Telegram has "channels" though which are similar to Facebook pages (but with no comments/likes).

"Channels are a tool for broadcasting public messages to large audiences. In fact, channels can have an unlimited number of members. When you post in a channel, the message is signed with the channel's name and not yours. You can appoint additional administrators to help you manage the channel. New members can see the entire message history in a channel once they join."

https://telegram.org/faq_channels

"Likes" are possible if you create channel messages via bots. Well, it's a kind of enhanced like. It's called reaction, you can predefine one or several smiles / text entries and channel readers can vote for it under the post. Some bots have convenient option to schedule posts or create self-destroyed messages and lots of other functions.

Comments are also possible via external bots. The discussion isn't really inside telegram though.

But navigation in channel is pain. Especially if you want to jump into the beginning where was no pinned message and channel has long history.

And when you subscribe for many channels it becomes a nightmare to segregate channels and users. They need to improve that experience.

It may be time for signal to adopt channels too even if they can't guarantee too much privacy due to the nature of the medium itself. But channels/rooms/groups have always been popular and will likely continue to be. They need the feature just to get more people to use private messaging as they join the app. Signal also needs to stop depending on phone numbers for usernames.

I used Signal and my main qualm with it is that messages don’t sync between platforms and also the phone app is nowhere as good as Telegram’s.

Well, if it would sync, it's not private. Unless the app allows you to sync the keys offline. Telegram doesn't sync either if you enable e2e encryption.

But I agree that Telegram apps are great. Both Android ones, and the desktop ones as well. Small, fast, reliable, great UX.

Wire does E2E and sync. Each device has its own key though.

https://wire.com/en/blog/key-verification-secure-conversatio...

iMessage is one of the few both E2E and cloud-synced messengers, but it's iOS only.

> Unless the app allows you to sync the keys offline

And why wouldn't the app allow it?

I think that Riot.im with the Matrix protocol has better ux to become mainstream

My main gripe with Signal is that it requires your phone number and you cannot setup your own instance.

A major turn off for me.

FTR and as a user of Telegram who has often recommended it:

Telegram also requires your phone number.

Telegram does not require your phone number, you can set it up with just a user name.

No, you can share just your username, but you need a number to sign up.

Is Signal better than Telegram though? Both have open sourced their cryptography. Telegram is more robust as a messenger and is also a social network. Signal is just... barren in comparison.

I came here to write the very same sentence. Signal is so underrated.

IMO, Signal is actually overrated way too much. I don't want to repeat things too many times. My other comments here have a lot to say on this.

Did you mean underrated?

obviously, i've edited the comment in the meanwhile