Everyone I talk to uses Signal; even my siblings, who are not technologists and who I do not talk to about this stuff, use Signal (sometimes to my annoyance, since iMessage works just fine when we're figuring out what each of us is bringing to dinner). But for the purposes of this post, almost literally any secure messenger is better than email.
Do I read you correctly that you are actually admitting that there might actually be room for more than one type of messaging?
Try tapping that mr NSA! :) 1st word over whatsapp, 2nd word over telegram, 3rd over signal, and so on. Each word of course PGP encrypted ;)
I wonder if you're in a bubble. Only 3 people I know use Signal, and it was a hassle getting one of them to start using it. Most people are still happy with SMS or Facebook (or probably iMessage, but as someone who avoids Apple, that's not an option for me).
Do they use Signal of their own accord, or because you asked them to and they were receptive to using it? Do they use it when talking to other people that aren't you?
It is not because I asked them to. I'm the one telling them to go ahead and use iMessage.
I'm more talking about how they initially chose to use Signal. Did you tell them about it, or did they learn about it on their own? Do they prefer it because of its encryption or security features, or for other reasons?
I did not tell them about it. Signal has received a lot of press coverage. They use it because it's what they think they're supposed to use.
I switched over to Keybase from Signal about a year ago. I avoid SMS, iMessage, and email as much as possible. I've had no regrets, and almost zero downsides. The cross-platform support was the biggest driver for me, along with other bonus features.
Many people in the circles I run in have adopted it recently.
(I do agree with you)