I have gotten all of my relatives to use XMPP with OMEMO, and it has been a pretty seamless change. But I am wondering if any of you have done the same with all of your relatives, and if so, how easy it was. Before using these apps I was just using plain SMS, and was using Meta Messenger before that.
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ALL of them?! That’s a big ask!
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I’ve gotten the immediate family members to install Signal, the rest of the extended family, not so much, not that I care.
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Same here, I got my immediate family and girlfriend to use Signal, but it is more difficult to get the rest of the family to use it. I do not really care either, because I rarely chat with them anyway.
How did you manage to get everyone to add another communication app to their phone?
I find it hard to convince family members, they’re all using WhatsApp, because everyone else is already using WhatsApp…
Unfortunately, Signal is the least worst. I just tried SimpleX as a backup chat for when Signal will be having issues and somehow some messages are not getting through in real time and desynchronization is also an issue somehow.
Things like these are as possible as licking your own elbow. 
Download Signal: Yes (a few relatives and friends)
Occasionally Use Signal: Yes (2 relatives, a few friends)
Reliably Use Signal: No (nobody)
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This was my case when I tried with Telegram. Now that a fair amount of people I communicate with use Telegram, I don’t think they’re willing to switch over to Signal.
I would switch to Signal within a heartbeat if it wasn’t this difficult.
I talk to 100% of my contacts on Signal.
Tips for getting people to use these apps:
- Normalize it. “Whats your Signal username? Really everyone uses Signal now.”
- Limit your availability on other apps. I don’t have most apps or social media. If people need to reach me, they know how. You can even have a business card with only your Signal username to handout to friends and family.
- Network effect. Encourage people to use Signal, form group chats and bring people together on the app. Use Signal to form new communities and positive relationships.
- Ask directly openly and honestly. “Hey bro, do you think you could do me a favor? I got hacked recently, and I’m starting to taking online security more seriously. Do you think we can talk only on Signal from now on? It allows us to talk more securely, its 100% free and made by a not for profit organization.”
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This is important. If you want people to use signal, you are now in charge of initiating communications and actually starting to talk to people constantly with Signal.
Also some people will flat out refuse. Do as you will. Personally I dropped them off and in retrospect, it is probably not a good idea.
I managed to bring my family, friends and co-workers on Signal. I have 51 contacts and ± 30 active ones. Another ± 10 are going back and forth between installing and removing the application. the rest has probably abandoned it.
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It usually works better to get a group of people who all want to talk to each other (like a family) to join Signal, not convincing your individual contacts. They have to see it as the app where they all message each other, not the app where they get to message you.
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I think at least half of my friends and family use Signal, even have few groups, and still when they communicate between them, they use WhatsApp
All my immediate family use Signal and have been for about 8 years now. I was helped in this by a nephew who also wanted everyone to switch to Signal. With the exception of one hold out, that is our main form of communication.
Getting all my contacts to use Signal is a lift too big for me. That said, prior to the roll out of user names I was surprised from time to time seeing people who I would not think would be using Signal showing up on it.
Getting relatives to use XMPP… If they aren’t tech-savvy that’s really impressive.
I’ve got three friends, and two relatives to download SimpleX. It’s the only way I text them, so I’m kind of forcing it on them, lol.
I’ll continue to try and get more over, little by little. I just hope nothing happens to SimpleX, because chances are, I don’t get them to do it again with another app.
Most people are probably using iMessage or WhatsApp already so not a difficult thing to do.
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Nope. I’m stuck in captcha hell while trying to sign up with Signal.
Edit: Finally got in, I started yesterday.
Brought my closest relatives on Signal, some of my friends also registered on their own, but not everybody stayed.
WhatsApp is so prevalent in Europe it’s sad.
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