Signal App – iMessage For Everyone

bnew

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I found about signal when I got a friend a criminal lawyer and the lawyer said he only communicates on Signal. Since then I been using it for phone calls.

What do you guys think about Wickr? I use that too. Australian politicians be heavy on that.

makes sense a criminal lawyer would know about using encrypted messaging. no telling how many cases they seen with text messages being damning evidence and their communications is further protected by attorney-client privileged
 

Wise

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Filesize limits When sending to other Signal users:
When sending to non-Signal users via MMS: 300 KB

no login necessary and it's just more preferable to have actual private communications with anyone than not. I also abhor surveillance states. Companies as well as governments are exploiting peoples ignorance about the technology they use, theres no full disclosure. someone has to buck against the trend.

authorities can get access to your messages if they have physical access to your device and under certain conditions. this will largely protect your communications from remote spying via the data collected, phone carriers keep all sms messages.

It’s kind of hard to make all your friends get on the app. How many of your contacts use signal?

So when these messages disappear and police In the future ever get a warrant, can they ever be recovered like how carriers keep sms messages?
 

Pure Water

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I can tell some of y’all not from the States with how y’all parade around Signal and WhatsApp.
 

Pure Water

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People have to understand that the reason WhatsApp and Signal haven't taken off in the US is because of how texting is used here in the present and the past. SMS/MMS was/is cheap often included in plans from the carriers. So sending text or pictures wouldn't cost us any extra. That's pretty much the opposite for the rest of the world. SMS/MMS was/is extra while data is affordable in European countries. So for people to text over there IM is the best solution and WhatsApp/Signal is the obvious choice for people.

I'm not going up to a women and asking her to download an app to talk to me. That shyt is nuts. I'll get her number, more than likely she has an iPhone and well chat via iMessage. If she has an Android (which is rare for the women I know) then we can just chat via SMS/MMS which doesn't cost anything extra.

About privacy, most people don't give a damn about that. I know Apple has been on their privacy ad campaign lately, but people still don't give a damn about that. They care about ease of use and convenience. It's convenient to not have to download another app and keep up with that information when you can just use your phone number.

What should have happened a while ago is the carriers coming up with a successor to SMS/MMS as a standard a long time ago. But they missed the ball on that. Now Google has their own RCS solution and so do the carriers. It's a damn mess.
 

bnew

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It’s kind of hard to make all your friends get on the app. How many of your contacts use signal?

So when these messages disappear and police In the future ever get a warrant, can they ever be recovered like how carriers keep sms messages?

i use signal with a couple of people who i communicate with regularly, other than that i get the odd sms or so from people a couple of times a week. which pretty much amount to notifications.

messages don't disappear unless you delete them locally. the point is with end-to-end encryption your messages aren't stored on a third party server. they exist on your device and the device of the person you're communicating with unless deleted and they can be protected from access depending on the security measures you take.i.e (full disk encryption, strong lockscreen password, up-to-date operating system). LEO shouldn't be your only concern. it's more than likely your sms messages have been sold for research too.
 

bnew

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People have to understand that the reason WhatsApp and Signal haven't taken off in the US is because of how texting is used here in the present and the past. SMS/MMS was/is cheap often included in plans from the carriers. So sending text or pictures wouldn't cost us any extra. That's pretty much the opposite for the rest of the world. SMS/MMS was/is extra while data is affordable in European countries. So for people to text over there IM is the best solution and WhatsApp/Signal is the obvious choice for people.

I'm not going up to a women and asking her to download an app to talk to me. That shyt is nuts. I'll get her number, more than likely she has an iPhone and well chat via iMessage. If she has an Android (which is rare for the women I know) then we can just chat via SMS/MMS which doesn't cost anything extra.

About privacy, most people don't give a damn about that. I know Apple has been on their privacy ad campaign lately, but people still don't give a damn about that. They care about ease of use and convenience. It's convenient to not have to download another app and keep up with that information when you can just use your phone number.

What should have happened a while ago is the carriers coming up with a successor to SMS/MMS as a standard a long time ago. But they missed the ball on that. Now Google has their own RCS solution and so do the carriers. It's a damn mess.

The thing is you can just use your phone number with signal, its that easy. Signal just replaces your default sms app, thats why the article refers to it as i message for everyone. imessage is secure only when both parties have imessage and a data/wifi connection, just like like signal. So say for instance two iphone users are using imessage and one suddenly has no more data left on their plan and no wifi is available, their texts will now be transmitted via unsecure sms to the other imessage user(assuming "send as sms" is turned on). i use signal with non-signal users without issue..

google and the carriers have no incentive to provide secure messaging so hopefully their messaging apps become irrelevant for users.
 
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Pure Water

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The thing is you can just use your phone number with signal, its that easy. Signal just replaces your default sms app, thats why the article refers to it as i message for everyone. imessage is secure only when both parties have imessage and a data/wifi connection, just like like signal. So say for instance two iphone users are using imessage and one suddenly has no more data left on their plan and no wifi is available, their texts will now be transmitted via unsecure sms to the other imessage user(assuming "send as sms" is turned on). i sue signal with non-signal users without issue..

google and the carriers have no incentive to provide secure messaging so hopefully their messaging apps become irrelevant for users.

But you still have to download the app. And most people don’t care about privacy like I said. Also everyone in the US has “unlimited” data so that scenario ain’t happening. Secure messaging doesn’t matter to people. Most people want to use the default and be done with it.
 

bnew

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I can tell some of y’all not from the States with how y’all parade around Signal and WhatsApp.


whatsapp is definitely poppin in the USA with people that have families overseas and that initial need has converged to using it among local friends and family too..
 

Pure Water

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whatsapp is definitely poppin in the USA with people that have families overseas and that initial need has converged to using it among local friends and family too..

Poppin is a very strong word. It’s known in the US, but SMS is king here.
 

bnew

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But you still have to download the app. And most people don’t care about privacy like I said. Also everyone in the US has “unlimited” data so that scenario ain’t happening. Secure messaging doesn’t matter to people. Most people want to use the default and be done with it.

you talk as if the vast majority of users are screening what they install. they aren't. An app that merely replaces their default sms app is a bit different than suggesting they replace messenger or whatsapp which operates a bit differently.

I don't have unlimited data.:unimpressed:

most people use default apps and settings because they assume companies have their best interest in mind and aren't tech savvy themselves. once informed people make choice for privacy if its not too inconvenient. like i said before, changing the default sms app by installing an app and going through one confirmation dialog is all it takes.
 

Pure Water

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you talk as if the vast majority of users are screening what they install. they aren't. An app that merely replaces their default sms app is a bit different than suggesting they replace messenger or whatsapp which operates a bit differently.

I don't have unlimited data.:unimpressed:

most people use default apps and settings because they assume companies have their best interest in mind and aren't tech savvy themselves. once informed people make choice for privacy if its not too inconvenient. like i said before, changing the default sms app by installing an app and going through one confirmation dialog is all it takes.


Okay. What is your main point here. I feel like the conversation is going all over the place. State the issue and I’ll respond.
 

bnew

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Okay. What is your main point here. I feel like the conversation is going all over the place. State the issue and I’ll respond.

asking people you intend to communicate with to replace their default sms app isn't a big deal and might be welcomed once it's benefits are made clear. you make it sound like an unrealistic goal when really and truly, users aren't devoted to sms apps like they were years ago. emojis support was the biggest selling point for .texting apps years ago and now that support has matured industry wide.
 

Pure Water

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asking people you intend to communicate with to replace their default sms app isn't a big deal and might be welcomed once it's benefits are made clear. you make it sound like an unrealistic goal when really and truly, users aren't devoted to sms apps like they were years ago. emojis support was the biggest selling point for .texting apps years ago and now that support has matured industry wide.

Ah okay. What you’re saying is very reasonable. The issue here is mindset. In the past when I was on Android (2013) I tried to get people to use G Talk or whatever Google’s service was called back then. I couldn’t get people to switch. Now in 2019 if someone wanted me to switch to Signal or WhatsApp I’m not switching. The same is said for millions of Americans. Most people here use what comes with the phone and Facebook Messenger (just because they make you use it to respond to messages on Facebook).

Im just looking at the numbers. Most people still use SMS here not because it’s good, but because it’s the default. The only hope for a better group messaging/multi-media experience is RCS being pushed in the US and replacing SMS/MMS. Proprietary solutions like Signal and WhatsApp shouldn't replace what we currently use.
 

bnew

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Ah okay. What you’re saying is very reasonable. The issue here is mindset. In the past when I was on Android (2013) I tried to get people to use G Talk or whatever Google’s service was called back then. I couldn’t get people to switch. Now in 2019 if someone wanted me to switch to Signal or WhatsApp I’m not switching. The same is said for millions of Americans. Most people here use what comes with the phone and Facebook Messenger (just because they make you use it to respond to messages on Facebook).

Im just looking at the numbers. Most people still use SMS here not because it’s good, but because it’s the default. The only hope for a better group messaging/multi-media experience is RCS being pushed in the US and replacing SMS/MMS. Proprietary solutions like Signal and WhatsApp shouldn't replace what we currently use.

you fundamentally misunderstand what signal actually is.

Signal >> Home

Signal is made for you. As an Open Source project supported by grants and donations, Signal can put users first. There are no ads, no affiliate marketers, no creepy tracking. Just open technology for a fast, simple, and secure messaging experience. The way it should be.

the signal app source code can be downloaded from here signalapp/Signal-Android , the same cannot be said of proprietary apps like whatsapp and messenger.

whatsapp is not an sms app, signal can send and receive sms messages but also offers secure messaging between two or more signal users when a data connection is available while still using their phone number. i have messages in my signal app from non-signal users using sms, i also have messages in my signal app from other signal users. whatsapp and signal are fundamentally different.
 

Pure Water

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you fundamentally misunderstand what signal actually is.

Signal >> Home



the signal app source code can be downloaded from here signalapp/Signal-Android , the same cannot be said of proprietary apps like whatsapp and messenger.

whatsapp is not an sms app, signal can send and receive sms messages but also offers secure messaging between two or more signal users when a data connection is available while still using their phone number. i have messages in my signal app from non-signal users using sms, i also have messages in my signal app from other signal users. whatsapp and signal are fundamentally different.


So can Signal be implemented by the carriers like RCS? Or better yet, will it.
 
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