Mashable: Currently, there are more than 2 billion active WhatsApp users.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has taken to Instagram to take a dig at Apple's iMessage. He claims that the WhatsApp instant messaging application, which is owned by Meta and is run by Meta, is far safer and more secure than Apple's iMessage. He goes on to say that iMessage is missing features that WhatsApp has, like encryption from end to end and the ability to delete messages.

There's a billboard in New York City that promotes WhatsApp over SMS or iMessage beside the Instagram post. It clearly contrasts iMessage's green and blue bubble styles with WhatsApp's "Private" bubble.

To quote Zuckerberg, “WhatsApp is far more private and secure than iMessage, with end-to-end encryption that works across both iPhones and Android, including group chats. With WhatsApp, you can also set all new chats to disappear with the tap of a button. And last year we introduced end-to-end encrypted backups too. All of which iMessage still doesn't have"

The Verge reports that a spokesperson for Meta, Vispi Bhopti, said that the privacy ad campaign "will appear on broadcast TV, digital video, outdoor, and social across the United States." "New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles will all have billboards advertising the event."

Currently, there are more than 2 billion active WhatsApp users. The application is not the standard in the United States. Meta has an interest in expanding WhatsApp's user base in the United States. In the past few years, Meta has promoted WhatsApp by focusing on how safe and private it seems to be.

Meta has several grounds to criticize Apple, given the situation. Since Apple implemented "App Tracking Transparency" with iOS 14.5 in April 2021, social media advertising has suffered. The feature prevents social media corporations from tracking users across applications and websites. One analysis said the feature might cost Facebook $22 billion in 2022.

Tech companies like Meta aren't the only ones taking a jab at Apple's iMessage. When it comes to its Messages app, Google has been lobbying hard for RCS, the successor to SMS. A valid complaint about Apple's privacy-focused marketing of the iPhone is that iMessage still uses SMS and cannot be used to securely communicate with individuals with Android phones.

Apple iMessage also lacks the ability for texts to vanish after being read. In iOS 16, Apple allowed users to recall sent messages for up to two minutes after they were sent.