Why do we still use WhatsApp?

We’ve all been huge cash cows for providers, raking in big money for every text message we send. That’s why we were all too eager to switch to BlackBerry Messenger (Ping!) and then the then innocent WhatsApp. In the meantime, Facebook owns WhatsApp and we feed the data hunger of the parent company in such a way that you can doubt whether your communication is in safe hands there. Safe (free) alternatives already exist: what’s stopping us from switching?