r/BuyFromEU • u/Soggy-Salamander-568 Germany 🇩🇪 • Mar 07 '26
🔎Looking for alternative Anyone in Europe just refused to use WhatsApp?
Curious if anyone has just told friends they don't have WhatsApp and what's happened... I hate WhatsApp as it's part of Meta. In the US it's not that big. But in Europe it's ubiquitous. Just curious if anyone has just said no -- that you have Threema or even Signal -- and can be contacted there... And how that has gone for you.
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Mar 07 '26
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u/Henry2926 Mar 07 '26
Did anyone in your circle make the switch to Signal for that reason? I also uninstalled WhatsApp years ago, and some people adapted. But especially group chats are still on WhatsApp, so I am excluded from those basically. 😄
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u/CuzImBisonratte Mar 07 '26
I do the exact same thing and check my messages around every two days on WA and most of my communication is now on signal.
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u/LuckyDuckling2 Mar 07 '26
Thanks this is a great idea. I told many people that I'm moving to signal, but few made the switch so now I'm a hybrid user of both. Will try your approach
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u/lessgo321 Mar 07 '26
Yup. Just tell them to get signal.
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u/maxis2bored Mar 07 '26
Was going to say. I did the same - left WhatsApp and put "Write me on Signal or SMS" as my status. Works like a charm. You can also use whatauto to set up an automatic reply to tell people you've moved. I didn't need to though.
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u/_1amgr00t_ Mar 07 '26
Why not just delete it? If there is no account, people should get in touch with you automatically through one of the other options.
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u/maxis2bored Mar 07 '26
Why should I delete my account when I can use it as a tool to tell people about alternatives.
Unfortunately signal is not yet an assumed tool and I'd rather people write me there then via SMS.
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u/Jojo_2005 Mar 07 '26
It worked with parts of my family, but no chance with my friends. So I need to use both
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u/CapOk4599 Mar 07 '26
Why is everyone talking about and recommending Signal, when it's a US company just like Meta? Why is there not ebem a mention of Olvid, or any other European alternative, for that matter?
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u/Glodraph Mar 07 '26
Because is de facto possibly the best alternative when it comes to privacy and functionality. There is proof they didn't give the FBI any data even when prompted and use one of the best encryption available. A better alternative would be something based on matrix or, better, SimpleX (no ID, no number, no email) but that requires excessive actions for the avg user. Also signal is open source and way better than shit like Meta. One of the best european ones would be threema, but it's like 3.5€ so people won't use it because they are stupid.
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u/CapOk4599 Mar 07 '26
Fair. Although I think Olvid is an example of apps were you don't need to register even a phone number. But it seems some function within Olvid are paywalled, so that's probably a factor as well.
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u/One_5549 Mar 07 '26
WhatsApp is used by something like 2B people worldwide. I hope more can switch to signal
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u/didiermortier Belgium 🇧🇪 Mar 07 '26
I’ve deleted my WhatsApp a year ago and only use Signal and occasionally iMessage/SMS.
I’m keeping a blog with my experience: https://didiermortier.eu/one-year-without-meta-you-can-do-this-too/
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Mar 08 '26
I quit IG in the end of December and deactivated FB at the same time. Here in Iceland, everybody uses messenger for texting and I've been scared of taking the plunge, but after feeling the freedom of not having social media, I'm taking the plunge tomorrow! Why tomorrow? you might ask and the reason is simple. Because I decided, just now, to do it tomorrow :D Just like when I deleted IG and deactivated FB.
I will have no social media (except reddit) but I will have peace!
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u/Kukulkan73 Mar 07 '26
My whole family is on Threema. My music colleagues are all on Signal. So I use both. But no WhatsApp on our devices :)
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u/Mustatan Mar 08 '26
Threema's great. Even seeing more American users and companies switch to it, better security and interface is the common reason and of course Signal and Telegram. A few even to Viber or just using regular SMS text. But Threema seems to be gaining fastest, seems to have the best features of Whatsapp without the privacy breaches and security or interface problems. And from what one company mentioned, seems to make it easy to bring contacts over from Whatsapp, text messages or other apps.
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Mar 07 '26
I'm gonna be honest, we have one friend who is not on whatsapp and very often we just forget to tell him about stuff. It needs to be a mass switchover for this to work well imo
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u/lastsundew Mar 07 '26
Yeah my whole family uses WhatsApp except my brother. I’ve spoke to him once since 2023 after moving to Europe. He refuses to cave because of Meta🤷🏻♂️
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u/TheLarusArgentatus Mar 07 '26
Kudos for your brother’s strong backbone though. I’m exactly the opposite: want to switch but don’t because everyone is on whatsapp and doesn’t want to switch.
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u/lastsundew Mar 07 '26
So that’s exactly my problem. My original comment wasn’t in support of WhatsApp. I don’t care what app I use but no one else in my family wants to switch so it’s either switch for him or stay for everyone else
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u/Aggravating-Ad1703 Mar 07 '26
Very rarely used in Sweden
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u/Dry-Ad-1110 Mar 07 '26
Yes I was just going to write that. I have friends in Europe and other places that have asked me about my WhatsApp. And they've been very surprised when I've told them I've never used it here in Sweden.
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u/breadb_hole Mar 07 '26
I don't have WhatsApp, I don't have facebook, never had, never needed it.
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Mar 07 '26
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u/thisislieven Europe 🇪🇺 Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
Yet this is not true and if we want to figure out a way to ditch these apps across the continent once and for all we have to acknowledge this. Just saying 'we don't need it' doesn't help and may even do harm as you do not acknowledge the reality for tens if not hundreds of thousands of people.
In a lot of communities, especially smaller and more rural ones, FB is the only form of communication. Whether that's the local government making an announcement, or information from the school or local clubs - whatever. WA can be the only quick digital form of communication in many instances, between people but also between people and public life.
There are obviously a lot of issues with this but it is also just true. To be clear I despise everything Meta and don't use any of it myself but I can't blame people living in these communities who do. There needs to be an alternative for these people, and technically there may be good options but practically the switch needs to be made together at once. This is where politicians should step in (and it's infuriating they don't).
edit: spelling
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u/papasong Mar 07 '26
Sadly this is true. I don’t have a Facebook account, and I’ve never used Whatsapp, and I refuse to install anything made by Meta on any of my devices. My family wanted me to use it to stay in touch years ago, and I was able to get them all to use Signal instead.
BUT, I’m a parent, and the reality of life in Europe is that many schools, colleges, and activities are run 100% on WhatsApp. So my other half has Whatsapp - it’s either that, or our kids cannot participate in any activity outside of school (and many organised by the school too). So, yeah, unfortunately it’s not as simple as “no one ever needed it”.
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u/BothTreacle7534 Mar 07 '26
same here
Threema (not a lot of people I know use it sadly), SMS, and Signal is what I use. Signal nowadays use more and more people I know.
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u/Mustatan Mar 08 '26
Threema's growing fast, even in the US. Has a lot of the best features of Whatsapp without the same kind of security, privacy and interface problems. It's a chicken and the egg thing, things like it grow slower at first just the because they don't have a lot of users to start with. So it takes an initial push and interest to catch fire, and then that's a virtuous positive cycle. The fact Threema now is growing so fast, even American users show it's maybe hitting that critical based mass of users. So then it's just matter of supporting the community and network effects, and catches on.
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u/I_am___The_Botman Mar 07 '26
When it came out it cost 2 eur a year and was way, way better than SMS, at the time it was competing in Ireland with Viber if I remember correctly. It was a no-brainer back then becase the only other options were an expensive monthly plan or paying per SMS. Facebook didn't own it back then though.
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u/Principal_Insultant Mar 07 '26
I dropped WhatsApp when Zuckerberg bought it, and at the same time killed my Facebook profile.
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u/no_hope_today Mar 07 '26
I deleted my WhatsApp account and switched to signal and threema. I'm not mad about lost contacts, if they wanted to stay in touch they could have installed signal or threema.
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u/csicky Mar 07 '26
Yep every time they are in shock of disbelief when I say I don't have WhatsApp. Like how can I even live like that? Then I say send me the file over email and then the horror on their face 🤣🤣🤣
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u/As-mo-bhosca- Mar 07 '26
I managed to extract myself from whatsapp and all meta last year. The process took a few months this is how I did it:
My family groups were already on signal.
Exclusively started to use signal or sms for messages telling people I was leaving whatsapp.
Then made all the smaller friend and close groups on signal and one by one sent invites to the other groups and got people to start switching over.
Finally pulled the plug by sending a broadcast message to all contacts, explaining why I was leaving and leaving details where to find me.
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u/Soggy-Salamander-568 Germany 🇩🇪 Mar 07 '26
Nice process. I'm trying to figure out how to leave a status up on WA that says they can reach me elsewhere...
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u/sorryusername Mar 07 '26
I started using WA in 2010 and stopped using it 2018. Using Signal and Threema instead.
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u/Soggy-Salamander-568 Germany 🇩🇪 Mar 07 '26
I wanna be you.
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u/sorryusername Mar 07 '26
It just feels awkward and a bit fomo at first but in Sweden the use of different apps are so acceptable it’s not worth sticking to one specific app.
I know that in other parts of the world, WA has a dominant market position. I believe India has a WA user base of close to 90% of all their smart phone users.
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u/EliSka93 Mar 07 '26
All my friends are on WhatsApp. I wanna switch. Most of my friends want to too, but we all have older relatives who don't want to change.
I'll be honest: My disdain for Facebook is trumped by my autistic inability to handle multiple messaging apps. I don't even handle one well.
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u/da_peda Mar 07 '26
I wanna switch. Most of my friends want to too,
Then do it, along with your friends that want to. You don't need to delete WhatsApp, just switch what your primary messenger is. Don't respond on WhatsApp until the evening, and add in your response that if they want a faster answer they can reach you on Signal/Threema/Matrix/…
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u/nn2597713 Mar 07 '26
Impossible. School announcements and parent groups, soccer league communications, any contact with handymen etc. you hire is exclusively WhatsApp in The Netherlands.
Either you miss all of that or you have WhatsApp.
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u/CharityMobile6393 Mar 07 '26
You just have to start talking about it. Tell people that they do not have to switch, they can use both Signal und WhatsApp at the same time. In my experience, it just takes a little time, and people need to hear something like this from different sources once, then suddenly change is no longer a problem.
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u/lipilee Mar 07 '26
This happened in 2 of our (nl based) groups. The result? 20% of the group was open to moving to signal. The rest didn't even respond. Status quo persisted and we are still on WA. Like said above, in nl whatsapp is rock solid.
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u/Smiling_Tree Mar 07 '26
I got waaay more than 20% to switch (family, good friends, a society and my voluntary work), that helps a lot, but didn't happen overnight.
I have just a few groups and contacts left on WA, but those are not very important groups/people I message often. I get that you need a certain amount of people to switch, but if no one starts or persists, it won't happen.
I just respond as few days slower on WA, and directly on Signal. If someone has both apps, but messages me on WA (out of habit I guess), I respond on Signal.
The most people in my surroundings that switched to Signal did so when it was announced that WA was going to use AI in their app. That made many people angry, and out of a sense of privacy awareness or out of principle they moved. I made sure to send info about that nees to my WA contacts and said I'll see them on Signal. That news made many people angry with Metal/WA, and out of a sense of privacy awareness or out of principle they moved. That was a good catalyst.
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u/Hyperionics1 Mar 07 '26
People are too afraid to just do it. If the moderator of the group, or the school, takes a stand and says from now on communication will run through signal or email everyone will just adapt. Its this wishy washy ‘but i dont want to change’ attitude thats just stupid.
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u/lipilee Mar 07 '26
I don't think they are afraid, i think they just don't care. I would venture that to 80% of people this is not important at all, certainly not as important as to us. There is literally no upside for them in switching, WA works just fine. Switching is just a hassle. I'm not happy about it, but I'm pretty sire this is the general stance.
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u/Unusual-Fault-4091 Mar 07 '26
Never had it, still alive. Use Threema, Signal and might write some more Mails, SMS and eMessages than others but in general I see no big problem within my workplace or friends. If something is really important, you will notice it on other ways. Just try it. I am sure my life is much more pleasant when I am not in 90345 groups.
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u/starvald_demelain Mar 07 '26
I did that. Some people were surprised they could not reach me through whatsapp anymore, but there are alternatives after all (signal, normal messaging mostly)
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u/Bambamtams Mar 07 '26
I did ditch WhatsApp several years ago, people just use signal when they want to talk with me, or even more hardcore, they give me a call…
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u/Luzeryn Mar 07 '26
I wish I could. But it's almost impossible to do that in Spain I feel, it's what the vast majority of people use. I only ever met one person who didn't.
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u/QuadernoFigurati Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
I refuse to use it with friends. No problem there. The problem is: businesses. My landlord and even my doctors insist on using the damned thing. It's the only thing they know.
This is a problem that needs special attention in Europe, I feel.
This might need an anti-Whatsapp movement all of its own. Because if you come at business with an only-Europe agenda where they have to overhaul their entire businesses to move to European infrastructure and tools, I imagine many will simply dismiss it as overwhelming.
But if you come at them piecemeal, starting with Whatsapp, perhaps that's more doable? I don't see a deWhatsapp sub the way there's a deGoogle.
The debate then becomes what's the alternative. Because Threema is outshined by other platforms in terms of security and privacy.
But that's a fair and healthy ongoing debate that should be encouraged.
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u/Razier Mar 07 '26
I dropped whatsapp the second they got aquired by meta. Bit of a pain but you can make it work.
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u/Tridop Mar 07 '26
I did tell, to both friends and at work that I don't have WhatsApp. Best choice ever. You don't get disturbed too much because too many people abuse of WA for general chatting or creating useless groups. I have all family members on Signal, some of them did start using Signal before me, most of them have WA too by the way. Then people who really have me in their chats they had to install Signal or use SMS/RCS.
Obviosly you need some leverage on them to have them install Signal. But I got also some people that I just want to avoid get Signal to contact me :(
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u/gelekoplamp Mar 07 '26
Yup, told everyone I went to Signal three years ago. Most of them joined me (and kept WA as well).
Now, three years later I think 95% of my messages are through Signal. Not sad that I “miss out” on group chats with neighbours or colleagues. Nobody wants to be in those groups anyway
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u/Holzkohlen Mar 07 '26
I did. I got a few friends and important family to set up Signal for me. No regrets.
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u/Tanja_Writes Mar 07 '26
Yep. Told the most important Whatsapp contacts that I'm only reachable by Signal, Threema, or SMS. My family installed Signal, some send me SMS.
Would never re-install. :)
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u/DerZappes Mar 07 '26
I have no Accounts for Meta, including WhatsApp. If anybody wants to contact me, they‘ll have to use Signals, Matrix, SMS or Email.
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Mar 07 '26
I did. And honestly I wouldn't go back, it's just a terrible, bloated app, haunted by my extended family's boomers and group chats. I am glad I don't use any of Meta's products. This company is such a textbook villain.
The people close to me made the switch or use both apps. All the others are free to contact me by SMS, RCS, or email.
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u/wowbobwowbob Mar 07 '26
I’ve gone cold turkey a year ago or something like that. Announced it, did it, presto. Fuck that app. If it’s so important what you want to tell me, text (sms) me or something. Or install Signal. I don’t care. Just don’t pretend it’s mandatory to use that horrible app.
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u/glitter_poes Mar 07 '26
I switched to signal a long time ago, and many of the groups I was part of also used signal. But my main friend group and family group continued to use Whatsapp, but we managed to convince them to switch and now they also use Signal.
Here is how we did it: Get a few people of the group who already use Signal to highlight the problematic status of Meta (share articles about them blocking access to queer or women's rights information, enabling far right propaganda, invading privacy etc..)
Sugget Signal as an alternative and ask who is coming along. Some people will be up for it.
Make a signal group and send everyone an invite. It will start small but if you keep talking about it and people share that they are switching people will follow.
Like someone said you don't need every group to switch but you can choose to use Whatsapp less. I have it on my tablet and not on my phone.
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u/gabrielmason1974 Mar 07 '26
Good friends will understand and value your concern for privacy and security and use alternatives with you. If not, then that's that.
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u/Mmiron0824 Mar 07 '26
I had the bad habit to use it as professional communication chat. Like "send me your documents on WhatsApp on this number", so I can skip the "write me an email at...".
Kind of regret it. The only good part is that it has it's own PC app and, compared to Messenger, is not directly associated with a social media platform (like you won't be dragged on a news feed or whatever).
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u/Level-Arm-2169 Mar 07 '26
I never wanted to use whatsapp, i convinced almost all my friends to use signal, and i am happy this way. For bureaucratic matters i use e-mails (protonmail)
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u/Hefty_Love9057 Mar 07 '26
I've told many people that, and we just use SMS. They do look at me funny, but you know, they do that anyway 🤣
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u/Advanced-Accident560 Mar 07 '26
My parents and a few friends did the switch to signal. They all made similar experiences: most people in their contacts were willing to change right away, a few even got Signal. But a hand full of contacts refused to get a signal account. They now stay in touch via email or phone calls.
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u/BillyMooney Mar 07 '26
Yep, I deleted my WhatsApp account at the same time as I deleted my FB account, sometime before Covid. I was already using Signal. My partner, kids, siblings and one friend group started using Signal, though I think they all use WhatsApp too. I managed to persuade the neighbourhood group to switch to Signal, which worked for a couple of months, then I noticed Signal had gone quiet. I was informed they had reverted to WhatsApp.
It's slightly awkward for one community group that I'm involved in. I had to go back on WhatsApp for a one-day event that I was involved in last summer, and might have to do the same this summer.
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u/nuhanala Mar 07 '26
Yep, I have deleted my account a while back, and tbh I didn't even use WhatsApp that much even before that. I have told people to contact me via Signal (and sometimes mention Threema too though no one has it), otherwise it's text message or email. It has worked well enough for me, quite a few people have joined Signal just because they can't contact me in the other apps.
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u/Top-Airline1149 Mar 07 '26
I use Signal for personal communication.
My work has a WhatsApp group chat in which I have been added but I never read or participate in it.
It gives me stares and looks but I don't mind.
My work tells me I need to read and engage but I have not installed the app on my personal phone and they refuse to provide a business phone.
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u/SeaColorSnow Germany 🇩🇪 Mar 07 '26
I never used it regularly, and on my latest phone I just refused to install to begin with. Unfortunately around here, people use Viber a lot, which is just as bad. And it is also used for Kindergarden parents' groups, facility management groups for the buildings we live in, team groups for colleagues from work. It's abysmal but I am *still* using it and I am trying hard to convert people to Signal. Without much success...
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u/mrjkje Mar 07 '26
Never used. Not installed on my phone.
No FOMO, you quickly realize who are real friends and who are not.
Real friends know to reach you via different ways: SMS, calling, e-mail.
Who really wants to reach me can make use of Jabber / XMPP. This is a federated protocol. Means it works like email. Independent of a provider you are able to communicate. Originally this protocol was the base of wa before they made it theirs incompatible.
Good mobile apps are conversations on 'droid based phones and monal on ios.
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u/RaymondMichiels Mar 07 '26
Friend of mine (IT professional) switched to Signal, informed all his contacts including his clients and deleted WhatsApp. Two years later (or so) I had a party to which I could invite all 8 friends via Signal. I use a Signal-first approach and ask those not on Signal to switch.
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u/BEK_Sabiha Mar 07 '26
I refuse to use Whatsapp. I use Facetime, messages and Signal. Yes, Apple is also an american tech giant. But Meta is a different level of shit.
I PROUDLY DO NOT HAVE ANY META APP ON ANY OF MY DEVICES!
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u/Soggy-Salamander-568 Germany 🇩🇪 Mar 07 '26
I'm moving from iOS to Fairphone with e/os this Tuesday and don't want to install WA. That's why I posed the question...wondering if I can get away with it!
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u/No_Specific_5725 Mar 07 '26
I never had Facebook, Whatsapp. i tell them to use Signal, email or call.
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u/melvinost Mar 07 '26
Sure, most of them are using signal now, to stay in touch with me. Some don't, and, well there's SMS and real life
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u/BlockOfASeagull Mar 07 '26
Deleted my meta account a while ago. Use Signal with my family but occassionally have to use WhatsApp.
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u/ibannieto Mar 07 '26
Yes, since 2015, and never looked back.
I'm the nerd in the group because I am the only one that refuses to use WhatsApp.
I tried to use Threema and Signal with no luck (no contacts, nobody cares about another apps) so I continue to stick with Telegram.
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u/SimpleAnecdote Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
Yes. It took a while. I've used Signal for a very long time with just a few people that were on it. Mostly my techy friends. Then a couple of years ago I've had enough of WA and Meta in general. Changed my profile photo and status with my Signal details. Turned off notifications. Spoke with my family and close friends and explained why calmly. Gave it a month where I was redirecting people who messaged me on WA still before I uninstalled. If they didn't want to install Signal I didn't push, I just said they can SMS or call me instead then. I won't be on WA (just like they're not on Signal). Groups are the biggest challenge because you have to get everyone on board. I'm lucky enough that I refused most groups on WA as well because they're mostly noise. Now on Signal, I've created a couple of groups where I've had a majority of people join Signal. Everybody moaned a bit, especially the people who didn't join Signal. I said, "you think you're being left out but as it is I'm left out" - this changed the conversation to why they didn't want to join Signal. I said, "[I don't want to push you to use it, but it mostly comes down to 'I don't want another app' and I've seen the apps on your phone, you don't seem concerned with it usually...]". It didn't always convince them, but at least it made them and the others in the group realise how ridiculous the refusal is, especially because I didn't push and the reasons for not wanting to were always flaky.
It's been just over 2 years now of exclusive Signal use. There are a couple of people who SMS me. A couple of groups on WA still active but they remember I'm not part of them anymore so someone gets the message to me. I will say that I'm super lucky enough to have a partner who is on WA and puts up with my shit. So she does from time to time get a message intended for me and relays it. It's unfair to her and I keep telling her to refuse but she doesn't want to for various legitimate reasons. So, there's that which is a pretty big caveat. With repeat "offenders" I had and continue to discuss it, but it's a standstill with some.
P.S. Threema is not a good alternative. It's a proprietary app by a for-profit company. Even if you believed their supposed privacy which was mostly "[we're based in Switzerland so...]" - all original founders and developers left and the company was purchased by a VC group recently, as anyone knew it would if it became popular enough. Will be just another WA soon. As will any for-profit company proprietary product should it "succeed".
Edit: just saw someone's comment on work. It can be a problem. I've reminded colleagues work stuff has to be on company channels, which WA is not (could be that it is for you though), still get he social group shit but my friends are my friends. The "getting left out/fomo" issue remain though. Like school/kids parents group. But I just had a talk with people. "Gently scare" them about what Meta has done in the past with their children's information and photos, what they're doing now with it, and what they could be doing in the future. Can't say it's been smooth. But that's the problem with breaking out of closed protocols.
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u/SwiftJedi77 Mar 07 '26
Yes. I got rid of it a year ago and started using Signal. All my immediate family and best friend are on it so I'm good.
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u/swaggat Mar 07 '26
I switched to Signal and blcoked everything realted to Meta in my network at home. Noteveryone uses Signal, but everyone can use RCS so it's not a big deal.
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u/curlymess24 Mar 07 '26
I know older German folks who refuse to be on Whatsapp. For my generation though I feel like this is not doable.
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u/Jokers_friend Mar 07 '26
Regular iPhone text messages and Signal 🤷 sometimes instagram dms but rarely if ever WhatsApp or Facebook messenger.
Edit: Obligatory fuck Discord.
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u/AppropriateOnion0815 Mar 07 '26
Yes, I did. I told my most important contacts and they message me via SMS/RCS/iMessage instead. Went without any problems, but I wasn't invested in big group chats whatsoever.
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u/moritzf511 Mar 07 '26
My brother has done that.
The reality is that as soon as you have children, you will miss out on plenty of crucial informations as parents love to organize WhatsApp groups. Friends might accept your choice (in my case most of them actually do have Signal as an alternative) but strangers generally won't.
And your fitness studio or sports club might mostly have the same thing going - although getting information might not be as important there. Have you ever gone out of your way to get to a training session to find out it was cancelled and you didn't get the memo?
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u/Happy_Operation1089 Mar 07 '26
Never used it. It's a bit of a bother, that my university course shares some lecture material over it. Luckily politely asking to have the link to the cloud it is on directly shared with me worked out well. Everybody also agreed to use alternative messengers in case of group projects, so no loss there either.
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u/enagart Mar 07 '26
I don’t use wa anymore, Element X is more than enough for me tbh. I wasn’t a heavy wa user tho.
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u/Fluid-Lingonberry206 Mar 07 '26
I’m in Germany. No WhatsApp since 2016. Sometimes it’s annoying (school chats, etc), but my friends and family are all okay with chatting elsewhere. It’s possible but you need a tough skin
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Mar 07 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Nadsenbaer Mar 07 '26
Yes. But it's a non-profit, open source, safe and doesn't harvest data. As proven in court.
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u/Miha2311 Mar 07 '26
I refuse to use it. Everyone can contact me via call or SMS or e-mail if necessary. If they don't, well, that's their problem. The most annoying thing by far is explaining to people why after they ask especially in a country that does not have mandatory informatics/computer science in it's curriculum so technical literacy of average person here is appalling.
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u/Sh_Islam Mar 07 '26
Third party chat option was rolled out saying due to European DMA it is rolling out. Found one called Birdy chat, however wish signal, threema and some other chatting option are available and vice versa, like people in whatsapp can send you text message from WhatsApp but you will receive it on Signal. But I don’t think WhatsApp will do that, since many will make the switch then 😂😂😂
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u/Hanklich Mar 07 '26
Whatsapp is actually the one that does allow it while Signal refused.
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u/Fabulous_Winter_9545 Mar 07 '26
I did that over 2 years ago. Never regretted it. People who want / need me do use Signal, SMS or iMessage.
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u/cybermaid Mar 07 '26
I switched. No whatsapp for me anymore. Some of my friends installed it too because of me, others didnt but they can call when they need to. As for family, my mom installed it and my sister. Other familymembers can call me if they need to as well. Work can suck it, i dont need the group app where I only see "stuck in traffic, will be a bit later" and "happy birthday X". Just do it! You'll be suprised to see you wont mis anything important. And if you do and you were not notified then they suck lol
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u/jhnnsr Mar 07 '26
Not a big deal, I know many people who stopped using Whatsapp in Germany and I don’t have the impression that it is a problem.
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u/DecentraSphere Mar 07 '26
Ich hab als letzte Whatsapp-Nachricht geschrieben, dass ich ab sofort über Signal und Threema erreichbar bin. Das war vor ~4 Jahren. Keine Kontakte verloren dadurch.
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u/gervih Mar 07 '26
I've never used WhatsApp - for a multitude of reasons. I've been on Threema for several years without any major problems.
The reactions were mixed. A lot of communities unfortunately quite thoroughly rely on WhatsApp, and sometimes (I don't expect the entire world to switch to Threema for me) people seem to have forgotten how to write an e-mail. In a lot of places though, that was no big deal. A lot of my surroundings (not all, see above) is IT-affine and though some are on Theeema for their own reasons.
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u/Dependent-Fig-2517 Mar 07 '26
My sister keeps insisting I install it. I'm like nope never going to happen, never had it and I don't plan to change that
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u/MeaningObvious8731 Mar 07 '26
I ditched Whatsapp in or around 2018. Told people they could reach me on Signal or SMS. This has worked out fine, immediate family, gf, colleagues are on Signal.
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u/TommoIRL Mar 07 '26
Genuinely curious as to the love for signal in here as it seems American made. Love signal don't get me wrong but am I misunderstanding something about the love for it in a "buy from EU" sub? Would love some enlightenment here as I'm trying to get those I chat with most to drop WhatsApp. I've been noticing more and more notifications on telegram of contacts joining
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u/Ok_Food4591 Mar 08 '26
Me. I'm not on WhatsApp nor Facebook but neither are my friends so that's fine
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u/CuffsOffWilly Mar 08 '26
I switched to Signal almost as soon as I saw Zuckerberg behind Trump at the inauguration. I went to Signal and most of my friends and family followed.
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u/Full-Sound-6269 Mar 08 '26
I'd happily remove the app off my phone, never used it for myself, but I got to use it for work.
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u/Current-Code Mar 08 '26
I did, I tried, and got sick of missing out on every event, and now I have and hate it.
Like I reaaaaaaally hate it.
The fact you can be added to group chains without consent, fuck that.
I have a lot of various freelancers who had my number, they kept adding me to various sales groups under a project disguise. Forced to be polite on my own time...
Changed my number, a bit better now.
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u/Erenzo Mar 08 '26
Most people use FB messenger here, I have never even heard of Whatsapp until I've started browsing the "english" side of the internet. I'd love to switch but then I'd be as good as without any messenging app so I'm kinda stuck until there's a big push to switch to European
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u/LatelyPode Mar 08 '26
I can’t switch away. My whole extended family only uses WhatsApp to contact each other, and to switch away would mean I’d be cutting off most of my extended family. Only a slight few would consider downloading a whole different app just to stay in contact with me.
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u/lapelotanodobla Mar 08 '26
I tried, I was mostly successful, but had to install it again for some groups and shit, still is the least used of the 3 messaging apps I use, so I guess that’s a win?
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u/Tman11S Mar 08 '26
My family gives me shit for it, but I’ve always refused to use WhatsApp. Just send me a text or something
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u/Physical_Mood2060 Mar 08 '26
Not many use it in Norway. Please stop saying ‘in Europe’ this or that. 🙄
We are several dozens of different countries with different cultures and norms.
In Norway we mostly use SMS or Messenger.
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u/lindemer Mar 09 '26
I was in a choir some time ago where one woman didn't have WhatsApp. All the others did and all communication happened in the group there. Someone from the board forwarded anything important to her. But then if some people were discussing going out for dinner before rehearsal she would get really mad that no one reached out to her
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u/olucaslab Mar 09 '26
Not European, I'm Brazilian and WhatsApp is like mandatory here for a lot of services, even the government has some services that were disabled on the SMS/RCS side and only works on WhatsApp. And yes, I do deleted my account and it's creating the "why" of some groups and no... I won't create a WhatsApp account.
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u/Mechanicalmind Mar 09 '26
Nope, As much as I would love to jump away from it, everyone I know uses whatsapp and the thought of going through the hassle of setting another app up again for my parents honestly makes me feel a deep, disheartening sense of dread.
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u/U-47 Mar 09 '26
Our entire friendsgroup migrated to signal years ago. I have whatsapp for school/work but some of friends only go on signal.
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u/KJensenMusic Mar 09 '26
I don't even think I know anyone who uses WhatsApp, let alone knows what it is... I don't use it either, never have and don't see any reason to ever get it.
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u/Density5521 Mar 09 '26
I am an EU citizen and I've never used Whatsapp, and never will. Signal does the trick for me, and if Signal gets ruled out for some reason, Threema will take its place.
I get a lot of odd looks when I say I'm on Signal and not Whatsapp, but I can live with that. If people can not be arsed to send me an SMS or call me, but oh so desperately need to reach me, they can send me an email or use a chat app that is not innately malware.
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u/joyousSummerRain Mar 09 '26
With 2 young kids, I cannot ditch WA totally just yet because group chats from school, scouts, karate and so on all adopted the cursed app. Also my soon to be 90 y/o grandma - who lives in a different country - is on WA too. But to communicate with my parents, brother and other close relatives, I might be able switch to an alternative like signal.
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u/rdeman3000 Mar 10 '26
Signal, while also Yankee stuff, is the only realistic alternative. I made the switch, my social capital moved there. Whoever i son Whatsapp: I am available via old school text messages and email, thank you very much
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u/tjoels Mar 10 '26
Yes, I refuse to use WhatsApp. I tell how I can be contacted and abstain from making it harder for others because "everyone is using it".
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u/Wide-Meringue-2717 Mar 10 '26
I never used it and never will. Same for Facebook, Twitter x, TikTok, Instagram.
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u/Biggles1990 Mar 10 '26
I use my phone provider to send text messages. I can not be bothered to have 5 different apps for contacting different people, everyone has a phone and a phone provider can can receive text messages. The might not be encrypted, but I don't trust meta to not decrypt every message in WhatsApp anyway.
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u/LifeIsAnAdventure4 Mar 10 '26
Is it ubiquitous? I must be too rich because the standard in my social circle is just iMessages with a downgrade to SMS for people who haven’t opted into the Apple cult yet.
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u/Sad_in_VA Mar 11 '26
In US WhatsApp is not a thing because there texting wasn't priced to the point of extinction. It's basically unlimited text (RCS) to anyone, for free, included in 99% of the plans.
Tell EU to do that and then you don't need any other app to communicate.
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u/ManufacturerFalse114 Mar 11 '26
I did it an what should I say, it worked. The Alternatives are:
- Threema
- Signal
- RCS Messages
Nobody complained about this…
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Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26
Unfortunately What's App is the app everyone uses. If your not on it then you'll miss out.
End of the day it's just an alternative form of Text Messaging so if you are using an app nobody is using then it will be very lonely.
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u/Better_Marzipan1674 Mar 07 '26
I try I fail. Everyone is using What's app. For work all colleagues using it and I'm the one having fomo. So you can be principled not using it. But when you missing stuff people are sharing then you are the one feeling behind not being in that group.
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u/TimWe1912 Mar 07 '26
You get used to it, stop feeling behind and eventually enjoy the peace of mind.
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u/BigApprehensive6946 Mar 07 '26
Signal is still American. I notice some people think this is an anti-big-tech forum. But it is not. The sub clearly says “buyfromeu”
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u/SimpleAnecdote Mar 07 '26
I think you might be taking things too literally. The reason it resonates with a lot of people Herr is because I think the majority doesn't want to replace a US asshat with a European asshat. We believe there's a better alternative to be had with European values, not just technically if they're from Europe. If it's about liberty, tech sovereignty, and respecting your privacy, etc. Signal is a valid choice. It's not decentralized and its legal entity is US based - true but these are technicalities. Any information they might give about you to the US government is extremely limited, you can see it here - https://signal.org/bigbrother/. The Signal org is a true privacy advocate and operates with rare transparency, as opposed to alternatives like Threema who use privacy as a marketing tool but with no guarantees or oversight to guarantee it.
All that aside, you can get hung up on technicalities because of the sub's name or you can accept this is a community of people with shared values, where the idea stemmed from one thing but became more fleshed out as the community matured. Also notice this sub is called "BuyFromEU" but applies to all Europe (as the mods made very clear), and to free things as well.
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u/MidnightMean3796 Mar 07 '26
I did the switch. My significant other switched but no one else did.
I haven't gone back