^ Signal, WhatsApp, Viber, Threema .. there are plenty of possibilities to get your non-tech friends to use secure ways of instant messaging. I know WhatsApp is widely disliked for various reasons, which are absolutely legitimate. But if you are 'only' after the privacy and security of your communication, then (in 99.5% of the use-cases) it's perfectly fine to use. The cryptography behind it is solid. Please don't burn me at the stake for this sentence.