[bavell]

Not a single one of my Signal contacts (almost exclusively non-tech) uses any of the features you mention. It's been awkward watching them blindly copy "popular" features from other messaging platforms. The reason I like and use Signal is precisely because of the minimal feature set - all I want to do is text people directly or in group chat. Some emoji and gif support is nice and that's about it.

I hope Signal stays true to its roots and doesn't give in to more bloated crap like the other messaging platforms but unfortunately I'm not optimistic in that front...