So I’m in a somewhat unfortunate situation. My circle of friends doesn’t want to switch to another messenger and we are currently stuck on the worst possible platform for security: Telegram.

The problem is that it is very hard to convince anyone to switch, if they are all perfectly fine and like Telegram. I mean I can get why they like it: The UX and UI of Telegram are amazing and there are well functioning clients available for any platform. It has more features and gimmicks than any other messenger I know BUT it lacks one mayor thing: E2EE. And that’s mostly what I care about. The second problem is that I was the person who recommended the switch to Telegram right after WhatsApp was bought by Facebook. I know, that was a bad recommendation, but back then I didn’t know shit about privacy or why E2EE mattered. I was just like “Hey, it’s not by Facebook, so it must be better”. And now everyone I know is there and won’t leave.

If - in the hypothetical situation of me setting an ultimatum and deleting my Telegram after that - I wanted to make them switch somewhere else: What messenger would that be? Currently I’m mostly thinking Signal. I know it’s not perfect either, it is centralized, and the servers are in the US, but it has a bigger user base already than most of its competitors like Threema or Matrix/Element and it is very easy to set up and use. I’m already a user of Signal, Threema, Matrix, WhatsApp and Telegram (every platform for some contacts, but most of them on Telegram sadly), so having yet another option is not a problem for me, as well as getting rid of one is also no problem. I’d love to delete both Telegram and WhatsApp in this move.

So, in conclusion, what I need is a messenger that has all or most of the following:

  • best possible security (E2EE is minimum)
  • easy to use (no complicated setup, simple UI)
  • already has some users (not too niche)
  • cross-platform and multi-device (should run on Android, iOS and Windows/Web)
  • some flashy dumb features like stickers and so on to keep them entertained

My choice would be Signal. But I am unsure if that is the best choice or if I should just wait a bit and see what all of the new EU laws about messengers and gatekeepers bring to the game and if anything chances with that.

      • shortwavesurfer@monero.townEnglish
        1·
        9 months ago

        I personally dont have much experience with XMPP. From what i understand you have to roll your own encryption or everything is plaintext. Matrix encrypts but has major UI/UX issues around key management that make it a PITA to use.

        • jabberati@social.anoxinon.de
          3·
          9 months ago

          @shortwavesurfer What do you mean by ‘you have to roll your own encryption’? The switcher for encryption looks like this, the default is set to OMEMO which is the XMPP implementation of the Signal encryption protocol.

          • shortwavesurfer@monero.townEnglish
            1·
            9 months ago

            Isn’t there several options besides OMEMO? If everyone sticks with default that would be alright. If there are other options that could get complicated.

            • jabberati@social.anoxinon.de
              3·
              9 months ago

              @shortwavesurfer In my experience normal users never touch the defaults. My friends all use OMEMO when messaging me, especially since the OpenPGP option would require you to generate a public and private key yada yada…

              • shortwavesurfer@monero.townEnglish
                1·
                9 months ago

                Isnt conversations an XMPP client? I feel like i have heard good things about it. My two big gripes with matrix is the key management and i cant auto delete conversations. I make wonderful use of signals “disappearing message” feature.

  • Dsklnsadog@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    282·
    9 months ago

    The only answer for what you are looking is Signal (user base). The next thing would be Whatsapp, so … Signal… Just signal.

  • TheFool@infosec.pub
    12·
    9 months ago

    Easiest seems to me just enabling E2EE in telegram since it’s there. Asking to use secret chats seems easier than asking to switch plattforms

  • quaff@lemmy.ca
    111·
    9 months ago

    FB Messenger and Instagram Messenger would be the worst for privacy… But Telegram is basically just FB Messenger with nicer UX features.

    There’s a couple of platforms that have better privacy and security (debatable) features than Signal, but Signal is more widely adopted amongst the E2EE Messengers.

  • Danileonis @lemmy.ml
    8·
    9 months ago

    SimpleX Chat > Matrix > others

    Btw it’s very difficult to change something in the routine, many people have your same issue; where I live WhatsApp is a fucking authority…

  • Sha'ul@lemmy.ca
    8·
    9 months ago

    I think the only choice is Signal for practical purposes. There is no creating accounts, no scanning ID’s, no invite link to chat. If they already know your number, there’s nothing they need for you to contct you on Signal.

    For people who I have their number, I will never ever acknowledge any other option than Signal because confused people don’t end up making any choice. Only if they talk about servers and networks, then I will teach them network security. I say SimpleX F-Droid is king of them all, but for random people, I only mention Signal/Molly.

    For the record, I will say that I am more willing to currently use Whatsapp than ever use Telegram. I can’t speak to the cool features with Telegram because I hate it too much to register my number with them.

  • Hot Saucerman@lemmy.mlEnglish
    7·
    9 months ago

    Actually, I don’t know why I had forgotten this already.

    Link: DEF CON 31 - The Internals of Veilid, a New Decentralized Application Framework - DilDog, Medus4

    Veilid. I watched this DEF CON presentation on it. I remember asking myself “How would this differ from Matrix and why do we need a competing standard?”

    But actually, after watching, I do realize that in certain ways it seems more elegant and decentralized than even Matrix.

    So maybe put this on your radar as well while it’s being developed. It certainly has jumped to my attention after watching this video.

  • BrikoX@lemmy.zipEnglish
    5·
    9 months ago

    DMA will only affect Whatsapp and Google Messenger from messengers, Apple’s iMessage manage to be excuded as they don’t have 45 million active users (10% of EU population).

    Signal fits all of your criteria.

    • Has E2EE by default
    • Has most generic UI possbile that just works
    • Has a bunch of users
    • Has clients for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Linux
    • Has flashy features like stickers and stories
    • Run by a non profit foundation instead of a single developer or for profit corporation
    • 1984@lemmy.today
      1·
      9 months ago

      Telegram has started it’s Enshittification phase now. They put stuff in the user interface to try and push you to pay for it.