Mark Zuckerberg Says Apple's iMessage is Facebook's 'Biggest Competitor by Far'

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday singled out Apple's iMessage mobile messaging service as Facebook's "biggest competitor by far." (via CNBC).

The comments were made to investors during an earnings call for the company's third quarter performance, in which the Facebook CEO admitted the social platform was losing out to iMessage in "important" territories like the U.S., where iPhone sales are highest.

"Our biggest competitor by far is iMessage," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an earnings call on Tuesday with investors, referring to the messaging service built into the iPhone and other Apple products.

"In important countries like the U.S. where the iPhone is strong, Apple bundles iMessage as a default texting app and it's still ahead," he said.

The Facebook chief said the company had identified a shift in the way users are communicating, with many transitioning from publicly shared content to private messaging, thanks to services like Messenger, WhatsApp, and Apple's iMessage.

Zuckerberg also responded to vehement criticism from Apple CEO Tim Cook about companies that use people's personal information as a business model for profit.

"It's worth noting that one of the main reasons people prefer our services, especially WhatsApp, is because of its stronger record on privacy," Zuckerberg said.

"WhatsApp is completely end-to-end encrypted, does not store your messages, and doesn't store the keys to your messages in China or anywhere else. And this is important because if our systems can't see your messages, then that means that governments and bad actors won't be able to access them through us either."

Zuckerberg's reference to China is likely a dig at Apple, which recently transferred its China iCloud services from a hosting location in the United States to servers owned and operated by a state-run Chinese company.

The move means the Chinese government can use its own legal system to ask Apple for users' iCloud data, whereas before the government had to go through the U.S. legal system. Human rights and digital security advocates have questioned whether Apple will be able to maintain and protect its customers' privacy under the new Chinese laws.

During the earnings call, investors learned that Facebook had surpassed analysts' estimates on earnings per share in the third quarter, but had fallen short on revenue and active user projections.

Tags: Facebook, iMessage

Top Rated Comments

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thecastle

2 weeks ago

"It's worth noting that one of the main reasons people prefer our services, especially WhatsApp, is because of its stronger record on privacy," Zuckerberg said.

HAHAHAHAH he must be joking right????

Rating: 41 Votes

chabig

2 weeks ago

...the Facebook CEO admitted the social platform was losing out to iMessage...

By "losing out" he really meant "losing data collection opportunities".

Rating: 17 Votes

OllyW

2 weeks ago

I'd rather just use iMessage for all my messages but around half of my friends have Android phones so I still need WhatsApp and Messenger.

Rating: 11 Votes

OldSchoolMacGuy

2 weeks ago

"WhatsApp is completely end-to-end encrypted, does not store your messages, and doesn't store the keys to your messages in China or anywhere else. And this is important because if our systems can't see your messages, then that means that governments and bad actors won't be able to access them through us either."

You're kidding yourself if you think Facebook paid $19 billion for WhatsApp to not exploit it for data to help in adverting. It'd not anywhere near as "private" as they want you to believe.

Rating: 6 Votes

69Mustang

2 weeks ago

Competition would require that facebook be in the same league as iMessage. They've been in the minors for a long time now.

What does your comment even mean? With Messenger and Whatsapp, FB has two of the largest, most used messaging services in the world. Not sure how you get "in the minors".
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Curious he says iMessage is winning out.
Android has bigger base.
What is the most popular messaging app on android?
Could be the whole point of Z’s comment was to bring attention to Apples “bundling” of iMessage”.
No opinion on his comment, just an observation.

I think you hit the nail on the head. He knows he owns the two largest messaging services in the world - by a wide margin - so he's indirectly trying to shine a deflective light on Apple's bundling of iMessage, while throwing some shade on Apple's privacy stace by mentioning encryption keys store in China.

Rating: 6 Votes

69Mustang

2 weeks ago

Quantity doesn't equate quality. facebook messenger is garbage and WhatsApp is heading in that direction.

Ha! Quality? Eye of the beholder and all that I guess. ;) They are all mimicking the same functionality. They are all trying to WeChat the hell out messaging apps; turning them into an ecosystem that never has to be left. It basically boils down to what your friends and family use.

Rating: 5 Votes

Vasilioskn

2 weeks ago

Facebook owns What’s App? Deleting it now

Rating: 5 Votes

miflgr92

2 weeks ago

I hate using Facebook Messenger. I don’t even have it installed on my phone. If a friend contacts me with that service, I usually don’t even see it until days later. When I do eventually read it, I tell them that they need to iMessage me in the future.

I used to like WhatsApp for staying in touch with friends and family on Android or overseas but it has really gone downhill since Facebook bought it. I’ve been slowly convincing people to use Telegram instead. It has a much simpler UI and none of the story junk that Facebook tries to force on every app they own. I hope to eventually delete WhatsApp entirely.

Rating: 5 Votes

sinsin07

2 weeks ago

Rating: 5 Votes

zorinlynx

2 weeks ago

I'd rather just use iMessage for all my messages but around half of my friends have Android phones so I still need WhatsApp and Messenger.

Apple could make a killing by selling an iMessage app for even a dollar on the Play Store.

It's unbelievable how many people use iMessage and even exclude their friends somewhat because they have an android phone and no iMessage. (They're not very good friends but that's moot)

That's the reason I mostly use Telegram. All my friends are on it and it's not tied to one phone platform.
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My largest grievance is FB messenger. I shouldn't see ads when sending a message. It's the true representation of what FB thinks a messaging app should be, data mining and targeted ads. The only credit they can take with WhatsApp is having enough money to buy it. I know when I open Message I'll only be seeing texts and messages.

Apple is going that direction too a bit by shoving iMessage apps down our throats.

In iOS 12 they specifically changed the way to send photos into an iMessage app. The only reason I can see to do that (causing a less pleasant UI for sending photos) is to put the apps more in your face.

I have no interest in iMessage apps so the whole thing annoyed me considerably.

Rating: 4 Votes

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