Communication app?

ryuki

Best communication app for privacy, security etc.? (Signal, Session, Conversations, SimpleX...)

Murcielago

Even if you probably would prefer a clear answer - it always depends on your specific use case and your threat model.

You should therefore consider which things are important to you and then weigh them up.

Perhaps you'll find this matrix helpful.

But as you're asking: In my opinion, the best communication app is the one that manages best the balancing act between the following two areas. (a non-exhaustive list of some points that are important to me personally):

security & privacy
for example:

open source
end-to-end encrypted ((In the not so far future, quantum resistance will probably become more important)
no phone number required
avoids / protects metadata during use
no FCM / Apple push notifications
...

usability
for example:

how many of your friends use which messenger (a super-secure messenger that none of your contacts use won't really get you anywhere)
user-friendly (a messenger can also be fun)
easy file exchange
group chats and calls
..

Since you probably want some names, the following messengers work for me: mostly Signal (I would like to give Molly a chance in the future) and sometimes Threema.

I also use Briar and now more and more SimpleX Chat -mostly to play around with other people who like trying things out.

As you've probably may have noticed, no messenger meets all my criteria. Nevertheless, I'm personally fine with it - I'm glad that I don't have to rely on Whatsapp, iMessage or another proprietary messenger.

Perhaps the following discussions will also be helpful:

https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/8356-better-than-signal

https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/8976-signal-vs-molly-vs-molly-foss

https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/3228-signal-vs-threema-as-a-secure-messaging-app

Eagle_Owl

Murcielago
100% agree!

My favorite is Threema Libre. It works perfect and most of my important contacts are using it, too.
Pro: it uses Perfect Forward Secrecy and has a backup function!
Con: Centralized servers (but at two or three separate locations)

Session, the decentralised solution from Australia, also has great potential.
Unfortunately, PFS was abolished to quickly enable the multi-device solution, but the decentralised server structure with onion routing should compensate for this or, in some cases, be better than PFS alone (according to the developers).
Pros: Decentralised, no metadata, very secure against shutdown/destruction by rogue states
Cons: No backup (planned for coming Pro version), no PFS, a few annoying bugs in group functions

I have also tested SimpleX Chat and Briar, both are battery killers because they don't have efficient push notification services like Threema Libre or Tuta Mail have.
If you have a charger available at all times and don't give a sh** about your battery life, you can use these two (or Signal Messenger without Google's FCM) and keep recharging the battery (which will never last 20 hours again ...).

Earlier versions of SimpleX Chat were very buggy (no chat between iOS and Android version, no voice-call establishing possible, if voice-call was possible, then every establishing lasts two to three minutes etc.).
The newest SimpleX Chat version is great, but without an own real good Push Notification Service it is still unusable.

And for SimpleX Chat, I only have one tech-savvy person with whom I can occasionally test this messenger in practice (and not just myself with several test devices on my desk).

[deleted]

Threema!

Mr_Black

Threema Libre.

Murcielago

Eagle_Owl

Thanks for the detailed additional information, I can confirm that.

If you have a charger available at all times and don't give a sh** about your battery life, you can use these two (or Signal Messenger without Google's FCM) and keep recharging the battery (which will never last 20 hours again ...).

Small question to make sure I understand correctly: You're referring to the battery consumption of Briar and SimpleX Chat, right? Because fortunately, I only noticed a slight increase in battery consumption with Signal and Threema when switching from FCM to their own push services.

ErnestThornhill

Eagle_Owl I use periodic notifications on SimpleX Chat and it barely has an impact on my device's battery life whereas instant notifications have the highest battery consumption. The developers are working to reduce it to be less or the same as for periodic notifications.

The app does, in fact, have its own push notification as an open-source alternative to Google push notifications by implementing a message reception as a background service. Read the section titled "We've cracked it for Android!" in the following link for more information: https://simplex.chat/blog/20220404-simplex-chat-instant-notifications.html

Eagle_Owl

Murcielago
Yes, I only consider SimpleX Chat and Briar to be real battery killers.
With Threema Libre, the impact of the push service on energy consumption is barely measurable.
Meredith Whittaker herself said that Signal without FCM is a battery killer.
It's been a while since I used the Signal app myself.
The last time I tested Molly-FOSS, the energy consumption was just as high as with Simplex Chat.
Energy loss in standby mode was 1 per cent every 15 minutes! No smartphone can manage 20 hours or more of normal use like that!

Eagle_Owl

ErnestThornhill
Yes, you are right – with your setup (periodic notifications = every 10 min.) there is no impact also on my Pixel 7 Pro's battery life.

But with this setting, it is not as usable as Threema Libre, which can receive messages and calls (!) instantly at any time.

And thanks for the old link. I hope that the energy consumption can really be reduced so that SimpleX Chat can really compete.
Everything else about SimpleX Chat is already better than Signal, Session and Threema.
But the push notification service needs to become even more energy efficient.