It can be a bit annoying sometimes, but there are solutions for almost anything, like alternative clients and frontends. I also think it's important to remember that this is not an all-or-nothing situation. Every little bit of privacy you can preserve helps, even if you still have to use their services sometimes.

If your example is mostly about chat then Beeper might be a good option for you. The messages on FB and IG would still go through Meta, but at least you don't have to install their apps.

It's a hill I'll die on.

Ive refused to use anything FB since it first launched and I wasn't permitted to use it anyway (not that I cared).

I've never once been to FB intentionally. I've accidentally clicked a link, then closed the tab as soon as I realized.

I was sent an FB link the other day. Replied that all FB domains are blocked on my networks and devices.

Sometimes doing what you believe in comes with costs. Oh well. My life is for me, and if someone can't be bothered to look outside their bubble, put in a tiny bit of effort, then I guess I'm not worth it in their eyes. Message received.

I even have friends who've complained how shitty SMS is for 20 years. I've offered multiple solutions, and they simply refuse to change. OK, not my problem when you message me and I don't get it because SMS sucks and you refuse to solve the problem.

Don't lose hope, resistance is NOT futile.
There are third party frontends for most of Facebook/Meta services and desktop apps which can be used when there are no other options.

Be aware of installing Whatsapp app on iOS and Android, there are vulnerabilities currently exploited by the israelian Pegasus. Nothing prevents anyone else from using these vulnerabilities.

Understandable thought process imo. I‘m in the opposite boat.

For years I didnt care about data privacy and the amount of phishing attacks and spam mails skyrocketed.

I had all the social media accounts, connected to each other for convenience. Bit tech cloud managed my pictures and everything else. Stuff started vanishing off of my favorite streaming services.

Then I started to migrate away from big tech and started my own home server. Ripped all my old dvds on there so I dont have to put them in the player. I disabled my facebook account, twitter, instagram, you name it.

Now I can chat with people on my Linux phone (postmarketOS), watch videos on my peertube instance, write this comment over my lemmy instance, etc. Is it easy? No. But its doable.

I do still have whatsapp but i dont use the app and have bridged the 2.5 people that dont have matrix to it. Same for signal and discord. I only use matrix and a couple people switched because matrix can help them use one app only.

Now comes the hard part: is this end user ready? No, not at all. Stuff can break like every half a year and some people are just tech illiterate and will have constant problems because they have no patience.

I cant promise you that it works for everyone. But it should work for the 80% or so who are able to follow a basic video tutorial on how to cross sync new devices in matrix for example.

Oh and the whiners will also have a bad time. If you need „perfect“ and „polished“, apps wont always be up to your standards and you should embrace big tech. They make it perfect for you you give them your data. Thats their way of saying thanks /s

Addition: The general idea for those who can tinker should also be to not only use but contribute. Either financially or otherwise. The software is dependent on it.

Eternal vigilance.