IMO the best messaging app is Telegram. Tons of thoughtful features, constant maintenance, doesn't seem bloated, a desktop and tablet clients that work as well

IMO the best messaging app is Telegram. Tons of thoughtful features, constant maintenance, doesn't seem bloated, a desktop and tablet clients that work as well as the phone app, groups, notes, easy bots and stickers, etc. Compared to it, most messaging apps seem primitive and stale. If only it was fully e2e encrypted, but maybe that's why it's so frictionless. OTOH, e2e encryption is weak when you have groups, as anyone can enter public groups, and a compromised participant in a private group can read everyone's messages.