So here’s the thing, every time I try to move away from Facebook messenger I run into the same problem, nobody else in my friends or family actually want to use a secure, private messenger app like signal or telegram, my wife, my parents, my in-laws, my friends they’re ALL on Facebook and they will never take signal seriously enough to actually use it, it really bums me out that there are these far superior options but without anyone else using them they’re pointless…
Anyway what apps do you use to stay in touch with people?
WhatsApp because where I am it’s pretty much the default app for everyone, friends, family etc, WhatsApp is the go to app here.
I’m mostly Messenger. I have WhatsApp and standard SMS for a handful of people. I did use Signal for a while but ended up back on Messenger. I’ve used WeChat in the past but don’t have the need anymore.
I’d like to use something a bit more federated but Messenger is where the people are.
I use Signal, Element (Matrix), built in SMS with grapheneOS, and I self host MatterMost.
I tried Threema, but getting people to move was more difficult than Signal
I got plenty of gripes with Signal (acting like a de facto proprietary app, backing up horrendously difficult, gimping the Android options in order to get to “feature parity” with the less developed iOS app, serious UI/UX missteps - the bubbles colouring debacle, no AMOLED mode etc.). Having said that, I let everybody know it IS my main messaging app - if they want to reach me, that’s where I’ll be. I do still use WhatsApp (barf!) and Slack, but exclusively for work-related stuff and I force close them the minute I walk out the office (if something blows up, a good, old-fashioned call will do). People who really want to keep in touch will eventually use an encrypted app, even if begrudgingly.
WhatsApp
Telegram with my gf and family, discord with friends. Fb messenger is awful to say the least
Well you could move to Matrix and integrate your messenger account that way it’s a lot more seamless for everyone. You can get one person to do the same and you two start messaging securely via Matrix while you both keep in touch with the rest via the messenger integration. Then eventually everyone that cares even a little bit about Privacy will move over and no matter where they move you can keep in touch through Matrix and its many integrations.
Whatsapp but I’m in Europe.
Useful to have a messenger that also works over wifi. Allows you to go prepaid and save a lot of money. Think I spend 50 Euros a year on phone bills.
And yes, I know it’s also facebook. It is what it is.
Pretty much everyone in my country uses WhatsApp, so that’s what I use. I prefer to use Signal, but nobody I know uses it nor wants to migrate, so it just ended up as a glorified SMS app until Signal removed SMS support.
Sadly my family uses mostly Facebook messenger but my husband and friends use LINE messenger 😊 it’s cute but mostly popular in Japan, Thailand, Taiwan etc
LINE - just the tip of the iceberg of privacy and security concerns. https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/reports/jp.naver.line.android/latest/
Mandatory “don’t put Signal and Telegram in the same sentence” notice. Not to be a snob, but Telegram is not “secure and private”, all chats are not end-to-end encrypted by default, everything is stored on Telegram’s servers with “forever-ever” retention. The end-to-end encryption is opt in, uses a dodgy encryption algorithm and has some limitations in terms of who you can contact and from what device etc.
Telegram is owned by Pavel Durov who also created the largest Russian social media platform VK, which later was overtaken by Russian state as a tool for crowd control and propaganda. Even if we assume that Pavel no longer has any ties with Russia and its “government”, his biography should still raise at least some questions around whether one should trust Telegram.
And finally, Telegram seems to be going the “everything app” route lately, which makes it a one stop shop of personal communication, public channels, news, bots, stories etc. (you name it). While it is not a bad thing in objective terms, these features are not built with privacy in mind, as that would pose quite a technical challenge. This means that Telegram’s privacy and security will only be sacrificed more and more to get more of the social features out of the door.
/rant over/
I agree with every point. The last paragraph doesn’t have to be a problem though: telegram has very open and really nice APIs and enjoys a lot of FOSS 3rd party apps (only matched by matrix). Of course, we can only enjoy that as long the API usage is still free to use…
The last paragraph doesn’t have to be a problem though
It is not yet, but the trajectory implies it may become a problem down the road. We’re, sadly, living this decade, where you can no longer ignore where a certain service is heading and how it monetises itself.
I like to give Pavel the benefit of the doubt and assume he was not a willing participant when Russia took over VK. That said, it still happened, so what is to stop them from taking over Telegram too whether he is complicit or not?
I have issues just getting people off SMS, never mind using a dedicated messaging app. I used to get folks to switch to Signal, because it also used SMS… what a headache, when that functionality got removed. I ended up moving to iOS, to take advantage of iMessage. It’s not as good as Signal, but it’s still a huge improvement.
Default unencrypted SMS, because family doesn’t give a fuck about privacy. 😞
Matrix
This would’ve been what I used if I could get anyone else to use it too.
Signal is actually decently popular in my circle of friends. Whatsapp for the few that still don’t get it and Threema with a small circle of others.
