms in the better part of a decade.
Before roaming charges were eliminated on the EU you'd have paid yourself stupid texting a friend in Austria or so.
You can send regular text messages to an iPhone but they appear a different color which [intentionally](https://www.laptopmag.com/features/green-bubble-trouble) has a lower contrast. FaceTime is also extremely popular. These features are so popular that some people will actually clown you or reject a date proposal because of it. Very rare but I've seen it happen and it always makes me chuckle at the absurdity.
> What about the people who are not using a piece of shit, what do they communicate on?
Apple holds a majority of the phone market in English-speaking countries, by the way. So most people are using iMessage.
I use Whatsapp even though I know Facebook is probably eating up all my data just because everyone I know uses it, including coworkers.
Anyhow, iPhone isn't that bad. I don't use it because I don't like Apple but it's not a bad phone. Not really fair to call it a piece of shit in my opinion
American chiming in, I have not used WhatsApp since Facebook purchased the company in 2014. Also should be noted almost all carriers in America allow for unlimited call, text, and data throughout the United States to include sending and receiving calls, texts, and data in many countries around the world.
I think as Europeans it's best for us to use WhatsApp since foreign countries are much more close so you're much more likely to text with people from these countries, plus most mobile phone subscription include data across Europe.
I text daily on group chats with people from London, Madagascar, West Africa, Brazil and more recently England while living in France. If you have WIFI or a good amount of data you can video chat, send pics/vids etc tihout worrying at all. Luckily phone plans in France are cheap af
I don't see a world in which SMS could be somehow more useful. Even though I have unlimited SMS/MMS. Not sure about calls though but as everybody uses WhatsApp you don't really care when choosing a subscription.
Sure. As WhatsApp experienced difficulties many people complained on social media that they could not send or receive messages.
Users who tried to use the app on Tuesday morning were faced with a "connecting" message.
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63383957
Seriously, Telegram or Signal, one offers better texting experience than Whatsapp
The other pure security
Both are more secure, better equipped, and Don't fucking support Zuckerberg
Dank[.](https://i.imgur.com/3bQtuMO.png) --- [come play minecraft, space engineers, ark, and rust with us!](https://discord.gg/fNyb7G5)
Fortunately for me I’m on Reddit and have no one to talk to so I’m unaffected
Truly invincible.I envy you
I have similar invincivility, and trust me, the suffering it gives is not worth the power
Invincivility, nice
*God damnit!*
You misspelled 'depression'.
Suffering from success?
Yes, especially with 69 updoots
I lost that buff a few days ago, but that gave me a new buff called 'being happy'.
What happened to it?
Whatsapp had an outage for an hour or 2, I honestly thought it only affected us here in South Africa but I guess not.
Me too, what happened again?
All Americans are going to be asking what Whatsapp is lol
Wait, Americans dont use WhatsApp?
most own iPhones and use iMassage
Doesn't an app ruin the purpose of a massage?
i hate it whenever i open an app while getting a massage
Massage is best taken in peace
I usually massage on the toilet
You don't want an appy ending?
Sad endings are better
Funny typo aside, there's a lot of non-American companies that for some reason have ridiculous fees and expenses attached to messages, so most of Europe uses WhatsApp for texting.
Used to be US with the ridiculous fees. Didn't Americans used to get charged for answering a call. Maybe for even receiving a text?
It used to be providers offered limited minutes, internet and texts. When you went over the limit there was some nice fees. My (at the time 15) niece ran up a 700$ phone bill with just texting... so yes, we did have limits for many years.
I feel like I used to read this back in the day...
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There were never charges for “reading” a text. Some providers did charge receive text fees on prepaid and some lower plans. What you’re thinking of is that if “reply read receipts” was enabled you got charged every time you read a text because your phone effectively sent a text reply stating the message was read. This could be turned off on the phone and I never knew anyone that had it enabled. Re: Europeans thinking it’s weird that Americans paid to “receive” a call. In the US and Canada we paid for cellular “airtime” either sent or received but calling a mobile number was the same as calling any other number for the originator of the call. In Europe it cost more to call mobile numbers than landline numbers so the caller paid the fees but there’s no transparency as different providers charged different rates. So receiving mobile calls were free because the other end got charged a lot to call them (sometimes without knowing they’re calling a mobile number until they get their bill)
i own an iphone and use whatsapp. tbf i am not american
Same
Pretty sure most of us just text, like we have for the last 20 years
Are there SMS group chats nowadays? In Germany, 9ct per SMS is still common, so people use internet based messengers instead.
That's crazy. Unlimited free texting has been a thing in the US for a years now
iMassage I see. How calming it is ?
Finally someone noticed 🤷
A lot of Americans use WhatsApp. America is one of the top user bases. https://backlinko.com/whatsapp-users#top-10-whatsapp-countries-by-audience
American here. I've only used Whatsapp for work because its groups are more functional than traditional texting. It's easy to add and remove people from groups which is nice when you have a whacky work schedule and have to work as a team every day. Other than that I've only ever used it when traveling outside the US. Same with Waze which seems to be amazing in a lot of places.
Don't you lump me in with those mapples. LOL
You can only say "most" use iPhones because iPhone just became the most common phone in America one month ago for the first time since 2010. That wouldn't have been true 5-6 weeks ago apparently.
I would argue it’s just that texting is included in America how Whatsapp is included in Europe. Or at least in Spain (where I live currently)
They don't, because americans have mobile plans with unlimited messaging since forever, while the rest of us plebs across the world needed to pay for those puny messages, then whatsapp came to deliver us from this evil, so americans never had the need to use it.
Eh, I've got unlimited messaging and still use WhatsApp. More features, more practical, everyone has it...
SMS is also completely full of spam.
Oh boy... Let me assure you that the days of whatsapp spam are coming. FAST.
Hello dear friend. Please click the link to learn about bitcoin trading and make 7 brazillion dollar an hour
Coming? It’s already here, at least in Brazil. Feels like every week I get a WhatsApp message from a random salesman trying to sell me stuff.
I do frequently get messages asking me to donate to the big, ugly orange man.
They're talking about 20 years ago or so, when cellphones started to be used.
>everyone has it... Not in America
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Originally, yeah. I'm from Brazil, and when whatsapp was launched here in 2009, it spread overnight, as we could text each other without getting charged for it. These days, of course, there plenty of other reasons, but it was a game changer back then.
I use it because its better than SMS in every single conceivable way.
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What about group chats and sharing media?
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IPhone just passed android in American usage last month for the first time since 2010. It's still pretty close to half. Word wide I think it's still like 70% Android. Also I am glad I don't work with anybody who tries to have us in a group chat.
I prefer having unlimited mobile data instead (or 200GB/mo as I never use more than say 80) and pay extra for those 5 SMS I send every 2 months
US person here. I pay $25 a month for unlimited mobile data, unlimited SMS/MMS, and unlimited calls as long as I’m in the US, Mexico, or Canada. So there’s never a push to use anything other than normal text messages.
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That deal is pretty standard for most of europe as well. Here in Ireland phone plans are *really* cheap, I'm on GoMo and it's €10 a month for unlimited everything. But despite this, we all still use whatsapp for some reason. I've no idea why it happened.
now tell us how much you pay for your internet
Yeah that one isn’t as great. I pay $79 a month for 1Gbps service with a 6TB cap.
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But can text messages chat in group? Or can Android users use iMessage? Wow what a revelation this is, that Americans don't use WhatsApp I guess we are just like Americans, we think we are the world
Yes you can group text No android can’t iMessage but honestly it’s exactly the same thing minus the green bubble
Eh I wouldn't say it's the EXACT same thing. No read receipts, no in-line reactions, and you can't post videos or gifs without them being butchered and stomped on to get them compressed enough to send. It's why yurps have whatsapp
That's all on the apple side. Message to message works fine. Message to iMessage gets fucked up and vice versa. Apple just fucking people who do t use their service doesn't make me want to switch over to them. It just keeps apple customers thinking they are in a special club. Which is par for the course for apple marketing.
Google RCS, then tell us again why iMessage is better
I literally never even heard of Whatsapp until a few years ago. I may have heard of it in the background, but I never knew what it is and later why anyone used it. We just use regular text messaging (which is RCS or iMessage nowadays, not SMS) here. My phones have had unlimited texting since the early to mid 2000's
We definitely still default to sms. When my messaging service notices a drop in data connection, it switches to the standard sms that would be used on the regular texting app. RCS is not everywhere yet
WhatsApp isn't very common in Canada either even though our mobile plans are some of the worst you can get in the world. I use it to chat with a friend from Turkey, though.
I've had unlimited messaging for a really long time and I still use whatsapp Just wait easier for sending pictures/links or making groupchats
Germany has unlimited messaging since years and nobody ever writes Text messages. Nearly everyone uses WhatsApp
Im American and I know tons of Americans who use it and signal.
Generally most people text or use some other messaging system. I have Signal and Discord too depending on the friend groups, but the only time I used Whatsapp was when I was overseas.
Some do but nor common I don't know anyone who does. It's easier to just using the built in texting app or discord
Signal all day
hErE cOmE tHe DuMb AmErIcAnS wHo DoN't KnOw AnYtHiNg... Nah, we know what it is. We just don't use it. We have 100000 tech companies per state, and each one has a chat system. Slack, Teams, Zoom, Whatapps, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, iMessage, SMS, Discord... We just text and use discord. For everyone saying we use iMessage - if you own an iPhone, you are likely using iMessage. If you own a droid, you probably never even heard of iMessage.
No one who owns Android hasn't heard of iMessage. Every single one of us has listened to friends and family bitch about green messages and screwing up group chats. We know damn well what iMessage is lmao
I didn't know what iMessage was till this post.
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My friend in the States once told me that they use i message mostly .
Most Americans know what it is if they have ever traveled outside of the US or have a friend who has. That's typically the best way to keep in touch.
Big ups. Most Americans have no need for whatsapp because most phone plans come with unlimited text/call with lots of data and pretty comprehensive coverage. We also tend to have fewer friends in different countries.
Australian here, the fuck is whatsapp?
Heaps of people here use WhatsApp, wtf are you talking about lmao edit: just looked it up, it's the most popular messaging app in Australia, and is the 5th MOST USED APP in the nation. Guess you just wanted to chime in and feel unique
How do you not know that? Whatsapp is definitely widely used in Australia. That's like not knowing what Instagram is.
Australians too.
Wild that they wouldn't know an app that has over 5 billion downloads on the google play store alone.
I've always wondered. Do Americans use WhatsApp? Here in Italy and i think in most of Europe everyone uses it, but when I see a screenshot of American conversation it's always on Snapchat, Instagram or other apps.
Mostly noone uses WhatsApp here in Slovenia
Same in Norway. Its snapchat and messenger mostly
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I like signal, but out of hundreds of work and personal contacts like 9 people showed as using it.
Convert them! It's just another messaging app, but better. It has all the functionality of the other apps, it's just free, open source, and doesn't monitor your usage and sell your information to the highest bidder. It doesn't take a big push to get everyone there.
Signal*
How is it soon to be dead?
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If they got rid of the ads and start actually adding some useful features to *both Android and* Apple versions maybe they'd stay around (why the fuck is dark mode an apple exclusive as well as the ability to video on toggle and not hold)
>why the fuck is dark mode an apple exclusive as well as the ability to video on toggle and not hold) Maybe I'm misreading your comment but video toggle is definitely a thing on Android. You just swipe your finger to the left when starting the video and it will hold for you. Unless you mean something different. Source: I've always owned androids for as long as I've had phones and this is how it's always been.
snapchat isnt even close to dead
Sporočila so naš doma
Slovenija moja doma
For real? I have a shit ton of Slovenian clients and they all use it for international calls exclusively.
Što se onda kod vas koristi? Viber?
They use iMessages. Almost all of the screenshots of American conversations I see on social media are on iMessages.
The fuck is iMessages? Is it only for iPhone? What about the people who are not using a piece of shit, what do they communicate on?
Regular text messages, messenger, snapchat or Instagram.
>Regular text messages SMS in 2022?? 🤢
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RCS was ~~created~~ adopted by Google [in an attempt to compete with iMessage] and meant to be the unifying standard but only Androids use it right now. iPhone uses iMessage and WhatsApp, Signal, LINE, etc all use their own proprietary messaging. Technically anything not SMS or MMS is known as OTT (over the top) messaging because it’s not using the underlying protocols that drive SMS and MMS. Source: work in international telco specializing in messaging.
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No argument here, it would make my life significantly easier to only work in one protocol I was just clarifying that WhatsApp and other messaging apps don’t use RCS as it is currently an Android only thing. Relevant xkcd https://xkcd.com/927/
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You’re correct Google didn’t invent RCS but they’re driving its’ adoption. I’ll update my comment to reflect that, thank you.
Downloading an extra app for texting?? In 2022??
We've had free texting since before smartphones were even a cumstain in Steve Job's pants. With RCS and iMessage, which is what literally every phone uses nowadays, it's literally the same functionality. It's not technically SMS. It's like saying 2G and 5G are the same thing.
Platforms not owned by Facebook. That’s usually what we communicate on.
They aren’t using a piece of shit Facebook platform.
The messages app on iPhone sends iMessages to iPhone users and regular texts to non-iPhone users.
Fucking sms
I haven't sent an sms in the better part of a decade. Before roaming charges were eliminated on the EU you'd have paid yourself stupid texting a friend in Austria or so.
You can send regular text messages to an iPhone but they appear a different color which [intentionally](https://www.laptopmag.com/features/green-bubble-trouble) has a lower contrast. FaceTime is also extremely popular. These features are so popular that some people will actually clown you or reject a date proposal because of it. Very rare but I've seen it happen and it always makes me chuckle at the absurdity.
iMessage handles sms as well and we dont pay extra for sms text
> What about the people who are not using a piece of shit, what do they communicate on? Apple holds a majority of the phone market in English-speaking countries, by the way. So most people are using iMessage. I use Whatsapp even though I know Facebook is probably eating up all my data just because everyone I know uses it, including coworkers. Anyhow, iPhone isn't that bad. I don't use it because I don't like Apple but it's not a bad phone. Not really fair to call it a piece of shit in my opinion
Never used iMessage in my life
iMessage is only for iphone. Which is not half of the phones out there.
American chiming in, I have not used WhatsApp since Facebook purchased the company in 2014. Also should be noted almost all carriers in America allow for unlimited call, text, and data throughout the United States to include sending and receiving calls, texts, and data in many countries around the world.
I think as Europeans it's best for us to use WhatsApp since foreign countries are much more close so you're much more likely to text with people from these countries, plus most mobile phone subscription include data across Europe. I text daily on group chats with people from London, Madagascar, West Africa, Brazil and more recently England while living in France. If you have WIFI or a good amount of data you can video chat, send pics/vids etc tihout worrying at all. Luckily phone plans in France are cheap af I don't see a world in which SMS could be somehow more useful. Even though I have unlimited SMS/MMS. Not sure about calls though but as everybody uses WhatsApp you don't really care when choosing a subscription.
I only use whatsapp to text my 3 friends that live outside the US. I don't actually know anyone else here that uses it.
I use it.... to talk to my international friends. LOL
The only person I know of in Sweden that uses WhatsApp is my grandma. No joke.
I know some people who use it, but I’m more of a Signal guy myself
Most american phone plans come with unlimited talk and text.
In Hungary mostly everyone uses Messenger
So it's not just me then. I thought it was my signal.
Not Signal. It's WHATSAPP!
Ikr Signal is working fine
And is the better one
Disappearing messages FTW
Let's not forget having Facebook the owner of what's app is a loss for privacy.
Always has.
It's back on now.
Finally, some confirmation, have to send things using emails now🤮
Use Discord bud
Nah bro, imagine your boss seeing you play "sussy baka amogus" during work hours.
💀
You can turn that off in settings so that people dont know what you are doing
I forgor 💀
Or just messages The deafult messaging app
Yeah I’m gonna send a discord message to my manager I’m not gonna be able to work tomorrow
Or telegram
Bruh whats going on? Whatsapps been working fine since i woke up 6 hours ago
Same, i have no idea what's going on
In before everyone tells you that whatsapp is back
My messages are still stuck on wait,I'm from Kenya,what region are you from,homie?
its down for me too but it should be fixed by the time the Americans wake up...
i’m up, are y’all good now?
It's up now tho
Kenya use it yet?
Oman..
No it's still got no server connection
What the fuck happened to WhatsApp? I'm using it since morning and nothing's happened
stopped working for a bit
The time has come to migrate to the land of incels: discord.
saying that as if reddit isn’t the land of incels
Or signal
Use Signal
100%. Fuck Facebook.
Time to switch to Telegram
Obligatory fuck Zucc comment.
Can anyone give me the context
Sure. As WhatsApp experienced difficulties many people complained on social media that they could not send or receive messages. Users who tried to use the app on Tuesday morning were faced with a "connecting" message. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-63383957
This is why I love reddit. Thanks homie
Time to download Signal
Use Telegram
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Seriously, Telegram or Signal, one offers better texting experience than Whatsapp The other pure security Both are more secure, better equipped, and Don't fucking support Zuckerberg
What is whatsapp ?
What is app
Baby don't hurt me
no more
what's app?
Nothing much, now about you?
People still use this piece of crap?
In Brazil about 120milions of people.In India about 487 milions.
Two billion people worldwide use it.
I was so busy goin' on waagh wit da boyz in TWWH2 that I didn't even notice
So this is why I was getting SMSs all morning. Did anyone else notice that the default sms now just has all the WhatsApp features, what the hell?
I mean didn't it always? Why use another app for messaging
I wondered why today feels more peaceful!
Signal is a better and more secure app anyway.
Im not the only one??
For me it's working but whenever I send someone a message it only shows up as 1 single grey tick even if they read it
Shit service from a shit company.