Considering the US government now owns Meta and thus WhatsApp, it’s an interesting case… why did they use signal?
this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2025
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Privacy
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Disappearing messages
If there is backdoor for them, then there is a backdoor for everybody who knows where to look.
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I personally use carrier pigeons with caesar cipher. I know I can't out tech google, so I will go medieval.
You can do better than Caesar cipher
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What kind of private communication can we talk about if you must have a valid phone number to use Signal?! Lol
Signal recently implemented "usernames" instead of phone numbers
Pretty sure you still need a phone number for an account, though - the usernames are just for sharing your contact with other people.
Most peoples' phone numbers are easily linked to their identity. Which means the government knows who's using Signal.
Usernames are definitely an improvement, but this is a fundamental limitation in Signal's design.
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Much better.
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Signal is great, that's why I'm suspicious that this recent story is to not only target journalism, but also secure app communication. I wouldn't be surprised if it's used as an excuse to remove signal from the app stores.
Hopefully I'm just being too paranoid.
Immediately had that thought as well.
Don't blame the barn for not holding the horses when you leave the fucking door open.
I don’t think that’s the case, I just think it is old people not know how to use technology.
Additionally, all these people in power are using signal, how is that not a loud endorsement that everyone should be on it.
Sadly, my contact list remains mostly on WhatsApp and Facebook messenger only.
Anyone who uses Facebook messenger as their only messenging app will need to text or call me. Fuck that. I do, however, use WhatsApp and discord for work and uni group chats. If or when that's no longer the case, people who only use those will need to text me, too.
The big problem is that the telecoms still charge by the minute to call a landline so most businesses have a Facebook page and use messenger as their primary form of contact.
I’m literally going to a vet now and they had messenger, WhatsApp or telegram as their contact method
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Consider Briar.
Uses Tor. Works directly over Bluetooth/WiFi if the internet is censored or shut down. Decentralized, no accounts. No phone number required.
Of all the options available, I feel like this one is the best suited to current threats (oppressive governments with all-encompassing surveillance, and the willingness to destroy critical institutions and infrastructure).
The app is super barebones right now - feels like SMS - but it works. Main downside is that both participants have to be online at the same time (maybe group chats can work around this?), since there's no servers.
How does the Bluetooth work? If you're close enough to be in bluetooth range with someone aren't you close enough to just speak to them?
One use case could be mass protests/uprisings, where you have a lot of people congregated in a small area. An increasingly popular strategy among governments these days is to just shut down the entire internet in an agitated region. Bluetooth could keep information flowing between people with only mutual contacts, as they move in and out of range.
Ah yeah that's a pretty good use case
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Regarding the trick of an adversary gaining access by emailing or SMS'ing a QR code for adding another device...
Why does the new device not demand the PIN before being added?
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Here are two reasons you might not want to use Signal: Your contacts, your settings, your entire Signal experience is tied to a Signal account managed by Signal. Metadata—who you’re talking to, when, and how often—can still be collected and analyzed. Question everything.
"The only metadata that Signal would have access to, is the phone number used to register, the date of initial registration, and the date of last use."
https://www.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/exd92f/what_kind_of_usermessage_metadata_is_observed_and/
The issue of centralization can be a problem, but in regards to metadata, sealed sender does a lot to prevent Signal's servers from knowing who messages who, which makes Signal a lot more private than described here.
So use no messenger? Any decentralized options?
SimpleX is decentralized, requires no phone number, based on Signal code. Screws up invitations via FB/Messenger though.
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How's signal compared to Element?
Also, is there a secure way to directly send messages to someone else's phone without the message having to be stored on a central server? As in they're only stored on the recipient device. Is that even possible with how the internet works and how packets are routed between networks? Even if the server has no way of decrypting messages by default, just having the encrypted messages stored there is a liability because your encryption keys can easily get leaked by malware running on your device, phishing, etc.
element keeps a lot of metadata unencrypted. but it is federated, you can choose the server that has access to it (deny federation for the room or set up federation ACLs if important to keep it there), and because of the former it's harder to just shut down.
https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-spec/issues/660
signal doesn't, in theory they don't even know the recipient of your messages (but there's a twist in that part as I remember), but it is centralized around US servers. it is easier to shut down.