Pretty much what the title asks.

What is everyone using? I'm lucky enough to have a few close friends who use Signal, though trying to get other friends/family to convert for everyday messaging has been difficult and not something I'm going to push. I like that I can use the desktop app to communicate to those who also have the app. Signal seems pretty well regarded in terms of privacy and security when compared to alternatives like WhatsApp and Telegram.

With that said, Signal is more for people I actually know as I'm not going to share my phone number with random strangers to chit-chat with.

What messaging app or service are people using for just general chit-chat?

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

self wrote on December 23, 2020 at 2:04 AM

The Matrix federated network offers E2E encryption and has plenty of pre made extensions/bots (open sourced) so you can link other networking services to Matrix.

RichardButte wrote on December 23, 2020 at 1:41 PM

I'm not a fan of Matrix after reading this:

https://wiki.404.city/en/XMPP_vs_Matrix

Rambler OP wrote on December 23, 2020 at 2:17 AM

I'll check it out, thanks.

razorsedge wrote on December 23, 2020 at 10:03 AM

Matrix is worth a look for sure.

But definitely check out Briar. https://briarproject.org/

Android only..

Briar is a powerful messaging tool with a brilliant design that runs over Tor only. Development is slow but ongoing and active. Briar is totally metadata resistant.

Currently Briar lacks the ability to make calls, transfer files etc so it is not feature rich. But all these things are under development.

But for basic totally secure messaging Briar is the Champ. Contact sharing is by mutual agreement and does not use address books, phone numbers etc so Briar is totally anonymous and of course fully encrypted.

Do check it it.

boobs wrote on December 24, 2020 at 2:09 PM

briar only works if you have IRL friends that you can meet in person.

RichardButte wrote on December 25, 2020 at 1:57 PM

They updated and users can now send invites on a secondary text messaging platform.

razorsedge wrote on December 28, 2020 at 5:36 PM

Actually, that is not correct. Current versions of Briar allow a user to add a contact remotely.

RichardButte wrote on December 23, 2020 at 1:46 PM

I want to love Briar so much, but as long as it doesn't support backup or exporting user data you're stuck on your current device.

There is literally no way of migrating devices without manually sending new contact info to everyone, you WILL lose everything in your profile and if you lose your phone?

"For journalists who needs security" - Well, I guess you just have to contact your secret sources directly again.

Yes, Briar is currently being worked on. But not the export/migration/backup system, the original issue ticked is FIVE YEARS OLD! Because of that I'm actively warning everybody about this critical issue.

For what it's worth, Briar GTK has direct messaging working on linux desktops.

smooth_jazz wrote on December 26, 2020 at 4:11 AM

If have rooted your phone, you can use something like OAndBackup and copy the backup files to another phone and restore it there. But I don't think a lot of people have root. Would be great if they implemented it though.

Rambler OP wrote on December 23, 2020 at 10:21 AM

Nice, looks like it's worth a review.

RichardButte wrote on December 23, 2020 at 1:50 PM

Nothing. There is no secure messengers or services that regular people use. Sure I'm on both Telegram and Signal but "it's another app!" to people. Fine, SMS or nothing then and don't expect me to respond to anything but the most satin of vanilla text. Fuck off with your Facebook messengers!

z3d wrote on December 24, 2020 at 1:40 AM

If you're looking for an end-to-end encrypted chat app that also handles file transfers and doesn't rely on intermediate servers, you might want to look at I2PChat (formerly I2PMessenger).

It's had an interface overhaul recently and is straightforward to use. No signup required, no metadata to log, a settings folder that's easy to migrate, and cross-platform.

To compile, you'll need to have Qt 5.14 or later installed; the source code is available at: https://vituperative.github.io/i2pchat/

If you're on Windows, a pre-built CI binary is available from: https://ci.appveyor.com/project/wipedlifepotato/i2pchat/build/artifacts

furtivefestivefighter wrote on December 26, 2020 at 1:33 PM

qtox.github.io

text chat
voice
video
android no iOS
win,mac,linux,bsd
open source
decentralized
end to end

Rambler OP wrote on December 27, 2020 at 2:59 PM

I'll check it out, thanks!

mr4channer wrote on December 25, 2020 at 12:36 PM

xmpp omemo, irc 6697 port, its all you need. maybe element/matrix if you like normie/zoomer style messaging.