Signal appears to be one of the best. Not a user. Simply a person paying attention to tech, privacy, etc. podcasts and the like.
this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2024
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Privacy
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If we're defining "text" as "SMS, MMS or RCS", Signal doesn't do that anymore. You can only send messages to other signal users. Signal is a great app but you won't be able to reach people with it unless you talk them into using it.
There are some FOSS SMS clients tho. I used to use Simple SMS, but there were no updates for 12 months.
Maybe try Deku SMS: https://github.com/deku-messaging/Deku-SMS-Android
It seems to have at least some traction for what it's worth.
Simple Mobile Tools are now continued in form of Fossify. It does have an SMS app.
Yeah, but SMS and MMS and RCS aren't protected. This was about a secure messaging platform, not the most available platform.
May I ask why you don't use it?
I have no need. iMessage is good enough, I don't talk about anything illicit, I am not planning crimes.
Signal is still great for cross-platform rich messaging, sending photos and videos with good quality (unlike with SMS), as well as voice and video calls. It also has fantastic desktop apps, similar to how you can use iMessage on your Mac, but Signal works on Linux and Windows as well. And you don't need to be a criminal to care about your privacy.
It depends on what exactly you're looking for in a messenger. If you are able to get people onto a specific platform, go with something like Signal, that's your best case scenario.
If you're unable to do that though, and need SMS/MMS, you have options. QUIK is an app I highly recommend for SMS and MMS. The big downside, however, is that RCS is seemingly exclusive to Google Messenger on Android. If you want to use RCS, you're kind of stuck unfortunately.
To minimize needing to use it, you could buy an old iPhone, jailbreak it, and try and set up Beeper Mini on an android device. That's what I do at least, which helps quite a bit. It's finicky and just not perfect, but it's better than just using SMS/MMS.
Hopefully this comment covers your use case and you're able to get some useful info out of it.
I don't think any of the recommendations here are even close to what OP is asking for... QUIK from my understanding is just a replacement SMS app, it does not "sync messages to other devices" or allow you to send SMS messages via your phone from other devices, nor does it have a desktop/web version, all of which is what Message+ does. Pretty sure this requires a self-hosted server to do (or a third-party proprietary service like MightyText).
SmsMatrix, KDEConnect/GSConnect, Nextcloud Talk are some examples that will do this.
For a simple replacement for a sms messaging app, there is https://f-droid.org/packages/org.fossify.messages/
Check out QKSMS
QUIK is a more up-to-date version of QKSMS. Not the most important thing ever, since SMS/MMS are inherently insecure, but it's just good to always make sure you have up-to-date versions of things.
SMS alternative - Quik SMS (fork of qksms)
Message alternative - SimpleX
QKSMS is abandoned, QUIK is a maintained fork.
Ohh yeah I forgot about it, changing it now
If you want privacy, SMS definitely isn't private....
I cannot understand why people still use SMS in 2024, it makes zero sense to me
Offline?
Sorry to say, but you're gonna need to be online to send anything.
Say hello to my Friend Briar:
Unless you're sitting within BT proximity (in which case, why message each other instead of talking??), this is online too.
Briar is not for the average Bob. Think about journalist trading information/documents, which could be captured if any online transferring is involved.
The internet isn't free around the world (not free as in free beer, free as in I could do what I want without consequences)
If it’s that sensitive then you want wired or physical media.
Yeah but trading information in an encrypted manner online is solved by dozens. Trading information in close proximity to one another (BT is only a few metres at best) is also solved by dozens, even in ways that can't be sniffed because it's wireless. I'm not really sure what briar brings to the table, that isn't already solved?
QKSms
I don't text people because texting is not secure. I use the default AOSP app that comes with lineage OS to receive text message codes like those six digit codes but otherwise I only use messengers such as signal
Edit: To stop anybody from saying it, yes, I'm quite aware that getting OTP codes via SMS is not secure, and I do not use it for any account that will let me turn it off entirely. But some, unfortunately, will not. And so I do not trust those accounts very much.
For SMS/MMS, I find Right Messages to be quite good. For RCS, I don't think there are any alternatives. And surely you know about the variety of messengers (Matrix, Signal, …).
If you’re just looking for a basic texting app, then Textra was okay back when I used it.