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74 votes
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Apple threatens to pull FaceTime and iMessage in the UK over proposed surveillance law changes
71 votes -
Apple cuts off Beeper Mini’s access after launch of service that brought iMessage to Android
64 votes -
Signal messenger releases 'usernames' so you no longer need to tell someone your phone number in order for them to message you
59 votes -
Google Messages signs onto cross-platform encrypted group chat standard
53 votes -
Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp are all down
47 votes -
No more phone number swaps: Signal messaging app now testing usernames
46 votes -
Beeper Mini is back
45 votes -
Facebook’s new AI stickers can generate Elmo with a knife
45 votes -
Google Hangouts for consumers will shut down in 2020
42 votes -
Social media decline: Users are shifting to messaging apps and group chats
36 votes -
Which messenger(s) do you currently use? If you had your preference, what single messaging service would you prefer to use?
SMS, iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct, Signal, Wire, Wickr, Telegram, GroupMe, Viber, Threema, etc. There are dozens of competing messenger services out there, each of...
SMS, iMessage, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct, Signal, Wire, Wickr, Telegram, GroupMe, Viber, Threema, etc.
There are dozens of competing messenger services out there, each of which is either supported by or suffers from the network effect. Futhermore, each seems to come with its own pros and cons. I'm curious about not only people's current use, but where everyone thinks we are headed. As such, I have a few questions:
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Which messengers do you currently use at the moment? What are their advantages and disadvantages?
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If you could magically switch all of your contacts to be on one messaging service, which would it be and why?
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Do you think we'll ever see a realistic convergence of messaging, or are people destined to use different platforms for different contacts?
35 votes -
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Facebook plans to integrate WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger
35 votes -
Privacy win: EU Parliament decides that your private messages must not be scanned
34 votes -
After ruining Android messaging, Google says iMessage is too powerful
34 votes -
The battle inside Signal - The fast-growing encrypted messaging app is developing features that would make it more vulnerable to abuse. Current and former employees are sounding the alarm.
31 votes -
We are back at square one of personal messaging
I can't shake the dejavu feeling I'm getting using any kind of messaging these days. Today we have an awful lot of messaging apps, that are all roughly the same, with similar features - Signal,...
I can't shake the dejavu feeling I'm getting using any kind of messaging these days. Today we have an awful lot of messaging apps, that are all roughly the same, with similar features - Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, Riot, etc. This happened once already, at the dawn of 200X IM revolution that deprecated SMS for good we also had MSN, ICQ, GTalk, Jabber, etc. This also was a set of very similar personal messaging clients and protocols, similar in any way to each other. It all changed when the multi-protocol messaging apps came out - Pidgin, QiP, Miranda and others made it easy to gather all your contacts from various protocols in one place and to keep in touch with everyone. Shortly after Jabber transports were made so you could congregate all other accounts into one single XMPP account. Even N900 that came out in 2009 had the ability to gather various accounts into one single contact list.
I feel like right now with all the segmented IM apps it's a good time for something like this to happen again, and Telegram already has wat-bridge.
What are your thoughts on that topic? Do you think the history will repeat itself? Would a new federated formate like XMPP rise up?30 votes -
Encrypted messaging app Signal blocked in China
29 votes -
It looks like Facebook will be forcing me to switch to Messenger. What are my options?
Today when I opened Messenger Lite there was a message from Meta saying " your chats will be moving to Messenger" and that Messenger Lite will stop working on September 18. I actively switched...
Today when I opened Messenger Lite there was a message from Meta saying " your chats will be moving to Messenger" and that Messenger Lite will stop working on September 18. I actively switched from Messenger to Messenger Lite several years ago because the regular Messenger app was draining my battery. Are there any alternatives to Messenger Lite on Android? Perhaps even FOSS?Or will my only option be to move to the old Messenger app if I want to use Facebook messenger? I have some work related groups on Messenger that would be tough to move to another platform, so Please don't just say "use Signal" or something similar.
28 votes -
Please don't say just hello in chat
28 votes -
Signal is finally bringing its secure messaging to the masses
28 votes -
WhatsApp announces messaging interoperability in response to Europe's Digital Markets Act (DMA)
27 votes -
A literary history of fake texts in Apple’s marketing materials
27 votes -
Company that routes SMS for all major US carriers was hacked for five years
27 votes -
Signal adds quantum-resistant encryption to its E2EE messaging protocol
26 votes -
Signal's server repo hasn't been updated since April 2020
26 votes -
Discord launches a new website and announces $100M in new funding as it starts to distance itself from being a gaming-oriented service, moving towards day-to-day communication and "your place to talk"
26 votes -
Absence of certain features in IRC considered a feature
24 votes -
Quantum resistance and the Signal Protocol
23 votes -
What are secure alternatives to slack, and what are your experiences with them?
First, some context. The latest from the US justice department saying that they will be focusing on finding "ANTIFA leaders" is incredibly troubling for anyone involved in leftist groups. I...
First, some context. The latest from the US justice department saying that they will be focusing on finding "ANTIFA leaders" is incredibly troubling for anyone involved in leftist groups. I foresee a lot of good activists, regardless of how far left they actually are, arrested on trumped up charges in order to squash opposition.
Organizing is essential to resist fascism. This is made more difficult by the pandemic, as in person meetings bring a huge, almost unacceptable risk. As such, many orgs have been turning to platforms like Slack instead. Trouble is, Slack logs are not encrypted and I am certain that as a business based in the US Slack will not put up a fight to keep user data safe if the feds come calling.
I'd like to collect a decent list of alternatives. Important factors include encryption, ownership, open source status, ease of use, federation, scalability, hosting, cross platform, and anything else you can think of.
23 votes -
Hong Kong protestors using Mesh messaging app China can't block: Usage up 3685%
23 votes -
Telegram now allows every Telegram user to delete any message in a private conversation from both sides
23 votes -
A decade and a half of instability: The history of Google messaging apps
22 votes -
Matrix 2018, a year in review
22 votes -
Why does Google have nine messaging services?
A sentence from this article on Ars Technica about the new Android Messages web interface really jumped out at me: Android Messages started as a simple SMS app, but, with the Web client, it is...
A sentence from this article on Ars Technica about the new Android Messages web interface really jumped out at me:
Android Messages started as a simple SMS app, but, with the Web client, it is turning into Google's ninth messaging service after (deep breath) Google Talk, Google Voice, Buzz, Google+ Messenger, Hangouts, Spaces, Allo, and the Slack-like Hangouts Chat.
Nine different chat services from a single company is just wild. How did Google let such an important aspect of the Android platform become such a mess, and what should Google do about it?
22 votes -
Messaging programs: which is better privacy - browser versions or dedicated apps?
I use Slack, WhatsApp, Discord and Facebook's Messenger. On my computers, rather than installing dedicated apps, I've always just used these services' browser versions. It allows me to block ads...
I use Slack, WhatsApp, Discord and Facebook's Messenger. On my computers, rather than installing dedicated apps, I've always just used these services' browser versions. It allows me to block ads with my browser's ad blocker and modify the UIs with other extensions that I use.
But in terms of privacy — and more specifically, in terms of what the service has access to outside of their own walled gardens — is there a difference between using these services through a browser or their dedicated apps? I use both Windows and Mac computers, if that makes a difference. My browser of choice is Firefox and I run the services in their own containers.
On my phone, I just use the provided apps and get notifications that way. I am well aware that most of these protocols are not great for privacy to begin with, but I'm not currently looking for other messaging systems.
21 votes -
Element One - All of Matrix, WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram in one place
21 votes -
Microsoft Teams is now officially bigger than Slack
21 votes -
Signal technology preview: sealed sender
21 votes -
Signal removing support for SMS in Android
20 votes -
Hundreds arrested after European law enforcement agencies monitored over 100 million encrypted messages sent through Encrochat, a network used by criminals
20 votes -
Mark Zuckerberg: A Privacy-Focused Vision for Social Networking
20 votes -
WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton gives the inside story on #DeleteFacebook and why he left $850 million behind
20 votes -
Yup hacks together a cross-posting app for X, Threads, Bluesky and others
18 votes -
WhatsApp is working on cross-platform messaging
18 votes -
Introducing peer-to-peer Matrix
18 votes -
Recommendations for a simple video chat system for Grandma
Grandma is understimulated in assisted living, and while Mom is looking into ways to either bunk with her, or drag her back to our place, I'm exploring other options. Her apartment does have...
Grandma is understimulated in assisted living, and while Mom is looking into ways to either bunk with her, or drag her back to our place, I'm exploring other options. Her apartment does have wireless internet, so we could set up some sort of telepresence or video calling device, but even something as simple as a Relay or a KC2 isn't great, because it loses power, and needs to be explained to her.
I'm thinking that we might have better luck with a Tablet or a PC solution, and I do have a Kindle Fire (5th Gen?) and an off brand Windows 10 tablet around, and I am open to a Pi Project or speciality devices, but it has to be simple enough to plug and play, and the dream would be if it could start a video chat without the receiver having to pick up, or at least as simple as a nurse being able to come in and start a call. Any suggestions?
18 votes -
I don't trust Signal
18 votes -
Facebook in talks with banks to add your financial information to Messenger
18 votes -
WhatsApp chats will soon work with other encrypted messaging apps
17 votes