@stuts I've managed to get a bunch of non-geek friends and family to use #Wire. I've never used FB Messenger, so I have no idea if it covers all the same features. I do know that you can lose messages if you don't login for a while. Also, storage of shared photos/ files isn't long term persistent, which is a privacy feature and keeps storage costs down, but if you want to include shared storage of stuff like family photos/ videos, maybe try a #NextCloud instance that includes NextCloud Talk?