I can’t use them because I can’t convince anybody to switch with me. I talk to most people on discord and I’d rather move to using Matrix, but I can’t convince any of my friends or family or anyone I know to use anything else.

  • chappedafloat@lemmy.wtf
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    24 days ago

    You have to negotiate.

    They: Do you have whatsapp?

    You: No i hate that app but we can use Rehnijobuboba, heard of that?

    They: No and there’s no way I’m installing something I can’t even speak.

    You: Ok, you dont want to install that and I don’t want whatsapp, lets meet halfway and use Signal together!

    They: Fine.

  • Its hard to move people from discord a lot of the matrix uis arent good enough yet.

    Wirg signal i simply dont respond on other services for 2 days but respond instantly on signal. And make sure everyone knows it. I also have a weekly bbq and the invite goes in the signal group chat and the signal group chat alone.

    Once u get enough people everyone else moves cos of fomo.

    • Qkall@lemmy.ml
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      28 days ago

      As much as I expect the down votes… But this is why I like beeper. It’s a good catch all for unsavvy folk. Easier login with having other major chatting apps. (Self hosting is available and self hosted bridges are on dock this year…)

  • satanmat@lemmy.world
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    28 days ago

    We use it at work, or rather I use it to text people at work I like.

    Working with info sec people helps. But I explained it and had them read about it and we all got on board.

    All you really can do is explain that text (sms) isn’t secure and that Signal is. And let people know you want to use it. But yes I wouldn’t try and force it that generally just annoys people.

  • m_f@midwest.social
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    28 days ago

    I bought everyone in my family a drink to get them to use Signal. Worked great and we’re still on it.

    Don’t bother trying to sell people on privacy etc, for the most part. Show them Giphy integration, stickers, Stories, etc and show them that it’s fun. Signal has done great work there, in making it “noob-friendly”

  • OhHiMarx@lemmygrad.ml
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    28 days ago

    Anyone who thinks a secure messaging app is all they need to keep their communications private from government snooping is a fool. All of the end-to-end encryption in the world won’t really accomplish anything when there are any number of other ways to read your screen, log keys, etc. The app just encrypts messages, what happens after that on the user’s device is outside of the app’s design.

    Never assume any digital device is safe. Never.

    • pmk@lemmy.sdf.org
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      28 days ago

      This is why my preferred way of communicating is to sit in darkness and construct one-time pad ciphers which I then put in a new safe that I don’t have the combination to unlock and is welded shut and dropped into the ocean. But other than that I like to use grapheneOS and matrix. I can’t be sure it’s 100% private, but I am 100% sure that facebook isn’t private, so I’d rather use matrix.

  • azalty@jlai.lu
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    28 days ago

    I’ve tried Signal, Session, Matrix and SimpleX and the most convenient one is Signal. Some will refuse to switch, some, the closest people to you, will agree but probably just for you, unless they see an interest in signal themselves

  • bruhSoulz@lemmy.ml
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    28 days ago

    Use whatever you use now less and less and when they ask why u late just claim ur discord app was bugging or u were “talking to ur friends” on element.

  • dingdongitsabear@lemmy.ml
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    28 days ago

    I’m running several opensource alternatives for clients (rocketchat, prosody, matrix) and I’ve transitioned privately from telegram and XMPP to matrix. the pushback from users is immense, they find every possible reason and excuse to stick with the messengers they’re used to and use “the new stuff” for the bare minimum.

    privately it’s easy easier, that’s the only way you can get ahold of me, so if you need/want me, that’s where I am at. for a short while tried to make it work with signal, but a) the phone number thing is a deal breaker (usernames get me only halfway there) and b) I switch and use multiple devices often and that thing is downright hostile towards people who own/use > 2 devices.

    bear in mind, I’m in a dictatorial position. they have to do what I say and even with that, it’s an uphill battle. it doesn’t help that the stuff they’re now forced to use has subpar to downright dogshit UX.

    the new, shiny, superawesome, superfast element x… is crap. I thought Signal was crap - this is another level. I don’t mean for me, it’s crap from the point of casual users, they are coming from the super polished world of telegram and imessage and twitter and friends and everything about this is off-putting. a lot of them need help setting this up, especially if it’s a multi-device scenario.

    the immediate future looks bleak and I don’t see an important development on the horizon that would change any of this. but, that’s how telegram spread, early adopters switching to it and promoting it and dragging normies along. let’s hope for a repeat.

  • Scott@lem.free.as
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    28 days ago

    I use Matrix with bridges to Signal, WhatsApp, Telegram and Slack.

    That means a single app that I can communicate on multiple platforms with.

    My main conversations happen natively on Matrix but can also talk to “normies” on any of the others.

    • Orbituary@lemmy.world
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      27 days ago

      Self hosting? I just grabbed Element X Matrix client from F-Droid. I run a TrueNAS setup at home. I like this idea and will be researching it over the next few days.

    • yonder@sh.itjust.works
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      27 days ago

      This is my dream setup for messaging as well. My problem is that I would not trust 3rd parties to host this setup, but I also have not gotten around to setting it up myself lol.

  • Anna@lemmy.ml
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    27 days ago

    I started donating to signal and told the family that they have to use it now otherwise it would be waste of money. And everyone switched immediately.

  • MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    27 days ago

    None of the alternatives are good enough yet. Either the UX is bad, or they are missing important features, or both in most cases. There is too much focus on privacy and encryption and not enough on being easy to use, and having the features people are used to.

    Asking friends on Discord to switch to Matrix which is missing most of the features and bots they are used to is not going to work out. Same for Telegram to Signal or Matrix.

    • toastal@lemmy.ml
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      27 days ago

      Mumble is perfectly fine for low-latency VoIP for gaming—I think it was the first to even use the Opus codec everyone uses now. Mumble uses a ton less resources than an Electron app. You will want your main chat on another protocol, but this is hardly a barrier.