One of the biggest reasons I use and like Signal is because it doesn't have a bunch of extra stupid crap like payments, in-app ecosystem, business interactions and all the other junk pushed by corporations in a quest to "expand the userbase".
I just want a solid texting platform, that's it. So far I've been happy, even with a few unnecessary updates like stickers (?!) and disappearing messages (ugh).
I disagree, most people just want to be on the same network/platform as their contacts and most people don't care about extra bells and whistles but a small niche is out there that actually does.
Most people don't imagine they want those features until they see someone else in their social group using them – fancy status in the form of stories is a great example of this.
People have a strong desire to imitate and one-up others in their social group.
If you build a feature that even 1% of users self-start to use, then the social network can snow ball that with the right mechanics. And these feature need only be used by 20-30% of users for it to be considered a success. Every user is not expected to use all features.
My sense for WhatsApp's dominance is peripheral contacts. I can convince close friends and family to move to Signal, but not distant friends, especially the large groups I'm in.
I'm pretty bearish on Signal for this reason. (even though I use it personally)
The playbook for unlocking adoption would be via a 'minority rule' where Signal users refuse to talk to people on WA, but I don't see that happening anytime soon.
I actually did just that. Changed my status to “only reachable by signal app” also same message on my profile pic.
Just got around 5 people who talk to me on whatsapp already writing me on signal without problem. And funny thing 3/5 have also done same to their whatsapp now
I just want a solid texting platform, that's it. So far I've been happy, even with a few unnecessary updates like stickers (?!) and disappearing messages (ugh).