Comment by OfSanguineFire
2 years ago
I've been to a lot of meetups in the last year and exchanged contacts with people. As a nerdy idealist running a deGoogled Android with no proprietary software, I always have to tell them that I don’t have WhatsApp, just Signal. Again and again I have heard the reply, “Oh, yeah, I’ve got Signal, I use it to buy drugs.”
So, that’s some of the active user base in my city, but none of those users are very motivated to use Signal with their network of contacts in general. There WhatsApp reigns.
That's been similar to my experience in the last year. WhatsApp or even worse, Snapchat, seems to be the preferred "private" messaging platforms, which is depressing to say the least.
> “Oh, yeah, I’ve got Signal, I use it to buy drugs.”
Funny, people around here in Germany say that about Telegram.
Buying drugs from shady people online like on Telegram channels is a good way to get you not high or killed. Apparently they're selling HHC now that looks like bud? No thanks. I'll stick to my local guy straight from behind the bushes next to the park.
those users probably have a far lower impact on Signal's operating costs because they're only sending the occasional message instead of using it as a broadcast platform.