I’ve lived in several authoritarian countries in which surveillance was constant and intense. I told my family and friends many years ago that I was using Signal and they could find me there. It’s literally the signature of my email. Then I proceeded to slow walk all personal non-Signal communications. I’ve found that starting various friend and family groups really helps people get immersed in the app. So does encouraging group video calls to hang out online.

For many years now I’ve had my entire family as well as dozens of friends on Signal. It’s not a quick process, but it can be done.

Even for professionals like lawyers, accountants, tradespeople, real estate agents, whatever. They’re all on Signal if they want to work with me.

Everyone can choose not to use the app. No guilt trips from me. I just use Signal daily, so if someone wants to finds me quickly, they always have the option to do so.