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Ask HN: Which messaging apps do you use?

6 points by whoitwas ↗ HN
I used to enjoy signal, but now it's mostly useless as only a handful of my contacts adopted it. I would like something that's what Signal used to be so I can message all my contacts with encrypted messaging once again.

What options are out there?

30 comments

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mattl
- Signal - iMessage - WhatsApp

Very few people using Signal, a few people on iMessage (a group chat or two, plus a few key people)

Everyone else is on WhatsApp

I also have Slack for communities, IRCCloud, Ivory for Mastodon and BlueSky.

whoitwas
Aren't you concerned about whatsapp and meta owning all your messages?
mattl
No they’re all encrypted in the same way Signal is.
whoitwas
That's not my understanding. I thought whatsapp messages were stored encrypted, but server side.
mrkeen
Whatsapp makes the claim the messages/calls are end-to-end encrypted.

(But the app is also running on each end, where the unencrypted messages live. There's nothing stopping that app from sharing those messages directly with FB.)

saurik
No: while there are some notable (and maybe critical) differences surrounding how group chats are handled, by and large WhatsApp literally uses Signal's protocol.
whoitwas
Okay. The messages are encrypted in flight. I will never use a Meta product.
saurik
Great: and presumably you have good reasons for that. On the other side, I will never use a Moxie Marlinspike product.

But, for both of us: the messages themselves being insecure isn't a concern, so spreading FUD about such is net harmful.

whoitwas
You trust Meta? haha I don't think there's any need to spread misinformation. They're one of the worst companies on the planet. Right up there with Nestle.
mikewarot
Discord for friends and family

Skype for my late friend Ward, and my other friend Jim

I get the occasional message when I'm logged into Facebook through the web.

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solardev
It's a network problem. People will flock to the easiest to use solutions, not the most secure. Just don't share anything sensitive over the unencrypted channels.

It doesn't matter what options are out there. People aren't going to bother.

aristofun
Telegram is the only decent messaging app you can truly actively use and not get pissed off every few hours.

Also have to use whatsapp once in a while because some relatives and friends prefer familiarity to quality.

whoitwas
I'm not familiar with Telegram other than it's popular in EU?

Why is it less frustrating for you?

aristofun
It is the other way around - others are terrible pieces of software.

Telegram just works as it expected to. Perfect intuitive UX, flawless features execution, plenty of features both for basic and advanced hardcore users.

One of just few examples of software products that you can call great.

whoitwas
I downloaded Telegram and tried to use it, but it looks like it's not for SMS. More like a discord sort of thing. I'm trying to find a decent SMS app for Android. I don't think one exists anymore.
aristofun
wdym "SMS"?

Which exact features you miss?

There is no better messaging app than telegram.

whoitwas
sms is the messaging protocol typically used by phones. it's the default for text messages on android. mms is group message and rcs is another protocol. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS
aristofun
Okay, I see.

Looks like you still new to this new generation of messaging apps.

They are far away from oldschool SMS -> they send messages over internet but connect people based on their contact lists (phone numbers users sign up with).

whoitwas
I need a default SMS app for the OS. Telegram isn't listed as an option. So I can't modify the default.
aristofun
Im curious what’s the point of looking for sms app if the format itself is very limited?

What is wrong with standard sms appa?

whoitwas
A default SMS app is required for Android. It's made by google.
aristofun
Android is also made by google, soo?
whoitwas
Yes, but Android and it's derivatives are open source for the most part. Or at least based on open source technology.

Ideally, I can minimize my data exposure by limiting Google's access.

whoitwas
It seems like they want to turn your contacts list into a slack like messaging service. I don't want that. AIM was alright, I just need text messages.
whoitwas
Also, as soon as I opened the app and got into it one of my contacts began messaging me. I don't know why or how they did it, but I then deleted the app.
mmaniac
All my online friends are on Discord, but I don't like it.

Family and IRL friends use WhatsApp.

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constantinum
Whatsapp for friends and family

Slack for work

Telegram for apartment community

email for very very close friends

iMessage for those using ios

mindwork
Telegram - 80% this is my preferred method of communication

iMessage - 10% for friends who refuse to install telegram

Whatsapp - 5% for video calls. Surprisingly Telegram video call quality degraded over last 4-5 months for users in USA. So now I have to use facetime + whatsapp combo

Misc - 5%

Telegram is years ahead of the rest by user experience and features.