I use wire (wire. com) for daily chatting. I like it but I couldn't find any good communities in wire. In session, or simpleX, there are privacy (and other) groups in which anyone can participate… Can we start a privacy group in wire so we folks can also hang around?
I find Signal to be very user friendly, what don't you like about it?
Metadata. Requiring a phone number to register. And a hostile anti-federation, anti-API stance by Signal. Sure, you can run your own server, but you can't connect to anyone in the official Signal network, and third-party apps are also disallowed.
Wire has the same problem, don't get me wrong. They've been resolutely refusing any third-party connections (mainly requests from Matrix bridge folks). But Signal isn't an improvement on these fonts.
Signal is building straight alternative to WhatsApp. And it is very good because everyone who uses it can easily switch to Signal, without complications. Federation adds many new concepts (problems) for normal human, more latency and makes development way slower which is also very bad for mass adoption. And they are against only of 3rd party clients which use Signal in name. Molly exists, f.e. So Signal rocks 🤟😄
Well, you said it yourself, Wire isn't much different in that regard, so Signal is pretty much a one for one substitute.
I would like federation for Signal too somehow, in fact I use Matrix on the side, in particular with people I don't want to share my phone number with, but that doesn't prevent it from being a very solid option in and of itself
Signal minimizes metadata, they don't store it and encrypts everything, phone number isn't a issue as long you don't need anonimity, not everyone have to like federation and there are a lot of third party Signal clients which works perfect and they are allowed, like Molly.