In the US, while many I know use iMessage or Android send via SMS/RCS, most all my friends and family also have Facebook Messenger and most all seem to end up sending there since one doesn't have to worry about if Apple/Android, or which features are supported etc. The only big downside is Facebook Messenger strips all meta data, so unlike say Apple Messages, not good for sending photos to friends family since won't have the correct date, location, etc (which you can turn on/off on Apple Messages), and with messages can send as large or as many as I want in one message so they can easily add to their Photo library with a click. With Facebook Messenger, even with the new HD feature (you annoying have to click each time), you still have limitations on how many and size you can send. Hoping Messenger or or WhatsApp eventually seamlessly support that. Some apps say they do but you have to add photo as a "file" which ends up with lots of down sides from a user experience. Also if WhatsApp is so popular hopefully eventually they let you merge your Messenger data into What's App since can't imagine starting in a new app and losing a lifetime of messages history. Was excited for RCS, but so far, has been problematic where sometimes RCS is enabled for a contact other times for same contact its not. Or slow to send, though is preserving meta data it seem now. But no support for replies, which is a deal breaker and of course not encrypted at all.
There is now an “HD” button when you select photos. By default this is disabled but just make sure you select it and it’s way better. Might be a new feature, I only learned about it last week or two.
Edit: Saw someone mention it a few comments down, and that it’s not quite the original. It is indeed an improvement though.
Signal offers the option to scale images or not, which seems like the best option from a user perspective (maybe not from a service provider's cost perspective).
I believe that if you send it as a file instead of as a normal image you can send it uncompressed, (Attachements Button > Documents / Files > Select image in file picker, I guess they make this non obvious because people will gobble a ton of space even if 95% they can make do with hyper compressed blobs
I'm aware it's not the original file, rarely do I want to send the original file because it would be way too big. If you want to do that then you have to send it as a file instead.
I've had the same experience. Practically everyone I know primarily uses Facebook Messenger (or sometimes Instagram) for messaging since its available everywhere and has the features we like. We occasionally use SMS/RCS since it has photomojis or WhatsApp for international groups (e.g., all the family overseas). A few folks use Signal.
