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Re:Ask HN: Does anyone actually use Keybase? by ShakataGaNai on Tuesday September 25, 2018 @03:19PM (#18069549)
I have used Keybase since it first showed up on HN for Comms and Git. Technically I have done the proofs for identity, but no one cares about that.

The Git usage was really nice. It's fast and secure. While I didn't use it for most projects (because I want them on github/gitlab for various reasons), it was very useful for backing up machine specific configs and history (using a script and mackup). Knowing that it was well encrypted made me not worry about what was being backed up, if there were credentials, etc.

As for comms, I used the 1:1 chat with a friend for quite a while. While it worked, it's slow. Sending messages is a little slow, sending images is VERY slow. Anytime the app is closed (like constantly on the phone), re-open times were slow (for decryption). Eventually I gave it up and moved those few chats over to Telegram (Because it's secure enough for most conversations).

Re:Ask HN: Does anyone actually use Keybase? by rever on Tuesday September 25, 2018 @03:22PM (#18069576)
Did you consider Signal when you moved to Telegram, if so any particular reason(s)?
Re:Ask HN: Does anyone actually use Keybase? by amdelamar on Tuesday September 25, 2018 @03:29PM (#18069679)
I tried Signal and Telegram. But I prefer Wire instead. Its secure by default, cross-platform, multi-device, and simple enough for Mom & Dad to use.
Re:Ask HN: Does anyone actually use Keybase? by simplify on Tuesday September 25, 2018 @04:15PM (#18070102)
How does that differ from Signal?
Re:Ask HN: Does anyone actually use Keybase? by espadrine on Tuesday September 25, 2018 @04:54PM (#18070390)
No Signal Web app. So, not as cross-platform.
Re:Ask HN: Does anyone actually use Keybase? by simplify on Wednesday September 26, 2018 @09:46AM (#18075836)
Is the desktop app not cross-platform enough? https://signal.org/download/
Re:Ask HN: Does anyone actually use Keybase? by solarkraft on Wednesday September 26, 2018 @01:45AM (#18073067)
Wire & Telegram are both cloud connected, while Apps on the Signal protocol depend on your phone to be functioning and in reach AFAIK (huge annoyance/problem for me).
Re:Ask HN: Does anyone actually use Keybase? by newscracker on Wednesday September 26, 2018 @12:59PM (#18077947)
That's not true about Signal. You may probably be facing some bug that should be reported to the Signal team.

Telegram is completely cloud based. So all your conversations, except secret chats that are end-to-end encrypted, are stored on Telegram servers in plain text for as long as your account is active. This is why you can get a new device, activate it for your account and get all your conversations back on it from the Telegram servers.

Wire and Signal work differently. They use their servers as a temporary storage to hold your messages until the recipient comes online and then deliver them. Wire also retains the messages for a few days to allow delivery to multiple devices that a user may be using, with each device possibly coming online at different times. Signal doesn't have to support this because it's tied only to a single device, which is your phone.

Re:Ask HN: Does anyone actually use Keybase? by newscracker on Wednesday September 26, 2018 @01:02PM (#18077977)
Not the GP, but Telegram > Wire > Signal on user experience, features, message delivery speed, etc. There's simply no comparison at all on these aspects.