1160
GrapheneOS is building its own RCS support to cut Google Messages out of the picture
(www.androidauthority.com)
this post was submitted on 07 Sep 2026
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Android
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Literally everyone should just use Signal. I really don't understand why we all don't.
Because Signal 1) doesn't ship as default, and 2) requires a login process.
You've already lost the majority of the general public with the former. On top of that, the Venn diagram of "people who go through with logging in" and "people who already know about Signal" has significant overlap.
But the same is true for WhatsAppโฆ
You see, the problem is that whatsapp came very early, when it released it wasn't shit and it provided free messages which in many european countries wasn't a thing yet, everyone hopped on it and used it as main communication platform, this created a big ass network effect that is nearly unescapeable, even today i can't escape from it because i am the only idiot who uses Signal and Matrix and no one wants to leave whatsapp because they already have an account and all their contacts
Was true (except for trustworthy encryption). Then network effects took over and peer pressure did the work.
It could happen again in a good way this time, but the resistance will be stiff.
Used to shill XMPP but everyone should use Tox at this point ngl.
downside: Sharing IDs is annoying (QR code if you are on mobile? idk haven't tried)
updownsides:
I don't even understand how dropping sms support improved security, was it the code required for making it work (I know sms is fairly little on android and remember mms is a pain in the ass) or just because "confusion" about having insecure and secure communications right next to each other?
The latter. I think it was a huge mistake. Now the phone numbers just worsen privacy.
Signal is pretty great and I use it at least a little myself, but it's not necessarily perfect. The big elephant that's always been in the room is its dependence on one backend and the fact they're based in the US.
Different threat models call for different approaches, and every option has tradeoffs.
Still a corp and you can't host it right? Wouldn't it be better if everyone used Matrix for all communication
Because Signal requires a phone number.
But so does SMS, so signal is just a straight upgrade as an alternative.
Because people stick with the default. There was a time people I know would try different messaging apps but after hangouts got canceled nobody wants to bother.
Because signal dropped SMS support.
I use Signal via Molly and as @lka1988@sh.itjust.works points out, there's friction in getting users to on to it. But also the UX isn't even as good as WhatsApp let alone Telegram.
what ui? there is a namelist, a call icon, a message icon. what in the hell do you need?
one thing missing is support for Android Tablets, its pissing my GF off on her Samsung Tablet and yet it works for my mother on her ipad ffs
That's a legitimate concern. However, the Android tablet market is a fraction of a slice of the pie. Meanwhile, iPads are the defacto "standard tablet". Even my little kids just call their Kindles "iPads". I don't even bother correcting them, because honestly who fucking cares? At this point, "iPad" just means "tablet".
Telegram's UI fucking blows. I use Telegram on occasion, but only to follow a handful of software projects that inexplicably only distribute release notes via Telegram ๐ซฅ
Signal's UI is exactly as one would expect. Open it and you have a list of chats. Tap a chat and it opens. Done.
Telegram has been winning awards for their UI since inception. WhatsApp has basically mimicked it. Signal has gone in its own direction which suits 40 year old geeks who use Lemmy, but the actual massesโฆ
Come on, can we at least pretend to have the self-awareness to know what we like isn't conducive to how the masses use these apps.
It's like how people on Reddit use to try and say that front facing cameras were useless and so they want small phones without them. ๐ฎโ๐จ
I'm honestly confused as to what UI differences people care about between Signal, Telegram, and Whatsapp. All three have a list of chats as the main view, with a search field or button, and a chat screen with prior messages on top and an input field at the bottom.
I do not pretend to be a UX designer and would appreciate an explanation.
I used signal offical app and honestly it has a good UI and UX, what does it lack? What seems bad? I don't understand