Hold on a sec... what do you mean by this?
How is using WhatsApp or Instagram not essentially the same thing as continuing to use Facebook?
It would still be truthful: all messages are encrypted e2e, but the app on your device parses decrypted messages to "deliver relevant ads".
Also:
>kinda scary since some people I know keep Social Security numbers in their contacts.
That is absolutely terrifying.
That's now how this works. That's not how any of this works!
I too have deleted FB account long ago but I use Whatsapp. I realize it is much harder to quit Whatsapp than Facebook because I really 'need' whatsapp. But as of now I don't see any strong reason to quit Whatsapp because Facebook isn't using it to show ads in creepy ways.
If only I could persuade my family members and few friends to ditch Whatsapp...
Just to add: I also don't use Whatsapp.
I refuse to touch any property, which is connected in any way with this evil, slimy carbuncle of a company. No matter if I'm slightly inconvenienced in the process.
It sounds so easy, but unfortunately it's not feasible in a lot of cases. As an example, my entire social group organizes just about everything through Facebook events.
Monthly music quiz, including signup and updates about subjects and prizes, Christmas/Easter/others lunchs, pre-concert meetups, festival line-up "study group", and all the other various get-togethers. All discussion about these subjects happens in FB groups.
FB Messenger is the IM platform here in Denmark. WhatsApp is a very distant second.
Quitting FB cold turkey would cut me off from a lot of social interaction. Not with my closest friends of course, but with everyone else. And all of my closest friends use FB Messenger exclusively. I've tried getting people to adopt Signal or Slack or just something other than FB, but so far haven't had any success. There's too much friction, and FB has the userbase and appropriate lineup of features.