Asklemmy

Why do not more people choose a matrix server and use a decentralized way of communication instead of committing themselves to this or that app/company?

Because most people they know use WhatsApp/Facebook/Instagram.

Why does anyone choose Telegram or WhatsApp over Signal which is encrypted and audited? (Probably features I don’t care about, but they do)

I don't understand the love for Telegram.

In the short period of using it I had so much BS come through by scammers/spammers - both as DMs and group messages. I've rarely had that with WhatsApp.

In my eyes WhatsApp is far better than Telegram. And Signal is far greater than WhatsApp. The only thing I wish Signal had was inbuilt GIFs; it's not that much of an issue on mobile but it's a pain on desktop.

People don't choose, people use whatever most people around them use. Whatsapp and telegram are both centralized, and shouldn't be trusted because, by the nature of it, they can (and eventually will) turn user-hostile.

Messengers come and go, if we really want to make some progress in this area, we should embrace federated and p2p protocols as the logical evolution. Anything else is just wasting time and user privacy.

Telegram gives me:

• Roll-their-own encryption off-by-default without cross-device support or group chat available.
• The ability to talk to strangers I don't want to talk to
• An open source client, but a proprietary, non-federated server
• An unmoderated social network that's a free-for-all for crypto scammers, extremists, and other nuts

WhatsApp gives me:

• Signal's encryption algorithm on all chats
• Whatsapp web (still with encryption)
• Encrypted group chats
• The ability to talk to human beings I actually know and want to talk to

Neither respects my privacy.

Not sure why I would bother attempting to use Telegram again.

I didn't choose. Literally every single person with a smartphone in my country uses whatsapp so that's what I use too.

a) because it's what everyone I know uses

b) telegram is not end-to-end encrypted by default. And not end-to-end encrypted at all for group chats. That's kind of a dealbreaker. Telegram is one of the last messaging apps I'd recommend.

We don't choose which app we use. Our friends, family, and colleagues do.

I could live with Signal's functionality, but there barely anybody there.

I use email with GnuPG. Everything else is woefully insecure. BTW, I have no friends.

WhatsApp became the defacto messaging app in south America over a decade ago. Sms was really expensive so people opted for WhatsApp which was cheaper over data and you void send pics at a time where no carriers allowed mms. Now almost all carriers have unlimited WhatsApp as part of data plans. Switching to telegram is pretty much imposible

Telegram is worse than WhatsApp in terms of security. It doesn’t even use audited encryption by default.

The perceived usefulness of a network, platform, or communication protocol increases with its relative adoption. That's known as "network effect", and network effect is at strongest for anything regarding direct communication - such as messaging platforms.

In other words: WhatsApp is used by lots of people, and this discourages people to migrate over better alternatives, like Signal (my choice) or Telegram (OP's).

It sends text to people. Even pictures or videos if needed. What more features would I need?

I don't know anyone that uses telegram. Whatsapp is just the standard, though many people have switched to Signal.

Half of the people I regularly talk to are on WhatsApp. I don't like it but that's reality, it's hard to get them to migrate because this means that people THEY talk to would have to do the same. Also a good chunk of them use rakuten Viber. Now why do they use THAT? It's bloated, ad-ridden, and buggy. Almost nobody I know is on telegram. In fact most are still using Facebook messenger.

I just roll with all 3 🤷

• Signal for friends and family
• Telegram for my own personal bots and hobby development projects
• WhatsApp for the rest of the friends group that refuse to switch to signal

Why would I use russian whatsapp owned by russian Zuckerberg living in Dubai?

If anything Signal would be the superior alternative.

But as stated by other ppl before me, I use whatsapp because at least where I live almost everyone uses it and Telegram is for conspiracy theories and Nazi or russian propaganda.

Messaging apps are tricky, you can't just pick what's the "best" because it's primary function is to message people, so the best app is what can do that.

If nobody you want to message uses telegram, or signal, or matrix, than they aren't very good messaging apps FOR YOU.

You have to start using the app, then start convincing everyone else to use it, and that's quite a hurdle, when most people you know use the "good enough" Whatsapp, or even just SMS, or iMessage.

WhatsApp was there first and it was useful in countries where you paid for each individual SMS.

Most people don't care that it's owned by Meta. They just want to be on the platform everyone else is on.

Telegram has no end-to-end encryption for normal messages

Simply because everyone is using WhatsApp. And people want to use something that will let them be able to reach almost all their contacts.

Yet I do prefer & use Threema.

Because I'd rather be spied on by the USA than Russia.

Not being spied on is not an option if you want to stay in contact with people.

Riddle me this - Some people's argument against using telegram is that it is not as secure as WhatsApp(which on face value is true because WhatsApp is E2E encrypted while telegram is not E2E encrypted). Other people claim that only hackers and terrorists use telegram and that is why they don't use telegram. My question is why are people like hackers and terrorists using telegram in the first place if it has worse security while having no upsides for these kinds of individuals.

In my circles, it became popular during the pandemic and a number 1 source of misinformation, with an unnerving amount of obvious links to Russian propaganda- covid related, yes.

So after seeing the extreme antivaxxers join the telegram train, and seeing how gullible acquaintances got "tips" from their telegram groups, I just couldn't take the app seriously. I understand logically maybe the app itself is better than WhatsApp, I understand this may be just my personal experience and that there was just as much trash on WhatsApp. But having my sane contacts using WhatsApp already and my family on Signal, I never saw the need to switch.

I don't know that anyone I know uses either.

Personally I prefer signal, and that's the problem isn't it.

Cause people are too lazy to download a better app.

Telegram is my fav messenger too (yes I know Signal is great too)

People don’t care what’s better. Most people won’t try anything new if the existing stuff is not severely broken.

Here in Costa Rica people are used to using WhatsApp. Even after the terms controversy they kept on using it

Every person that i have ever talked to in my country use whatsapp and none use telegram

Personally? Because telegram feels dodgier than WhatsApp. At least I can trust WhatsApp enough around security. If I really want to upgrade my privacy or freedom, I would have chosen either Matrix, Signal or Session.

Depends on which of your social groups uses WhatsApp or not. If your IRL friends are in IT they might prefer to use Signal because of their knowledge and understanding; but the average person will use the app that everyone else has as well.