Invidious link: https://invidious.tiekoetter.com/watch?v=TzGEmXync5M
An overview of Signal’s long list of flaws (phone number id, Play service payments, centralized infrastructure, etc) and the history of The Signal Foundation of ignoring many of these issues.
Signal is disappointing. And I am tired of pretending that it’s not. I have been using and recommending Signal for longer than it existed. Signal just came out with a feature we have been waiting for for 8 years.
You see 8 years ago, the only flaw Signal had was that it required a phone number to register and find contacts. This was bad, because it meant you couldn’t get an anonymous Signal account, which meant you could get hacked or abused by anyone who knew your phone number. It was also easy for authoritarians to censor people’s access to Signal by denying phone registrations by country code.
The reason for the phone number requirement was to prevent spam. The primary function, was to use your phonebook to quickly onboard new users and send notifications whenever anyone in your contact list signed up on Signal. A very convenient Silicon Valley feature that allowed people to quickly connect with their friends and also let domestic abusers find out their victims are trying to contact a lawyer’s office over Signal.
Finally after years and years I managed to get more and more people migrating to Signal, away from WhatsApp. Only because more and more people are on signal.
It may not be perfect, but it’s so much better than WhatsApp and Telegram.
No one is going to install a super secure app of no one else uses it. Most people don’t care. They just want to be in touch with everyone.
This is the same argument for that Twitter is still the main platform for politicians in my country, even though it’s a fascist pedo hate speech board now (the new 4chan). Politicians: “Yeah I want to move away from Twitter, but all the journalists are on there”. Journalists: “Yeah I want to move away from Twitter, but I will miss all the politician’s messages.”
People seriously are this stupid, and in politics at the same time.
Imagine having to convince boomer parents and colleagues / boss to move to an app most of their friends, colleagues, business associates, family etc. are not using. Then imagine having to tell them they should actually move to an app no one they know uses, except me. They will tell you “fuck that shit, I have nothing to hide anyway, I’ll just use WhatsApp instead.”
same for Twitter for politicians […] “Yeah I want to move away from Twitter, but all the journalists are on there”. Journalists: “Yeah I want to move away from Twitter, but I will miss all the politician’s messages.”
I think this should be solved by legislation. There are already many European government instances, and think its the way. it’s a risk that institutional communications depend on some billionaire’s whim. A legislation that forces politicians (at least the ones in office) to use the corresponding governmental fediverse instances could solve these problems.
I totally agree. The issue however, is that this needs to be implemented by politicians, who are (with just a few exceptions) unwilling to change.
Unwilling and also bribed with millions by the BigTech Lobby
And after profusely spitting on it, what do you suggest to replace it with?
Clickbait.
Because that’s the thing with these videos: they tear Signal apart, and then… nothing. No alternative proposed. And even when these people have one, it’s never something normal humans actually use in any significant number.
Signal isn’t perfect, I won’t pretend otherwise. But my actual choice isn’t between Signal and some hypothetical perfect messenger. It’s between Signal and Messenger, WhatsApp and Telegram. On that scale, Signal wins, and it’s not even close.
And no, my family and friends are not moving to Matrix. Getting them all on Signal was already a nightmare. I’m not going to explain homeservers and Matrix IDs to my relatives. If your alternative requires a tutorial to even register, it’s not a replacement, it’s a hobby for tech enthusiasts.
So yes, keep the pressure on the Signal Foundation, some of it is deserved. But until a better option actually gains mainstream traction, Signal remains the only realistic way to get regular people out of Meta’s and Telegram’s data
I don’t know if you wrote this in bad faith, but there are many alternative chat applications and platforms mentioned during the video that are more secure than signal.
I agree, the title of the video is awful.
The author mentions many times how they support Signal, but we shouldnt just accept their excuses for the lack of advancement on certain issues just because it’s the most convenient option.
The best messaging app is the most private and secure app I can actually get people to install. I can’t get anyone to install SimpleX or Matrix.
SimpleX has been a lot easier.
Got my boio, roomie, and a coupla frens there.
Unfortunately, Simplex seems to be developed by a fascist: https://drewdevault.com/weird-guys/
I don’t trust VC fuckers, but the underlying protocol is good work.
I would love to see a noncommercial reimplementation and network, especially one which doesn’t have crypto integration.
Or at the very least for signal to stop requiring a phone number and allow you to register from a desktop.
Devault is a pederast freak. Pick your poison, I guess.
“let domestic abusers find out their victims are trying to contact a lawyer’s office over Signal”
It lets anyone know you have a Signal account true, although you can (and have been able to for a while?) disable being found by phone number so…
I don’t like the phone number requirement either, but is there a better alternative?
I’ve been using Signal since before it was called Signal. I’m a big fan, and I still use it and recommend it. No, it isn’t perfect, but for my needs, it’s still the best all-around. I am always interested in alternatives, but they mostly haven’t stacked up. Top contender for me right now is DeltaChat. I’m also playing around with Sideband/reticulum, which is a super interesting project, but nowhere near ready for primetime.
Edit: forgot to mention Veilid chat :)
