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Choosing a Messaging App

If you want to create a group chat for your XR group, there are loads of different options and making the right choice can be difficult.

In this document, we will compare the four apps most commonly used by XR groups. There is an overview on this page, and much more detail in subsequent pages of this chapter.

Ultimately which tool you decide to go with comes down to what you and the other people in your group are comfortable with. Our recommendations can be summarised as:

If your group...

  • ...organises lots of different things at once, use Mattermost. The extra features and discoverability should really help to make your group more productive.

  • ...organises a lot of actions, use Mattermost combined with Signal for the added security. Also don't forget to enable disappearing messages.

Where possible please use existing chats rather than creating more new ones. Let’s work together to prevent information overwhelm.

Consider one closed group chat for organising actions (usually a temporary group on Signal or private Mattermost channel) and one open chat for participation (usually on Telegram or a public Mattermost channel)

Overview

WhatsApp is widely used by people outside of XR

But it is not secure and is limited in its functionalities so M&M does not advise using it for organising. It also doesn’t sync up with Mattermost or other XR broadcasts. Detail.

Telegram is used by XR UK for broadcasts

It’s an encrypted messaging service similar to WhatsApp but with greater flexibility and features. You can edit and pin messages, see the chat history, locate media and each chat can hold a large number of people. It’s also accessible on nearly any device. A limit on message word count can impact broadcast posts. Detail.

Mattermost is XR’s main messaging app for working groups

It functions on its own server making it particularly secure. It is accessible on any device and has tons of flexible features and ways of storing and searching for information. The drawback is that it can be overwhelming in layout and content and requires time to master. It’s more similar to Slack or Discord. Detail.

Signal is used by action planning groups

It’s the most secure encrypted chat, with a disappearing message function. It’s also visually clean and crisp. However, it’s not possible to pin or thread messages or edit your messages after 15 minutes, making it less useful for mass communications. Detail.

Summary Table

Whats­App Telegram Matter­most Signal
Security
Accessibility
Features
Discover­ability

Alternative messaging apps

There are many other messaging apps used by rebels in XR. We have just chosen to focus on the most commonly used ones here. Some other popular choices include:

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