I don’t use apps like whatsapp or skype because they sell my data and don’t trust them.
I was hoping for a foss alternative to talk to my parents, regular folk who need something easy to set up on their android devices, ideally through fdroid.
I don’t want to reveal a real phone number because I don’t want ads from nobody.
I don’t need to see my parent’s faces, I just need to talk to them and maybe send files and lines of text.
Whatever you choose, the actual challenge will be convincing your family to use it just to speak to you.
Simplex
#Conversations_im — and those in your circle who don’t mind using their phone number, they can use #Quicksy, which is slightly easier to onboard. Both are compatible, however, because they follow a standard protocol, called #XMPP, previously #Jabber. I.e. a Conversations user can talk to a Quicksy use. Jabber is the #fediverse of chat 🙂
xmpp yayyyyyyyy!
On Android, there is Quicksy, and yes, it uses phone number sign-up for ease, but it seems more private than corporate apps.
Without phone numbers, there’s Conversations.im. There are some public XMPP servers with open registration, but you would need to find one, e.g. sure.im by Tigase lets you make aan account, but I don’t remember if calls work.
Are you looking to self-host something as well? Snikket is all-in-one chat+calls, but you would need to host a server. (Still based on Conversations and XMPP)
Jami, Trifa or Nextcloud Talk.
@arsus5478 Conversations can do that. Requires an #XMPP account but you can create one through the app.
