Stage 3: Ripping you off · Messaging

Meta’s chat app: your Facebook contacts are there, and your chats with Meta AI now feed its ad targeting.

Fast clients and huge channels; optional E2EE and a semi-centralized model create a distinct trade-off between freedom and trust in the operator.

Default chat for much of the world; phone-number identity and network effects make leaving socially costly, while Meta monetizes the ecosystem around it.