[levosmetalo]

Oh man, the basic usability of all chatting apps I saw is basically the same. Click on a person in chat list, write a message. The differences are so tiny.

After using WhatsApp for years my parents installed Signal. For some reason it was shown for them in English, which they both don't speak. And guess what, they could use it without any issues because all chat apps are the same.

[sofixa]

The difference is tiny as long as you stay on similarly featured apps. I thought the same, but after trying Telegram i disagree.

* editing messages

* pinning messages

* small things like polls ( great for group chats ) and location sharing

* great API and bot framework ( awesome for public chats, and it can also be integrated for personal use ( e.g. i get a Telegram notification when someone enters home, and when my blog or VPN are down)

[cl3misch]

While the UX may not be as polished, you can conduct polls in Signal via the emoji reactions to messages. You could simply count the number of "thumbs up" vs. "thumbs down" reactions.

[brylie]

That's a really clever approach to polls. I appreciate that Signal has emoji reactions for this and other purposes.

[newscracker]

Telegram is leagues ahead of the rest in features and user experience. Leaving side its default chat storage (in plain text on its servers), I’ve seen that it’s the best choice to recommend to people and not have them complain about the platform. That it also hides phone numbers by default is a nice thing.

[brylie]

I hope Signal implements live location sharing, as it is quite useful when meeting up with friends. For anyone else interested in this feature, please show your support here:

https://community.signalusers.org/t/live-location-sharing/25...

[thefz]

> Oh man, the basic usability of all chatting apps I saw is basically the same.

Hey, you are not going to write a vapid Medium post filled with screenshots and emojis with this attitude, young boy.

[corty]

No, not really. Extra PIN requirements make Signal unusable for lots of people. No proper chat backups makes Signal undesirable. That it mostly works the same might be true for you, but any minor difference is a problem for mom&pop.

[FreshFries]

You are so right, it hurts. There is nothing I would like more the to be an avid fan boy of Signal but it is just not ready for prime time.

I have used it for years, and the people and topics discussed there are specific. Just like they are even more specific in Threema. That is when you do (not) care for the lack of features since the return is worth it.

Not sure if I am (socially) capable of leaving WhatsApp.

[mickotron]

Umm... Chat backups in signal are a thing. Settings > Chats and Media > Chat Backups.

Is there a specific feature of chat backups you are missing on Signal?

[tokamak-teapot]

I don’t see that menu item on iOS

[antibuddy]

I agree with the basics and also that Signal is pretty much designed like Whatsapp and so the switch is rather easy. The article however also includes the setup process which is important to many. Just take Element (aka Riot/RiotX) as an example for a long-winded and offputting setup process.

That being said, I still prefer Element over Signal.

[rkangel]

It's good that we've converged on a standard approach for the core stuff - it's the associated functionality that's important and varies quite a lot.

Contact discovery and adding - Signal has gone with the WhatsApp approach here. There are downsides like needing a phone number but it makes it very easy and means that they can do things like sending you notifications when one of your pre-existing contacts joins Signal.

Backups - this is my main sore point with Signal, in terms of recommending it to my friends. Unless they're conscientious or put in extra work they're going to lose all their message history when they get a new phone. You need to do manual backup and restore to transfer messages, and if your phone is lost/stolen then you're screwed. I've set up sync but it's quite a lot of work for what (e.g.) WhatsApp does for free.

[jlokier]

> sending you notifications when one of your pre-existing contacts joins Signal

This was the main reason I didn't choose Signal a couple of years ago.

I don't want all the people who have me in their contact database or vice versa (I'm not sure which it is) to get that notification. It's none of their business that I've joined Signal or when I do. Especially not the commercial contacts.

I joined Telegram thinking it didn't do that notification, and was surprised and annoyed when just after joining someone in my phone contacts then started a surprise chat with me. Yet I've never received a notification about anyone joining Telegram, so I must be confused about this feature.

I completely agree about Signal conversation backup being the biggest issue. For my uses, a chat app that doesn't save non-secret conversations in a way I can keep and search long term is of little interest. The ability to transfer history between Android devices is no use if the reason for having a new device is the old one is lost or broken.

(I use a mix of Telegram "secret" chats (which aren't sync'd) and regular chats (which are) depending on the subject, generally preferring the latter if it's not sensitive. I often want to refer back to things or search them, especially things like photos, dates of events, agreements, etc.)

[shiftingleft]

WhatsApp also loses all e2e guarantees in the process. WhatsApp backups are not encrypted.

Signal on Android does support encrypted backups, however they're not automatically synced with anything. I think on iOS there's a different way to migrate your data, but it seems to require a PC.

[rkangel]

It depends what you mean by "end" in "e2e". It is encrypted all the way to my device. I do see the issue though.

Signal has all the capabilities to do this and have encryption. Why does the chat backup feature (with 30 character passphrase) not offer to store the data in GDrive so that Android can restore it? It's an encrypted bundle so that should be fine.

[newscracker]

Signal on iOS allows direct transfer from one phone to another when they’re physically close by. There is no backup and restore if your phone is lost or broken. Messages also get deleted on the “source” phone once the direct transfer is completed to the “destination” phone.

[rvz]

> the basic usability of all chatting apps I saw is basically the same.

Are you sure? Something tells me if I have to be called to show how one needs to use Signal if it was just as easy to use as WhatsApp, then something is wrong there; usability-wise.

For example, chat backups in Signal is less usable than WhatsApp. All chats are lost once a user changes their device, phone number, factory resets or loses their phone.

As some pointed out, the extra PIN requirement is a trade off that favours security over usability, so there's the risk of putting people off from using Signal and it can't be turned off or avoided.

> When the hype around Signal dies down, and people are trying to get all their friends to migrate from WhatsApp to Signal, it’ll be the UX that makes all the difference.

Absolutely put. Small things like this make the difference between why someone will stay on Signal forever or for 1 month and it's back to WhatsApp for them.

[smichel17]

It can be turned off (granted, this seems intentionally hidden). Settings > Advanced > Advanced PIN settings

[me_me_me]

In this case Signal is passing older relative test flawlessly then :D