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How does userbase affect usability?

Also, I tried Wire recently, which has e2e and all your messages on all your devices. I tnink sent messages duplicated, encrypted with each of your devices keys. So when you add a device it can't read previous messages.

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An instant messaging platform needs a network of users. I am more likely to use a platform that allows me to talk to all of my contacts, than to use multiple platforms that only allows me to talk to a few each. If I have multiple, I am also only likely to add the new platform if there is at least a handful of people I know there. Likewise, the more users that are on the platform, the more likely that new users will be attracted.

I am on Telegram primarily because it's the best I can come up with that my friends use, and moving my friends is an unlikely task as they have their friends on Telegram as well. You need to move or duplicate users from existing platforms to get a userbase, but you need a userbase to attract users from existing platforms.

I have been looking at Wire. They're using the signal protocol, but in a more closed model IIRC. I didn't know that they had a solution to this problem, though, and always just through of them as basic Signal clone. I guess I'll have to have a look. :)

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