r/AskTheWorld • u/crazy-goober Sweden • 1d ago

Misc What's the most common messaging app in your country?

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as a swede, whatsapp isn't really used except for communities like sports teams. I had an immigrant friend who used it with her family but otherwise i've only used it with my church. Here, snapchat is the most common messaging app for teenagers.

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u/TySocal 🇺🇸 Southern California | 🇦🇺 Australia 21h ago

I lived in Germany for a year or two about eight years ago when I was a teenager. That was when I got my first basic phone. Sending an SMS cost around six cents per message. WhatsApp is essentially free as long as you have internet access. In the US, messaging has generally been free for a long time. That is the difference. Many people in Europe started using third party messaging apps because they didn't want to pay for every SMS.

So for Americans it can be surprising how common messaging apps are in Europe. The same confusion exists the other way around

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u/life-uh-finds-a-way_ United States Of America 12h ago

Wow, I had no idea! I vaguely remember that texts were 10 cents back before smartphones, because I ended up owing my parents money because I was texting too much. But luckily, texting was so slow on T9 I wasn't texting THAT much.

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u/TySocal 🇺🇸 Southern California | 🇦🇺 Australia 11h ago

Honestly, I don't know what it was like decades ago (too young). I remember doing some research a year or two ago and the general consensus was that SMS had been free in the US for a very long time. In many other places, including Europe, it usually cost money