Signal and Allo actually have a similar number of installs, they're both in the 10-50m installs bucket in the Play store.
I use Signal, but it's fine at best, but it's not really going to break out of it's niche.
I use Signal, but it's fine at best, but it's not really going to break out of it's niche.
Desktop/mobile clients. No need for phone to login.
Oh, and server code written in Haskell :)
Why would anyone invest in a Google messaging system when Google is prone to kill it off randomly?
This is definitely where I'm at. I presume this is all about internal warring fiefdoms, because from the outside it makes no sense.
Google Duo has succeeded as an app known for making video calls, which is as much a marketing/positioning achievement as it is a technical one.
There are lots of people declaring they will use a Google product in this thread, but of course no one is going to use a nonexistent product that people imagine as a clone of what already exists. Unless Google finds an "in", they're not going to get anywhere, even with whatever perfect app HN imagines.