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A comment on Signal is finally bringing its secure messaging to the masses. Parent comment

Re:Signal is finally bringing its secure messaging to the ma... by baryphonic on Friday February 14, 2020 @07:03PM (#22331744)
I use Signal heavily, mostly on desktop. It would be more accurate to say that Signal registration is mobile-only. Once registered, you can never touch your phone again and everything will work.

I've tried Telegram, WhatsApp, Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, iMessage. Signal has been the only one so far that I have been satisfied with because it:

* Supports end-to-end encryption (and "disappearing" messages)

* Has desktop and mobile apps that can be used independently (after registration at least; WhatsApp appears to require your phone to be on and near the desktop for the desktop app to work)

* Distributes messages to all Signal clients (Telegram was nearly unusable due to this problem - I had to mentally remember where the conversation was when switching between desktop and mobile)

* Doesn't have some sort of highly constrained user experience that requires using a social media platform or requires using a specific web browser (this has been a real problem with Hangouts and Facebook Messenger since they stopped supporting XMPP - RIP Adium)

* Supports mainstream desktop and mobile operating systems (iMessage fails at this, despite Apple's promises in the last decade)

* Has feature parity with other major chat services (this is the only weakness of Signal, but these days I can't think of a feature on WhatsApp or Telegram that isn't on Signal)

I agree that I wish they would steamline the registration so that you don't have to go through a somewhat convoluted process to get started, but it really is not a phone-only app. Desktop is a full first-class citizen after the initial fixed cost. I think that's the price they may pay by being a non-profit - maybe the marketing isn't exactly what Facebook/Google/Apple/<pick your own DataVortexCorp> can afford.

EDIT: Oh, I guess I should have mentioned Skype, but no thanks. Sorry, Microsoft, just no.

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Re:Signal is finally bringing its secure messaging to the ma... by elagost on Friday February 14, 2020 @07:10PM (#22331785)
You do have to touch your phone for every desktop client you link, and if you reinstall or bounce between machines, you encounter this a lot. Infrequently, the link just screws up and you have to 'relink' the desktop client, again requiring the phone. No way to log back in without the phone. Really my only complaint with an otherwise perfect tool.
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Re:Signal is finally bringing its secure messaging to the ma... by baryphonic on Friday February 14, 2020 @08:49PM (#22332508)
Agreed. I'm hoping the article is correct and they're working on a method to handle login/registration that doesn't require registration/linking via phone, and doesn't leave a "bricked" account.
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Re:Signal is finally bringing its secure messaging to the ma... by dependenttypes on Friday February 14, 2020 @08:07PM (#22332206)
> and "disappearing" messages

Aren't these basically just DRM? A really ineffective one as signal is foss.

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Re:Signal is finally bringing its secure messaging to the ma... by somebodythere on Friday February 14, 2020 @08:30PM (#22332357)
Only if you have an adversarial relationship with your correspondent.
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Re:Signal is finally bringing its secure messaging to the ma... by dependenttypes on Saturday February 15, 2020 @12:42AM (#22333511)
I do not see how this affects it. As a matter of fact, if you do not have adversarial relationship with your correspondent you would not need that piece of drm.
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Re:Signal is finally bringing its secure messaging to the ma... by tialaramex on Saturday February 15, 2020 @01:54AM (#22333785)
Mostly people don't particularly want to betray you but they're lazy and don't care very much about you.

As a result "please delete this message" won't get actioned but exploding messages can be very effective.

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Re:Signal is finally bringing its secure messaging to the ma... by somebodythere on Saturday February 15, 2020 @03:11AM (#22334017)
When I'm flying at the airport, a border guard can compel me or my friend to unlock our phones and show them all our messages. If our conversation history is regularly automatically cleared, we can both have peace of mind.
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Re:Signal is finally bringing its secure messaging to the ma... by Marsymars on Saturday February 15, 2020 @12:24PM (#22336526)
I don't know how you can have peace of mind giving your regular phone to a border guard in any case. If you travel on any regular basis, a dedicated phone for travelling that gets wiped before crossing borders is well worth the purchase, IMO.

Disappearing messages do help with your friend who doesn't have a sanitized device.

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Re:Signal is finally bringing its secure messaging to the ma... by stevenicr on Sunday February 16, 2020 @12:10AM (#22339898)
and your friend who has a gf/bf that goes through their phone taking pictures when you are asleep or in the shower, whether you know it or not..

and other apps on your phone that behave the same way.

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