I did a bit of research for my personal use and what came out as the best options in 2023 are indeed SimpleX and Briar. What do you think of the latter?
Seems that's true. Text-only communication in Briar is built by design. I see this from its communication scheme. I don't think any other message options will come up. So I am also on it in case of the Internet outage. Besides, you can chat properly only when you and your contact are both online. Not a very handy option for daily use.
So SimpleX.Chat for privacy and Matrix for public groups.