Because SMS sucks, always has, for many reasons
Give me a federated XMPP based messenger with all the same features as WhatsApp and then... Well, I'll install it but I still wouldn't use it because nobody is using it
That is the core of the matter: everybody uses WhatsApp because everybody uses WhatsApp
cause whatsapp is older than rcs, and costs zero unlike sms
It was, one of, the first widespread free global messaging services.
So became default for most.
Because sending a message with data was cheaper than the cost of sending one SMS. And it was free on WiFi.
That's why WhatsApp took off.
Consumers, like voters, are stupid and hold a lot of things more important than values and morals.
SMS uses cellular, WhatsApp uses internet. Internet connects you anywhere with one flat rate, cellular may charge extra per message or for international communication.
Signal is better, but everyone's grandmother is already on WhatsApp and good luck getting them to switch
It's not such a mystery. WhatsApp came out in 2009. RCS would not be rolled out widely on Android until 2019. RCS was not implemented properly on iOS until literally a month or so ago.
Therefore its competition has been SMS mainly, which it is directly better than in every way. SMS is not encrypted. WhatsApp is. SMS (technically MMS) heavily compresses pictures & video. SMS splits up long blocks of text into multiple texts, which may or may not come in the correct order. SMS used to be limited in cell phone plans around the time of WhatsApp's release, and STILL is in some parts of the world. SMS requires a consistent cell signal which requires a paid monthly subscription, WhatsApp only requires internet. Sometimes it is easier to find public Wi-Fi than a good cell signal in some places, and it was a popular thing for some teenagers to get an iPod touch or parent's old phone and only be able to use it with Wi-Fi. Then there are stickers & video chat.
People got used to it being the best for at least a decade, and don't want to switch. Even nowadays, RCS is nearly as closed a standard as WhatsApp being limited to an app. You have to use Google Messages or iMessage specifically. In Apple's case, your messages aren't encrypted on their servers unless you specifically request it, and they hold the keys. I suspect Google is the same, despite what they say. And RCS still is routed through your carrier and the receiver's carrier, who have varying policies.
Of course, WhatsApp doesn't have zero access encryption for their servers either, and they're ran by Meta, so it's nearly a lateral move at this point. The real solution is a better WhatsApp replacement like Signal. Signal is making progress but it takes time.
Because when Whatsapp was born, SMS were paid (and not cheaply). In my country, sending one SMS cost 0.19€ at the time and didn't allow pics to be send. Meanwhile, with 10€ I could have 1-2GB of data that allowed for tens of thousands of messages to be sent while on mobile data and unlimited messages while I was on a wifi connection.
SMS is insecure as hell, RCS suffered from issues between Apple and Google, both were limited for a long time by Telecoms and priced too high after reaching your allowance (i remember my first mobile contract having a whooping 10 SMS/month included). The amount of data messenger apps use is negligible even with pretty low data limits as long as you are not attaching whole movies.
I personally only use Signal - i have removed all Meta products from my life. If someone without Signal wants to contact me, they can use snail mail, i really don't care - i won't sacrifice my privacy for the convenience of others.
Others are mentioning price per message, but also important to remember that in the 2000-2010s outside of the United States, when traveling from country to country, you usually had to get a local SIM card for a provider in that country, During your vacation, you'd have a new number for a month when no one could contact you over normal text messages which was a problem. WhatsApp became popular so you could keep chatting with friends abroad even if your phone's SIM card changed during your vacation.
Since most people from the United States don't travel outside the country, and vacation time is rather limited, this wasn't a problem for them, but for the rest of the world, a solution was needed that removed the cell carrier from the equation.
I hate WhatsApp for no other reason than it's a Facebook product.
Wile SMS in the US went free relatively early on, much of the rest of the world continued to charge for every individual SMS message. So data based instant messaging apps became very popular everywhere in the world that's not the US.
Network effect.
My guess, because of the network effect.
Why not Signal?
The question is historical but posed as a tech choice. Convenience is the answer now.
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