Personally, I eat the cost of self hosting a small matrix homeserver. For developing a commercial project, I don't have an alternative, because e.g. being upfront and saying that you will eventually screw over your users eventually, is not an option in this economy.
Okay, I mistakenly thought that Signal was burning on investor money like any run-of-the mill startup, but apparently they manage to run on donations similar to Wikipedia.
I also just learned that you can still backup without a subscription. That's great!
> Also, let me know where me and my friends can sign up on your particular matrix instance. What's your ToS anyway?
I said that was my personal solution and not an alternative to centralized platforms.
