Anyone used Tox? What is your experience? Will it be easy for people who don't have technical know-how?
You haven't given us any information about what they have access to: Phones? Laptops? Desktops?
You haven't given us any information about what software they run: Android? MacOS? Linux? Windows?
You haven't given us any information about what you've considered and rejected: WhatsApp? Zoom? Facebook Rooms? Messenger?
What are your constraints?
I don't have an answer, but information like this seems an absolute minimum to let people help you.
Voice, Video, Screen Sharing
Preference is for P2P and lightweight clientside native app.
> You haven't given us any information about what they have access to: Phones? Laptops? Desktops?
Phones and Laptops
> You haven't given us any information about what software they run: Android? MacOS? Linux? Windows?
Linux, Windows, MacOS, Android and iPhone
> You haven't given us any information about what you've considered and rejected: WhatsApp? Zoom? Facebook Rooms? Messenger?
Whatsapp, Zoom, Facebook, Google, Signal, Telegram, Discord, Slack, Jitsi, Rocket.
Why have you rejected these? What is wrong with them? Why are they unsuitable for your needs?
Why are you making it so hard for people to try to help you?
Can I suggest you write a proper blog post about what you've tried, why it's unsuitable, how these things have failed to meet your needs, and explain what you really need that is not provided by the things you've tried. Then post a link to that.
Most of the chat apps I listed previously do not meet one or the other requirement. Matrix is the one that I found very good. Unfortunately I was not able to get the voice and video feature working. Hence I looked at Tox which also ticks all the boxes but the clients are not as good as Matrix.
My point is that people will be frustrated if they suggest something only then for you to say you've already tried it and rejected it for reasons you haven't yet mentioned. That's why I'm trying to get you to be more complete about your particular context and circumstances.
I hope you don't mind, but I've re-written and submitted your question here:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23526263
Maybe that will get a response.
Meanwhile, let me explain more ... this will sound brusque, but when I'm in "technical" mode I tend to deal with what's in front of me, and not wrap it in "soft language". Being in "Manager Mode" is possible for me, but an effort, and incompatible with the technical work I'm buried in at the moment.
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> Well, I asked a simple question on Matrix and Tox and you asked me to compare all the other chat applications under the roof.
No, you didn't ask about Matrix and Tox, you said:
> Which platform should I use to communicate with family back home?
You then said that Matrix isn't very friendly for non-tech people, and that you couldn't get voice or video chat working. Fair enough, that's why Matrix is no good for you.
Then you asked if anyone had used Tox. Fair enough, you've suggested something else. But your initial question remains:
> Which platform should I use to communicate with family back home?
So my training is to understand where someone's question is coming from before trying to answer it. I was asking about the limitations, the requirements, and then asking about what you've tried so people could get a sense of your experiences so far, and in what way they don't meet your needs. I could have just said: Why not use Facebook?
So now you've said:
> My requirements are simple: Lightweight client for both desktop and mobile; audio, video and screensharing; P2P; privacy focused and not controlled by single entity, does not limit features and does not force other communities onto the users by default.
Those are not simple requirements, and my bet is that nothing currently meets them.
I get the sense that you feel I'm being unreasonable in my replies, so I'll just finish by answering your original post "as is":
> Which platform should I use to communicate with family back home?
I don't know, it depends.
> Anyone used Tox?
I've never used Tox ... sorry.
I, personally, would consider only Jami, qTox (tox), Signal or Riot (matrix), if you're seeking privacy.
however all have their problems.
Signal - (uses signal proctocol - opensource)is great on mobile, and it's growing in users very fast. However the desktop client is a bit awkward (IMHO) as it's not a native software (i think it used to use electron...). It's regarded (and awarded) as the best alternative for privacy to whatsup-like apps. It's centralized, but very few metadata is recorded (i think only the day of the first connection is recorded...)
qTox - (uses tox proctocol - opensource)is very nice as well, but not much used and the development seems stagnated and not much is heard about it either. Mobile version is also not very active. The tech behind it is great, however. It's a Distribuited System - so it does not need servers to work
Jami - (unsure what its protocol is called - opensource)is a great software no one knows about and few use it (yes, the good old chicken and egg problem). That apart, it is a distributed system (like tox, but i have the feeling jami is superior in it's implementation - but i could be very wrong about this feeling!!!!) so it also does not need servers.
Riot - (uses Matrix proctocol - opensource) very promissing as they are running toward making it use P2P communications - and so, making matrix a distributed service (no need for servers) like jami and qtox - but... it's only on beta stage and... well it may take a while... ( https://matrix.org/blog/2020/06/02/introducing-p-2-p-matrix ) but, on the bright side, unlike jami and qtox, matrix is much used by many projects (KDE guys, for example, decided to adopt it across their entire project).
So, for something that works cross-platform, i would bet on matrix on the long term, if you need a service that many people use, or Jami, if you don't need it to be used by outsiders.
qTox seems too much stagnated for me. Signal - while it's a great service it's centralized AND i - PERSONALLY - don't like their desktop approach (i maybe outdated and not knowing if they already have a decent, native, software for Linux/windows/macos desktops)....... IT'S THE BEST ON MOBILE, HOWEVER - VERY VERY GOOD!!!