this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
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[โ€“] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Or maybe chat history just isn't that important overall. I can do backups just fine on android but have only used that once. I wouldn't be too concerned if I lost all of my chats, as I've already read them.

The core security and privacy features are what's most important. I'd prefer they keep those as the top priority.

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (4 children)

i have disappearing messages set for 2 weeks by default.

i can't understand why anybody would need a 5 year history of their chats ๐Ÿคท

i remember using icq ๐Ÿ™Š i would have encyclopedic chat histories if i kept them. Chat is chat. Wind in the air. You hear it, then it's gone.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (3 children)

A lot of people use this as an SMS replacement, cool story that you don't use it that way, but there are plenty of people that do. And the fact that it can also take over and send normal SMS and not just signal means people have more tightly integrated it.

[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Uh, it does not and has not sent SMS for a good while now.

[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

why do you need 5 year history of your sms?

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

So use more than one app. Signal is secure. Retaining data for years is not.

It's very clear that way.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

It's hard to tell what chats you'll want to retain, so people will just use the other app...

On the other hand, I usually know ahead of time when I don't want a certain conversation saved. Even if I don't, I can delete a message for everyone right after something is sent. That stuff won't get backed up.

Retaining data for years is not.

I don't see why this is the case? Sure deleting your data completely is always more private than keeping it, but why would it be that much worse keeping it. If the information is important, people will keep it in other forms instead (ex. insecure chat app, personal notes, text messages).

[โ€“] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I search through my chats pretty often, both on Signal and things like FB Messenger. Sometimes I want a link that was sent, sometimes I want to review something we talked about, or sometimes I need to figure out when something happened and I can do that by checking when I talked about it with a close friend.

It's ok if you don't use it, but it's important to a lot of people

[โ€“] ink 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

are you 14? People have a lot of reasons to archive their communication: forgotten conversations, random details, family, memories, relationship, business,

But I can understand why an edgy teenager won't have any of those.

[โ€“] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

do you know what icq was?

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

i can't understand why anybody would need a 5 year history of their chats ๐Ÿคท

You are the most insufferable type of person on the internet

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

let me write that down so that i can still read it in 5 years

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Even backups on android could be simpler, such as automatically storing the backup file on a cloud drive. Right now we need to set that up manually with a separate app.

Also while history isn't important for you, it IS important for other people. If I couldn't do the bare minimum with backups, I'd probably have dropped signal. I know some friends didn't take up Signal just because of chat history reasons (iOS, couldn't set up cloud backups on android, etc.)