Hi everyone, I am looking for an encrypted messaging service to start using and recommending to my friends and family, I really want to get this right the first time. At the moment I’m looking at using matrix I really like it’s bridges and federated nature, Although I’m not 100% sure about it’s ux.
What I want to ask is what messaging service do you use and do you have any regrets with it? What encrypted messaging service would you recommended?
Edit: I just had another question are any of the bridges in matrix end to end encrypted? If person A used matrix and person B used signal could person A use a bridge to talk to person B securely?
Edit 2: thanks for all the responses guys it looks like signal seams like the best option since it has really good security like many other messaging apps but it’s also easy to use.
Recommending to friends and family means Signal. With a phone number they can start using the gold standard for encryption from the get go.
Rolled up scrolls attached to foxes
Listn, I don’t mind occasionally moving your scrolls back and forth, but if you would attach them to my back instead of my legs it would make it a lot easier OK.
To answer your edit: No. They use different encryption algorithms.
I’d consider Signal to be the gold standard of secure communications.
You can describe it to them like WhatsApp, except it’s private, secure, not Facebook-owned, nonprofit so it can’t be bought or sold, etc.
Here’s the blog post that I share with my friends comparing Signal to iMessage and WhatsApp when they ask me about it.
It usually answers most of their questions.
for me it’s xmpp. now that monal on ios has almost reached feature parity with conversations on android, there’s no reason xmpp shouldn’t be the go-to alternative to whatsapp.
I don’t think signal is the answer. a centralised service susceptible to all the things wrong with whatsapp. matrix is bloated. push notifications on simplex android is still sketchy.
and i dont buy the argument that onboarding is too complicated these days. most people can make an account for anything they feel is worth it.
Just a note that there’s an in development fediverse app called ‘sup’ by the creators of pixelfed. It’s not released yet but is going to be encrypted and Open Source. https://mastodon.social/@dansup/113912441928236882
Signal for your family (mostly due to interface), Matrix for online communities, and SimplexChat if you’re trying to be a privacy extremist. I did have some success with setting simplexchat up for some old people over the phone because they didn’t need an account.
Signal and Telegram both require user ID to use their apps. SimpleX-chat does not, zero registration. So if privacy is your number one whish from your messenger than SimpleX is what you’re looking for.
Signal
I’ve used Signal since it first came out as TextSecure like 10+ years ago.
It doesnt have fancy bells or whistles, but its work well for me and good enough that ive gotten elderly family members to use it too
Signal. It’s changed a lot. For the better.
Contains proprietary code. I recommend Molly-FOSS instead.
Upvoted.
Appreciate the reply, but I don’t mind some proprietary code. There are very few reviews of open code by respected bodies (I’m writing in generality here). I’m certainly not qualified to review code. Just being open is only the beginning of the journey.
As we’ve seen with some open software recently there are some active hackers successfully targeting open software because it is open. Such exploits are not always discovered in good time.
https://thenewstack.io/why-so-much-open-source-software-is-vulnerable-to-hackers/
https://thehackernews.com/2025/01/github-desktop-vulnerability-risks.html
Etc etc.
I place store by the warrant responses and action of government entities against some software.
Thanks. You’re not wrong, and I appreciate the well-written response. Some might say you are defending/advocating proprietary software with this stance, but I don’t think there is a clear answer either way that applies to every circumstance.
Thank-you for your kindness. And it is really kind!
I’m old so my view of prop software is rooted in the change of early Microsoft et al bringing real change to the dubious parasitic entities that they are today. I watched it slowly happen and have been delighted and contributing in a small way with Linux since the turn of the century.
RedHat had been sold to the ‘no-one ever got fired for buying IBM’ (I still can’t believe that they believed that that was a winning slogan). In these trying times the love for open source isn’t translating into enough cash; average people are stretched.
I can’t wait for the leaders in my country to stop pandering to the world’s oligarchs and serve the people that elected them.
Signal for security standard and ease of use, which is essential, if You want to use it with non techy people.
Simplex for anonymity, You can download it, share chat and start talking without registration.
Simplex for anonymity, You can download it, share chat and start talking without registration.
It ate my battery when I installed it. Do you use it on a daily basis? What’s your experience with its battery consumption?
Have it on always on, with small scale friends and family use. Don’t find it too draining, updates have improved the battery usage
I’m in one room with 1,500 people and it uses about 7% of my battery. Mind you, that is a lot for a messenger. But I can deal with that.
Sadly, I have no one to use with it, so I don’t know about battery usage. I just like, that it doesn’t require any external identifiers, unlike Signal.
Signal
I will second the others that only suggest Signal or a variant of Signal like Langis or Molly. Everybody has each other’s phone numbers, go with Signal so people don’t need any other contact information.
Never heard of Langis before :)
Personally I’d go with Signal. Matrix has a certain jank level IME, for example rooms can get desynced between homeservers and the only way to fix is to create a new room and abandon the old one. Not sure how often that happens for small scale use though, I’ve only seen it in large rooms.
