Which is your preferred messaging app? I just want some insights about these two.
You may share other messaging apps too.
Do you want it to be so complicated that no one you know in real life is able to use it for more than two weeks before they make some kind of mistake or change that deletes their entire message history and identity? Matrix
Do you want a slim chance that friends and family might use it, but you have to listen to privacy nutjobs tell you your app is a CIA NSA PsyOp and you might as well cc: potus(at)whitehouse(dot)gov all your messages, it’s run by an american non-profit obviously it can’t be trusted? Signal
Beeper which runs over Matrix (with bridges) has been pretty good and straightforward.
It’s setup like a chat app rather than a slack/discord lookalike so its easier for usual folks to get used to.
Does Beeper not break Signal encryption?
This is how I explained Matrix to my mom: its like an email address, but for chat. You can chat at me, even if we aren’t using the same server, like someone can send an email from Gmail to Hotmail. She got set up and promptly went back to texting me every dang time.
That is where signal once shined before they removed the capability of being default sms app
That’s why they removed it actually, people think being the default SMS app means you’re actually sending encrypted messages now. Nope, it just means you’re sending regular old SMS but with thr Signal app.
That’s an extreme minority though. The only people who use Signal are privacy and security conscious people and the people who those people forced to use signal. For the second group, they couldn’t care less if it’s encrypted or not, for the first group, they will make sure what’s a Signal message and what’s a regular SMS message.
This mythical user that accidentally sends an SMS message when they meant to send a Signal message doesn’t exist.
That user might be in the slim minority but they do exist and I appreciate them taking that into account and taking seriously the security of people who aren’t super technical.
But then the only use case is if you literally take someone’s phone, switch the default SMS app to Signal, and they don’t know how to switch it back themselves. If they’re that tech illiterate, they’ll probably call you for tech support as to why text isnt working, instead of switching to Signal. And even if they then agree to do it your way, the mythical user you described is no longer mythical, it is easier to make a mistake in the Ui for someone tech illiterate. You will often see a person’s phone number in their Signal profile, after all, it’s not unthinkable.
Also, as time goes on, more people start using Signal as more people see how fascist some governments are getting and how intense social engineering is with spam calls/texts/whatnot. I know a random 60 year old bus driver who switched to Signal and made other privacy changes like turning on Safari’s relay because her accounts got hacked and she was using the same password for everything. To someone that is blind Googling something they don’t have context for, Signal is a trusted encrypted app, therefore anything I send through Signal should be trusted. I don’t think it is as impossible as you think. And again, to what benefit? There is some benefit to prevent Google possibly scanning your messages, but there are also plenty of other SMS apps which can avoid this, if it is avoidable at all.
Try Delta Chat, it’s even more like email but for chat (it runs off off Chatmail relays, it’s literally email but for chat).
But more importantly it’s easier to use, I’d have to set my mom up on Matrix but on DC I just sent her the invite link, she downloaded the app and made an acct (and may have had to click the link a second time to get to me but still), it was easy as hell! Then next time we were together I had her open her phone and I set her up with a few extra relays for redundancy. And she actually uses it now! It’s basically a whatsapp clone UI wise so I guess that helped, and at first she’d text me and I’d reply on DC until she started remembering DC exists.
My dad’s a bit better, all I had to say was “it’s encrypted” and he made an acct and hasn’t used SMS with me since lol.
Signal (but actually Molly)
I also prefer Molly as client.
Can you elaborate why ? I’m not sure I see a real difference
Molly has more features and it’s developed by indie devs.
Well it’s a fork of signal so makes sense
For one thing, it still has the option for an additional fingerprint lock to open the app.
Sure, my phone itself is locked anyway, usually.
I still like having the second lock built into the app itself for the odd time (however rare) that I hand my unlocked phone to someone.
I know they’re not snooping into my signal messages while I blink or misclick on a notification or whatever.It may not be a big deal for some/most but I like that feature and I can’t imagine that’s something that needs much upkeep once initially implemented.
I’m sure it’s not the only feature, but it’s one I use often.
XMPP is the standard messaging protocol. I recommend Conversations for android, but of course any worthwhile protocol has multiple independent frontends.
Matrix is so resource hungry compared to XMPP
Whoever voted this down does not know ball
So, I host a Matrix Stack and I bridge to Signal (and Discord). It’s the best of both worlds – all my messages funnel through one application.
Seeing as you’re using Lemmy/PieFed, I’m going to guess you’ve got a handle on how federation works. I’d suggest Matrix.
With your bridging to discord, do you have dm capabilities? Able to join servers you don’t control? Because I’m nervous about the idea of getting banned for puppeting since I have multiple big servers I’m in charge of
Yes, to all points. I’ve backed out of busy or large servers primarily because I didn’t care about them. Control is granular enough to join specific channels, as well. I don’t know that anyone can even tell I’m bridged.
I actually prefer XMPP. It’s also less of a hassle to set up than Matrix and the protocol is much more mature. There are still issues, but it’s rather functional for audio and video calls (if you’re using a supported client).
Edit: For clients, I use Cheogram on Android and Profanity (which is a TUI) or DinoX (for calls) on Linux.
xmpp + omemo. Signal is centralized, matrix leaks tons of metadata to sync between services…
I’d go with Matrix. I use it as my main messenger and I’ve actually set up my own self-hosted instance. It works perfectly for both 1:1 conversations and managing my tabletop RPG groups. Voice chat through Element Call is fantastic – honestly, it’s a solid alternative to Discord.
What I really appreciate is the control I get from self-hosting: I have complete autonomy over the server and data for both my personal messaging and community spaces. For RPG campaigns, the room structure and customizable permission system are ideal. The voice quality is reliable enough for long gaming sessions, and everything feels more private and independent compared to relying on Discord.
I’ve been using XMPP the past two decades. I use it because I haven’t found something that’s better.
Both ! Use Matrix with tech savy friends and Signal with your family
Signal is more stable & simple to set up. So for its intended use, getting people to actually talk to me on it, it’s better.
Matrix is obviously better as a Discord replacement. It doesn’t require a phone number which is also good. Not centrally managed so easier to decouple from big tech corruption. So it is better in those ways.
I agree. Signal is easier to use and to get people switch to it since the UI/UX are vey similar to other big platforms.
Isn’t Signal a CIA honeypot?
No
Matrix is just far too convoluted. Signal seems to be the easiest one to use. SimpleX is the best.
What is complicated about Matrix?
I have constant encryption errors that I can never figure out how to fix it. And I always have issues signing in on a new device. I don’t even know why.
they do better onboarding last i tried it, but adding servers is not as simple as just pasting a code. you suddenly have to worry about servers and which rooms are in which server and such. you do have to make sense of things when you first log in.
i found it unfamiliar, but i guess such is life when you are swapping apps. the clients i tried could use some tweaking and feel pretty sparse. some looked and felt like IRC.
it should have more pictures (not entirely unserious)
I feel uneasy about Signal being an app centralized in the USA, but it is the only one streamlined enough to be usable by non tech-savvy friends and family. I wonder if it will fall prey to Chat Control in Europe, so the time to explore alternatives will soon be upon us.
So far, I have heard of XMPP, Matrix, Delta chat and SimpleX. Never got friends to switch to XMPP or Matrix for more than one conversation, so I guess we’re just f*cked.
Me neither. In fact, all my friends and almost all people here are only using Messenger and Telegram.
Without a doubt, #DeltaChat: open source, free, and privacy-friendly.
Matrix is a good option, but it’s too complicated for ordinary people who aren’t tech-savvy, while Signal relies on Amazon and Google’s servers…I saw someone says that groups are locally stored only, which is definitely a drawback.
Yea its Not Perfect but for its featureset I think its the Best alternative if you can deal with its few warts
Signal. Requires little technical knowledge, other then knowing about end to end encryption and why its important
I would like to use matrix since if anything, I think its cool. But noone I know would be remotely interested.
