telegram:

- very good android, ios, and desktop open-source apps they keep properly up to date (also a web client)
- stickers, emojos, gifs (and with better compression)
- useful bots (and inline bots)
- groups and good admin tools
- nicely including voice or video in chats
- now even favorites

- requires a phone number (not public)
- is not very secure (but above average)
- is centralized and not entirely open (they haven't been evil for now)

and let's go to threat models now we're at it, if Russia or France wants to get me they will because:

- they can directly threaten me or a friend with death and torture and that will be MUCH more cost-efficient that anything else on this list

- they can legally threaten telegram into giving some of my messages that i knew had to be low-risk information

- they can intercept and attack that encryption to get basically nothing of value either

seriously what's the worst that could happen

@CobaltVelvet Have you looked into Wire at all? Not sure how it compares to Telegram.

And if course, either way: https://www.xkcd.com/538/

@thomnottom @CobaltVelvet I liked Wire until i heard they were using Signal's protocol, and after their vocal defense for Whatsapp and the backdoor they implemented I trust nothing they do.