Re:WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebo...
by webmobdev on Wednesday January 06, 2021 @09:42PM
(#25666643)
Where is Signal's owner non-profit located? Different countries have different laws regarding the status of a corporations profit or non-profit label.
Re:WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebo...
by webmobdev on Thursday January 07, 2021 @04:21AM
(#25669006)
That's what I was afraid of - in the US, non-profits can be converted to for-profit. So here, Signals non-profit status for its owner shouldn't be relevant to us.
https://www.upcounsel.com/converting-non-profit-to-for-profi...
Re:WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebo...
by jorvi on Wednesday January 06, 2021 @11:46PM
(#25667372)
Damn. I really like Signal and it's still a cut above most, but even they must realize the US is a pretty poor place for such an organization compared to, say, Germany or Switzerland?
Re:WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebo...
by mortenjorck on Wednesday January 06, 2021 @09:51PM
(#25666702)
I know the circumstances are different, but what almost happened to .org is going to haunt me for some time.
Re:WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebo...
by thayne on Wednesday January 06, 2021 @11:10PM
(#25667187)
Signal is also open source, so if they do somehow become for-profit, it can always be forked.
Re:WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebo...
by est31 on Thursday January 07, 2021 @12:28AM
(#25667594)
You would only be able to fork the client, not the network. Signal doesn't want forks or third party rebuilds e.g. from F-Droid to connect to their main network.
Most people use these apps for the network. The app without the network is useless, but any fork would initially be in this situation.
Re:WhatsApp gives users an ultimatum: Share data with Facebo...
by thayne on Thursday January 07, 2021 @11:34AM
(#25673168)
> You would only be able to fork the client
The signal server is also open source. The absence of federation does mean you would also need to get all of your contacts to move to a different service as well, but it is better than a proprietary system. I do wish Signal was more open to federation and/or alternative clients though.
Lastly, Signal doesn't collect/store any of your data on their infrastructure other than a few hashes required for operation. WhatsApp/facebook on the other hand collect, and likely keep, forever, at much metadata about you as possible. The only way to pay for this free storage is to stay more data so they can target you for advertising dollars.
This doesn't guarantee that Signal will live forever, but at the very least they've learned from previous mistakes and have taken actions to address them.