>>colone+(OP)
What are some secure Facebook Messenger alternatives to use? The only reason I currently have Facebook is because of the ease behind Messenger but I do not want to continue using their services. I also need to be able to convince my friends to try a different platform since I want to be able to continue to communicate with them. Any advice?
>>erjohn+G8
There are some well-known alternatives: Signal, Telegram, any XMPP server (which you can host)... As for convincing your friends to switch to it, there's no one-size-fit-all method.