signal requires a phone number and won't even allow you to send sms to those that aren't on signal.

its better, but still not great.

Because people are beyond stupid. "i dont want to download another app" - while having an app for almost every other store and bullshit game and whatever

Jami*

Matrix isn’t necessarily p2p

I think what they really mean is "I don't want another account".

There is threema, a Swiss messenger that gained some popularity earlier since they had end to end encryption before whatsapp.

Unfortunately the source code is not open (even though they do get annual audits with public reports), and the client costs 3 EUR or something (once).

Tell me you don't know anything about security without telling me you don't know anything about security.

signal not being on fdroid is a strike against them

If you need to send sms to someone not on signal, why not just send them an sms

if they need my phone number to have an account anyway, they can offer both.

i dont need more apps that do the same thing. i need less.

It's arguably a very bad idea for a secure messenger to also provide an SMS interface, since those are basically cleartext

Anyone using Session? I finally got most of my friends and family on Signal so I'm not gonna switch but I just heard about it, seems pretty good.

Hell I've been getting rid of accounts lately. Feels good.

That’s not even what it is lol.

And as the other commenter alluded to, defaults matter. You’re not replacing the thing everyone is already using by pitching “here’s an alternative that is better in ways which don’t affect your usage at all, and also you have to dig into the settings to turn off the optional daily popups”

The exit plan from WhatsApp is quite simple. Start by installing Signal and setting it up – it takes only a couple of minutes. Then, resume any WhatsApp conversations on Signal if that person is already a Signal user. If they are not, then switch to regular text messaging and gently suggest to that person to switch over to Signal.

Sadly for me, this doesn't really work for some relatives as

• They live abroad and the cost of sending text messages abroad is not insignificant
• Some are so tech un-savvy that even installing a new app by themselves is too much.

All I can do for those relatives is to leave WhatsApp installed but take away basically every permission I can, including running in the background.

exactly. so I'm wondering what the purpose is for its need.

(edit: apologies- the phone number. needing the phone number.)

Tell me you don't know anything about security without telling me you don't know anything about security.

What? You use a secure messenger to send secure messages. It doesn't make sense for a secure messenger to offer sending insecure messages (SMS).

Edit: oh, you're probably referring to why it requires a phone number. This seems to be due to abuse/spam prevention, as otherwise creating new accounts to spam people with is basically free.

using the phone number is still a pretty unnecessary risk, imho.

there's no real need for it any longer.

They live abroad and the cost of sending text messages abroad is not insignificant

Signal is free just like whats app. For text, calls, and video. So that isn't a problem.

I too have friends and family in different countries, one of which is crazy about whatsapp. I simply tell them this is how we are going to do things now, and walk them through it. It is not hard. If they can't do it, well then we don't need to communicate this way. Whatsapp is not an option. It is that simple.