Messaging Apps Overview
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 the tools you decide to go with comes down to what you and the other people are comfortable with, including how safe and secure you need to be. If security and organisation are your priority, you may well choose more than one app and use them in combination.
If you need long term communication channels, or to reach the same people over time, please use existing chats rather than creating more new ones. Let’s work together to prevent information overwhelm.
Communication channels for a specific actions work a bit differently. If you need secrecy and safety, create temporary channels with just those who need to know (with disappearing messages) and use "airgapping" to break up the information flow where appropriate. Delete these channels after use. Head over to this page for lots more detail on how to do secure internal comms for an action.)
Our recommendations can be summarised as:
If your group...
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...organises lots of different things at once, use Mattermost. The extra features and discoverability should really help to make your group more productive.
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...organises a lot of actions, use Mattermost combined with Signal for the added security.
Overview
WhatsApp is widely used by people outside of XR but it is not secure and is limited in its functionalities so is not great for organising. It also doesn’t sync up with Mattermost.
Telegram
Telegram is used for XRUK's broadcast channels
It’s an encrypted messaging service with lots of features. You can edit and pin messages, see the chat history after you join a channel, 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.
Telegram is similar to WhatsApp but with greater flexibility and features.
Mattermost
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.
Although unfamiliar to some rebels, there is lots of help here on Rebel Toolkit on how to use it, and support from XRUK. It’s similar to popular workplace messaging systems like Slack, Discord, or Microsoft Teams chat.
A big benefit is that the participants of private chats are maintained alongside our XRUK structure and the ownership remains within XR in case anyone steps back, or is unavailable.
Signal
Signal is widely used by action planning groups and organisers. 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.
Summary Table
 WhatsApp |
 Telegram |
 Mattermost |
 Signal |
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| Security |  |
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| Accessibility |  |
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| Features | |
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| Discoverability | |
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