alt Hacker NewsHonestly, with these kind of shenanigans, and having recently read the Meta tell-all "Careless People", I'm amazed at Meta's ability to still disappoint my expectations, despite them being at a low I didn't think could be beaten.
WhatsApp scares me a little to be honest - I can (and have) easily switch from using Facebook, Instagram etc. But WhatsApp is used for all sorts of groups where I live (family, work, political, etc). It's a really sticky technology, and very hard to move off of without convincing a lot of others. That would be bad enough on its own, but combined with Meta's continuous shady goings on, I genuinely feel uncomfortable with how much power is in such disinterested hands.
> very hard to move off of without convincing a lot of others
In my opinion, you do not need to convince anyone. Just leave. And face the consequences. If you think it is the right thing to do, do it. Do not wait for it to be convenient.
You will still be able to communicate with those people using plenty of other means. They have phones. They have e-mails. Some might even have open access social media accounts such as the Fediverse ones.
Similarly other people will still be able to contact you if they want.