I am a Matrix user -- I run a homeserver primarily for bridging my other services into one chat application -- and I am a Signal user.
I have found that Signal strikes a good enough balance with E2EE that I can easily recommend Signal to anyone -- I do not find the same to be true of Matrix. While I believe Matrix to be a better choice for freedom and privacy I do not see it as a good option for non-technical users. Even for technical users I feel it can be very confusing to use unless you are already familiar with the Matrix ecosystem, jargon, etc. With Matrix, the overhead to manage sessions and your security is much higher than Signal. Sure, it's unfortunate that you have to place some trust in Signal, but it's far less confusing than having to manage your own sessions.
In my subjective and probably biased experience, Signal feels as easy as iMessage but still provides greater privacy than most other platforms (not Matrix, obviously).
I really like Matrix for myself and for dev communities. But I have a hard time seeing a future where Matrix becomes a mainstream personal messenger until the experience feels a bit more hands-off for non-tech users.
100% agree. Matrix is great and while it took a bit to setup everything I liked the direction it's going.
Started using Beeper which is built on top of the Matrix protocol. Even with this nice abstraction app, there were several steps to set up and then connect to the various bridges they have. They're still very much a beta product.
I'm in exactly the same boat as you. Signal for random friends and family, Matrix for anyone who can handle a little bit of tech. No one else in my Matrix friends group chat works in IT, though, so it's not that bad.
I agree, but I expect Matrix to catch up in the long run.
There is nothing in the Matrix protocol that fundamentally blocks it from having a great UX. The client apps are just not as good as Signal's yet.
Yeah, I guess that's true. I suppose it's the way Matrix gives you control to manage multiple sessions that gets confusing. I can understand why it's good to give users that control -- but for non-technical users it gets confusing quick in my opinion.
I have found that Signal strikes a good enough balance with E2EE that I can easily recommend Signal to anyone -- I do not find the same to be true of Matrix. While I believe Matrix to be a better choice for freedom and privacy I do not see it as a good option for non-technical users. Even for technical users I feel it can be very confusing to use unless you are already familiar with the Matrix ecosystem, jargon, etc. With Matrix, the overhead to manage sessions and your security is much higher than Signal. Sure, it's unfortunate that you have to place some trust in Signal, but it's far less confusing than having to manage your own sessions.
In my subjective and probably biased experience, Signal feels as easy as iMessage but still provides greater privacy than most other platforms (not Matrix, obviously).
I really like Matrix for myself and for dev communities. But I have a hard time seeing a future where Matrix becomes a mainstream personal messenger until the experience feels a bit more hands-off for non-tech users.