I know that Signal is the normie tier "privacy" app, but it's a nonstarter for me because it requires a phone number. I've been using SimpleX, but for some reason my messages are taking forever to get through. I think it's an issue with their servers. Regardless, I need a privacy oriented app that actually works. Does anyone have any recommendations?

My use case is pretty unusual, but I don't think that should matter. I'm looking to use my laptop to remote into my gaming desktop so I can run LLLMs from my couch. My ideal is free and open source, but I'd consider something proprietary or costing a one time fee. My only deal breakers are ongoing subscriptions and anything that sends data through their servers.