How Come Americans Don’t Use WhatsApp (Much)?

Picture the scene: You’ve been in the USA a few weeks. You’re getting used to your new work. Some of the guys and girls on your team are cool and you had a wild evening at a local cocktail bar in Manhattan, for which you’re suffering ever-so-slightly this morning.

You and your colleagues are now nursing headaches.

But it’s time to take this new friendship to the next level. 

Back home you were a group-chat God. King of memes. Nobody could so quickly conjure up such perfect classic Simpsons references like you could. If you can get your colleagues on a group chat together, well… endless possibilities await.

You pull one of your co-workers aside and grab their number. You say, “I’ll make a chat for us—The Lower East Side Legends —on WhatsApp…” 

Your colleague looks at you like you’re a literal alien. 

“Who uses Whatsapp?” they say.

You’ve made a mistake.

Americans don’t use WhatsApp in the same way we do in the UK.

There are a few theories as to why this is. WhatsApp caught on in a big way in Europe when roaming charges were higher, phone coverage between countries could be spotty and many phone plans still had a limited number of texts. Once it caught on, it stuck. On the other hand, Americans rarely roam abroad and plans with unlimited messages have been a staple of US phone packages since the 2000s. 

Another theory is the dominance of the iPhone in the USA and its iMessage feature. Historically, there was a higher proportion of Android users in the UK and Europe. Though these days they’re similar, with roughly 70% of Americans and 67% of Europeans choosing the iPhone. 

These are just theories. The real reason doesn’t really matter. But in this author’s experience, most Americans who do use WhatsApp are often those who have spent time abroad, or are willing to appease relatives or friends who live overseas. So be prepared!