Me neither, nor any instant messenger (Telegram, hangouts, etc.), except WhatsApp.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WhatsApp#Facebook_subsidiary_(2014-present)

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/01/whatsapp-users-must-share-their-data-with-facebook-or-stop-using-the-app/

Yeah, I know.

The problem is, everyone in my circle uses Whatsapp for information exchange.

Similar, but I flat out refuse to use it.

If it's important for those people to talk to you, you can politely insist they use other means.

In the past, some haven't understood when I've pointed out that Whatsapp is Facebook - that was before this inevitable demanding people's data; I'm curious (but doubtful) if it'll make a difference to future conversations now Facebook's hostility is more tangible.

I find that both Facebook and Twitter are useful to me in the pursuit of both information and a sense of 'community.' They are both just 'tools' and as such are what you make of them. Most of us greatly self inflate the value of our 'information.' I could care less that something I view on Amazon pops up on another site. I don't click on outside links in the glaringly obvious spam emails I occasionally get in my 'catch-all' Yahoo account and I routinely change my passwords on my banking, Paypal, credit card and E-bay accounts.

It's the principle of the thing that offends me.

Hola Barabrella. LKME ?
Many say I look like a chimp ;-)

If you're you're using wassup, you're using faecebook.

All of my "circle" use it as well, except me.

I don't even use WhatsApp personally, let alone narcissistbook Facebook. It's so boring, at least here you might actually learn something.

What do you learn on narcissistbook Facebook? What Joe Blow thinks about Joe Bloggs up the road, who hasn't got the guts to tell them directly? I really couldn't careless about either of them, let alone what the narcissists think. Call me ignorant by all means, more than happy to be in that case...

You join various fb groups. In my case I have relived memories of the venue I went to see bands in the 70s/80s. Caught up with people I knew at that time.

Find out what is happening in the local community and yesterday, touched base with a member who does charity work and donated some stuff to homeless people.

If you are that way inclined, follow the church of you choice and live stream mass every day.

It doesn't take up much of my time but it does add value to my life.

I also carry a mobile phone and every last click goes to google whether I like it or not. C'est La Vie

It's possible to move people over to alternatives; awareness for just how bad FB & WA are is growing.
Of course, it's an uphill struggle against massive inertia and probably still years before the scales even might tip (*) - in other words, you'll be using WA and whatever alternatives for a long while yet - but the potential is there I believe.

(*) by which time some of the alternatives themselves will have become dubious players...

Most folks I hang out with are neither tech savvy or worried, have FB & Twitter accounts, because these offer an international connection to home at little expense, and there's 22 nationalities in my immediate circle. We have Europeans of all stripes, island folks, North & South Americans, & Africans. Many have several languages. I AM NOT going to wean all those folks and their (usually large) circle of friends away from WA.

What makes it worse that they are international travelers. So, born in Morocco, raised some in Paris, now in Turkey is typical. Or born in Argentina, lived in Spain, now here, etc.

What made me give up was that I had to keep my gmail account to use Android. Apple's intrusions were worse. A mobile phone I viewed as necessary, given my responsibilities at the time.

They don't actually do that, they just provide the perception of it while actually delivering something else.

The reason for both aspects is the algorithmic sorting of incoming messages. Messages with topics which can be identified, and are considered desireable, are pushed to the top of the message stack. Messages with topics which can be indentified and that are considered undesirable are pushed towards the bottom of the stack. So if people are only checking the top of their message queues, they will miss a lot and even if they take the excessive time and effort needed to dig to the bottom the other ideas got into their heads first. People distract a lot about targeted advertising, but that's not what social control media is about. The advertising is just extra money. The main task is mass manipulation of opinion. With the volume they are working with, it is not difficult to shift the center of the bell curve slightly on any given spectrum of opinions on any given topic in the population.

About the only advantages to the likes of Facebook I can see would be reconnecting with long lost friends that you otherwise might not run into anywhere else, as well as the convenience the internet and "social media" platforms offer. But you can still physically go to your local church, mosque, synagogue, whatever and practice whatever religion you follow. The same as you can still physically go to a community group and participate in it - and you'll likely get more out of it too. Just because something has advantages, it doesn't mean it's a good thing.

If you read up on the beginnings of Facebook you'll see that it was essentially designed for narcissists, as a narcissist platform. I don't mean to be cold, and each to their own, but I personally don't give a rats what you've had for lunch and are planning for dinner. Anymore than I care about what you plan to do or have done on the weekend or whatever. Anymore than you care about what I've had for lunch or dinner, or are planning for the weekend or whatever - not that I blame you for that either. It's of no value to me to know any of that, anymore than it's of any value to you to know what I've done or whatever.

But, and again, each to their own...

Welcome to the Internet - capable of all that and more, long before Facebook barged its way into everyone's face and started taking control.