Why do most people choose to use WhatsApp over telegram??

Why do not more people choose a matrix server and use a decentralized way of communication instead of committing themselves to this or that app/company?

Because most people they know use WhatsApp/Facebook/Instagram.

I think you mean Signal.

Why does anyone choose Telegram or WhatsApp over Signal which is encrypted and audited? (Probably features I don’t care about, but they do)

I don't understand the love for Telegram.

In the short period of using it I had so much BS come through by scammers/spammers - both as DMs and group messages. I've rarely had that with WhatsApp.

In my eyes WhatsApp is far better than Telegram. And Signal is far greater than WhatsApp. The only thing I wish Signal had was inbuilt GIFs; it's not that much of an issue on mobile but it's a pain on desktop.

People don't choose, people use whatever most people around them use. Whatsapp and telegram are both centralized, and shouldn't be trusted because, by the nature of it, they can (and eventually will) turn user-hostile.

Messengers come and go, if we really want to make some progress in this area, we should embrace federated and p2p protocols as the logical evolution. Anything else is just wasting time and user privacy.

Telegram gives me:

Roll-their-own encryption off-by-default without cross-device support or group chat available.
The ability to talk to strangers I don't want to talk to
An open source client, but a proprietary, non-federated server
An unmoderated social network that's a free-for-all for crypto scammers, extremists, and other nuts

WhatsApp gives me:

Signal's encryption algorithm on all chats
Whatsapp web (still with encryption)
Encrypted group chats
The ability to talk to human beings I actually know and want to talk to

Neither respects my privacy.

Not sure why I would bother attempting to use Telegram again.

If most people used Telegram, Meta would have bought it instead of WhatsApp.

a) because it's what everyone I know uses

b) telegram is not end-to-end encrypted by default. And not end-to-end encrypted at all for group chats. That's kind of a dealbreaker. Telegram is one of the last messaging apps I'd recommend.

I didn't choose. Literally every single person with a smartphone in my country uses whatsapp so that's what I use too.

We don't choose which app we use. Our friends, family, and colleagues do.

I could live with Signal's functionality, but there barely anybody there.

Why do people choose Telegram over Signal? Signal encrypts everything by default, unlike Telegram which only "encrypts" messages in a (iirc) secure or secret chat. Fortunately, EU is forcing all major gatekeepers' messaging apps to be able to communicate with other messaging apps. I, finally, will be able to break free from WhatsApp and use Signal. Uninstalling WhatsApp and requesting for a deletion of my account; a dream come true soon.

Telegram is owned by Russians and the server is proprietary closed-source. I prefer Signal.

I use email with GnuPG. Everything else is woefully insecure. BTW, I have no friends.

WhatsApp was there first and it was useful in countries where you paid for each individual SMS.

WhatsApp became the defacto messaging app in south America over a decade ago. Sms was really expensive so people opted for WhatsApp which was cheaper over data and you void send pics at a time where no carriers allowed mms. Now almost all carriers have unlimited WhatsApp as part of data plans. Switching to telegram is pretty much imposible

The perceived usefulness of a network, platform, or communication protocol increases with its relative adoption. That's known as "network effect", and network effect is at strongest for anything regarding direct communication - such as messaging platforms.

In other words: WhatsApp is used by lots of people, and this discourages people to migrate over better alternatives, like Signal (my choice) or Telegram (OP's).

It sends text to people. Even pictures or videos if needed. What more features would I need?

I don't know anyone that uses telegram. Whatsapp is just the standard, though many people have switched to Signal.

Messaging apps are tricky, you can't just pick what's the "best" because it's primary function is to message people, so the best app is what can do that.

If nobody you want to message uses telegram, or signal, or matrix, than they aren't very good messaging apps FOR YOU.

You have to start using the app, then start convincing everyone else to use it, and that's quite a hurdle, when most people you know use the "good enough" Whatsapp, or even just SMS, or iMessage.

Telegram is worse than WhatsApp in terms of security. It doesn’t even use audited encryption by default.

I just roll with all 3 🤷

Signal for friends and family
Telegram for my own personal bots and hobby development projects
WhatsApp for the rest of the friends group that refuse to switch to signal

Half of the people I regularly talk to are on WhatsApp. I don't like it but that's reality, it's hard to get them to migrate because this means that people THEY talk to would have to do the same. Also a good chunk of them use rakuten Viber. Now why do they use THAT? It's bloated, ad-ridden, and buggy. Almost nobody I know is on telegram. In fact most are still using Facebook messenger.

Because it what the people, I need to contact with, use.

As many have pointed out, it isn't really our choice, since we have to get along and use what most people around us use.
The only solution I see is if the government mandates every messenger to use a common protocol allowing all to co-operate.

Simply because everyone is using WhatsApp. And people want to use something that will let them be able to reach almost all their contacts.

Yet I do prefer & use Threema.

Most people don't care that it's owned by Meta. They just want to be on the platform everyone else is on.

people use the messaging app that their friends are on
doesn't matter if it's objectively terrible

Telegram has no end-to-end encryption for normal messages

I know a handful of people on WhatsApp, a handful more on Signal, and a single person on Telegram who is a bit strange and thinks the world is a simulation (he's a hoot). So, basically I don't use Telegram at all because the only person I know on there isn't someone I'd want to communicate with anyway.

I use them all, but whatsapp prevails all, because Whatsapp was there first.

What's more important is that we know whatsapp is not the only device, and can be easily replaced.

Why would I use russian whatsapp owned by russian Zuckerberg living in Dubai?

If anything Signal would be the superior alternative.

But as stated by other ppl before me, I use whatsapp because at least where I live almost everyone uses it and Telegram is for conspiracy theories and Nazi or russian propaganda.

Riddle me this - Some people's argument against using telegram is that it is not as secure as WhatsApp(which on face value is true because WhatsApp is E2E encrypted while telegram is not E2E encrypted). Other people claim that only hackers and terrorists use telegram and that is why they don't use telegram. My question is why are people like hackers and terrorists using telegram in the first place if it has worse security while having no upsides for these kinds of individuals.

People don't care what's superior, they care about if their friends are already on the app. And whatsapp built up that critical mass first, so it's the default.

Every person that i have ever talked to in my country use whatsapp and none use telegram

I actually know more people who use Signal and Line than people who use Telegram; out of all my contacts, there is only one person who has telegram installed on their phone, and that's a guy I haven't contacted in years.

Personally I prefer to use Signal whenever possible, and I got a bunch of my friends to install it.

Signal

while I have used telegram in the past, the association of it being used heavily by cookers and q idiots really just put a bad taste in my mouth

People don’t care what’s better. Most people won’t try anything new if the existing stuff is not severely broken.

In my circles, it became popular during the pandemic and a number 1 source of misinformation, with an unnerving amount of obvious links to Russian propaganda- covid related, yes.

So after seeing the extreme antivaxxers join the telegram train, and seeing how gullible acquaintances got "tips" from their telegram groups, I just couldn't take the app seriously. I understand logically maybe the app itself is better than WhatsApp, I understand this may be just my personal experience and that there was just as much trash on WhatsApp. But having my sane contacts using WhatsApp already and my family on Signal, I never saw the need to switch.

Here in Costa Rica people are used to using WhatsApp. Even after the terms controversy they kept on using it

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Personally I prefer signal, and that's the problem isn't it.

Signal is much better than Telegram in terms of privacy. Do people find Telegram more convenient?

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Because I'd rather be spied on by the USA than Russia.

Not being spied on is not an option if you want to stay in contact with people.

Cause people are too lazy to download a better app.

Telegram is my fav messenger too (yes I know Signal is great too)

I don't know that anyone I know uses either.

Because whatsapp was huge way before telegram came around and most people dont want to switch. A message platform is only useful if most people you know use it as well.

Because an instant messaging platform is only useful if there are people to, well, message on it. WhatsApp has the userbase worldwide, telegram does not.

Whatsapp is more popular.
It has a lot of scammers. Especially crypto scammers.
A little bit more difficult to use. There are so many features and it can kind lf get overwhelming.
Messages are not end to end encrypted by default.

Because latin americans are way too brainwashed to use it. (source: i can't get any of my friends or family to use telegram)

When it comes to person to person messaging, everyone uses what everyone else uses.

Network effect mostly? "My friends are on WhatsApp, I have to use WhatsApp".

I don't think the Meta ownership really bothers many people either, especially non-technical users.

Out of curiosity, what feature does telegram have that make it superior to you? I had a scroll of Wikipedia and there are some nice things (message editing and people nearby seem cool, but not enough to make me switch, and I don't like being on WhatsApp either)

Because everyone else uses Whatsapp. I don't like it either but I need it for work so I use it. It is what it is.

Personally? Because telegram feels dodgier than WhatsApp. At least I can trust WhatsApp enough around security. If I really want to upgrade my privacy or freedom, I would have chosen either Matrix, Signal or Session.

Most of the 3rd world countries use WhatsApp.

WhatsApp made a E2EE messenger app (based on XMPP like everything else) the fastest that was reliable, way before Facebook bought it around 2014. Even with FB's acquisition, things largely remained unchanged and the Stories addition was incredibly well received. It is not as intrusive and addictive as Telegram, nor as dramatic as Facebook, and is more secure than Telegram, Hike, Viber, and its numerous competitors over the years (while being almost similarly less private).