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[return to "I asked Signal motivations for SMS removal"]
1. apexal+Lb[view] [source] 2022-10-19 09:00:14
>>quenti+(OP)
I think you're forgetting the main reason: the group of people using it to communicate is really small and shrinking every year.

The only large group of people who still primarily use SMS to communicate person-to-person is Android users in the USA.

Every other country has settled on either Telegram, WeChat, WhatsApp or FB Messenger, or other niche apps. These apps work on both iOS and Android and often also Windows. I haven't sent an SMS in probably 12 years. I don't know anyone who has.

It's only in the US that iMessage is so prevalent that Android users have to use SMS, the only other way of messaging iOS devices. And the US is quickly becoming a de-facto iOS only country. It already has more than 50% market share, even 80% among young people.

With the US going (almost) full iMessage and the rest of the world having already settled on another app there simply no point to supporting SMS.

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2. modo_m+8c[view] [source] 2022-10-19 09:04:41
>>apexal+Lb
SMS is still rather common here in Europe. Even if a ton of people use whatsapp and such SMS is often a safe option to initiate with or something trough which you get certain kinds of automated messages like appointment reminders or verification codes.
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3. esskay+5d[view] [source] 2022-10-19 09:12:53
>>modo_m+8c
Not sure that can be said as a blanket statement for the whole of Europe. In the UK SMS isn't common at all anymore.
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4. boomsk+0e[view] [source] 2022-10-19 09:20:41
>>esskay+5d
Does anything let you configure 2fa via WhatsApp yet? I know there are logistics companies starting to offer it as an email alternative for notifications, but for most automated comms and for contact initiation, SMS is still the standard.

I think it would be more accurate to say that ongoing communication via SMS messages isn't common at all any more. They're like a protocol negotiation handshake.

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