if people actually cared about freedom/privacy, Discord wouldn't be a thing, right?

and even harder to leave Discord now when a lot of users invested in Nitro fancy emoticons and profile enchantments

I care for privacy. But there has to be a compromise between privacy and socializing otherwise we would all use letters with encrypted text, no?

Not really, because the security of letters is guaranteed by the state. The security of Discord is guaranteed by some private citizens based in the US. At least on paper the state exists for the benefit of the people. Discord exists for the benefit of investors who primarily seem to operate out of China and the US - foreign countries to me.

> At least on paper

But how is this relevant to a discussion of reality?

Even without that, its just a much slicker and more useable system.

I really want to love matrix but at least last time I tried it, the app was very noticeably more clunky and featureless.

I know of nobody who even knows of Matrix, if I haven't told them beforehand. Discord is so much better than all alternatives, that I just don't see why anyone would leave it.