Tell them no.

My perspective is, pick one of the many overlapping channels we already share or don't bother me. I am not signing up to yet another spyware-of-the-month app in order to chase your fashion sense.

Whatsapp has been the default choice for 10 years. From other people's pov, Signal and Telegram are the 'fashion' apps.

They would say the same of you, from their perspective. It's like someone asking you for your Twitter and you replying that you only use Mastodon.

If I only used Mastodon or some other low-user-count service, you would have a point. Instead, what I said was,

> pick one of the many overlapping channels we already share

True. I think I was somewhat conflating your post with the parent's.

It's a trade off. In some cases not installing the messaging app du jour means being left out of group chats. If that's ok with you, then by all means, allow yourself to be excluded. But that's not ok with everyone.

I plainly tell them to e-mail me or contact me via Wire or Signal.

Maybe this whole Bezos affair would convince them it's insecure spyware from yours truly Facebook and their friends in the UAE? I think not.