"It is just one out of literally dozens of available text messaging apps"
It baffles me people are still saying this.
You can only message people that are using the SAME messaging app as you. I can't just up and switch apps and expect my 30+ friends and relatives and housemates and coworkers to switch with me!
> You can only message people that are using the SAME messaging app as you.
No, Matrix supports bridging with about two dozen protocols,¹ many of which support multiple clients (at least 7: IRC, RSS, Email, SMS, Mastodon, libpurple —actually a library supporting multiple protocols including IRC and XMPP— and Twitter) — some of which have dozens if not hundreds of clients.
¹IRC, Slack, RSS, Gitter, Discord, RocketChat, iMessage, Facebook Messenger, Email, SMS, Mastodon, libpurple, GroupMe, Skype, WeChat, Tox, Mumble, Twitter, Mattermost, Keybase (Edit: this one was discontinued), Google Hangouts, Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Signal — https://matrix.org/bridges/
Not if you are content to send SMS/MMS messages. I text all of my friends, clients, and family networks and avoid propritary platforms and none of them have ever complained.
Leaving WhatsApp is nothing at all like cutting off your internet connection.
It is just one out of literally dozens of available text messaging apps, and it is owned by one of the least ethical companies that exists today.