Do they require a phone number when registering? I remember they do, but I might be wrong. I compared all FOSS WhatsApp alternatives a while ago, and I think that’s one of the reasons I ruled out Signal. Element was the winner btw.
BTW, even if they don’t, I still think Element is better. Signal doesn’t meet f-droid’s standard while Element does, and ofc Element is federalized while Signal is not (it’s centralized Oo).
Idk where you even see those ads, I run with lineageOS+microg, firefox+ublock origin and SearX and I literally don’t even see ads anywhere.