I've heard good things about the Fossify SMS app. Might want to give it a try.
I can't speak to it because I don't use SMS a whole lot.
this post was submitted on 15 Oct 2025
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I've used Fossify SMS and its predcessor for the past few years and I'm very satisfied with it. Everything works as expected and it's easy to export and import your entire SMS database when moving phones. Thing that keeps me on it is that it lets me block texts by pattern, including entire area codes (looking at the 410 spam texts that plague AT&T).
Fossify Sms is cool but NGL I have no idea where my archived texts have gone and at this point I am afraid to ask 😂 I am not a guy who fails to explore UI elements either! Whisked away into the void
Is there an option to show archived conversations when you tap the three dots next to the search bar?
Yea but nothing showed up :0
I don't use SMS. But if I had to, I'd use QUIK. It's a fork of QKSMS, it supports encryption between QUIK users, the dev is great and it deserves more attention.
I dont use SMS much but there are services and people that still rely on it, QUIK is great.
I love the delayed sending feature (initially in QKSMS), many times I have hit send and then gone "wait.. typo", and edited it.
Has a great inbuilt backup & restore feature too.
You shouldn't be using SMS enough to care what the default app is like.
The only thing that you should be using SMS for in this day and age is to get two factor authentication codes from the institutions who are still too stupid to use TOTP
And maybe updates from your pharmacy or grocery order.
Lots of ppl only have SMS as a means of messaging. It's not ideal, but neither is WhatsApp, and I still need that pos app to contact certain ppl.
In any case, this is a terrible response to OP's question.
theres not a way for me to possibly convince every person i know to use signal or xmpp or any other form of messaging
So you want them to install a potentially dodgy app like Signal or WhatsApp to send the odd message?
Signal isn't dodgy like WhatsApp is. It's just not perfectly anonymous.
It's a little dodgy. ;-)
The biggest issue with Signal is that it requires a phone number to register an account, even if you’re just using the desktop version. Asking Signal to hand over the data it holds on you shows that the phone number you’re using is associated with each device you’ve used to log into Signal.
As a result, Signal must hand this information over when requested to by U.S. law enforcement. The scope of what an investigator could learn is limited, but at the bare minimum they would be able to confirm when you last connected to the service.
While most of Google’s analytics are turned off in the Signal app, it still uses the Google Maps API to handle location data. Calls to Google Maps turn over a bunch of metadata, including the IP you’re connecting from. For a project that’s so invested in privacy, it’s surprising that Signal doesn’t use an open source alternative such as Open Street Map.
Yea, but that's infinitely better than WhatsApp where every piece of data is owned by Facebook and sold to every marketing firm in the world and freely handed over to cops.
Agreed. I did just write "a little dodgy". :-)
Source?
Copy/paste a sentence, then search - and you have the source.
You quote, and don't provide source. Your post is incomplete.
Sorry. I thought I dealt with mature people in here, that knew how to use a search engine of their choice. I can see that I was wrong. BTW your comment is irrelevant...
You question my maturity, when you sulk/tantrum when folk ask for a source... You wouldn't survive in academia. Too insecure and defensive.
I wasn't even OP. You were just wrong and I had same question.
Your point about knowing search engines is irrelevant.
Please, provide a source, or we can only assume you're talking out of your backside which by your response seems a reasonable conclusion.
Oh, you are talking for whom now? Who are "we", that you are spokes person for?
This is not a serious debate - but I guess it's too hard for you to copy/paste a sentence, and see the source for yourself. Let me help you, for you are obviously not mature enough to just do it yourself. Insted you waste everybody's time with this childish behavior.
Here... It took me about 12 seconds to find it for you. So, what is the next thing you are going to whine about?
https://www.mozillafoundation.org/en/nothing-personal/signal-privacy-review/
It's a pain in the arse to do it on mobile.
If I had to search a reference from every arrogant prick online, I'd have no time for anything else. You make an assertion, you back it up, simple. It ain't your work.
I will say thank you for the source. It's a good one. Could have saved so much time if you just shared the link. Does seem that ease was not then plan. Your fragile ego needs to try and lord it over random strangers online. I'll help you with that. You're so wise and smart. So adult. I hope one day your self esteem gets to the point where you don't need this song and dance.
So instead, you sit there like an arrogant prick, and a baby, and demand that people do the work for you.
You could grow up, and stop wasting peoples time on something so simple as copy/paste and hit search. Stop whining about not having the skills to use your phone...
It no longer requires a phone number.
Right, but how many people are willing to use Signal? I have my own messaging server, and those who don't want to use it write sms to me.
Of course not. I want them to offer authenticator based TOTP so that you can use a password manager or the likes to manage the OTP codes.