As Signal get your phone number. Can we considerate this application as private ? What’s your thoughts about it ? I’m also using SimpleX, ElementX, Threema, but not much people using it…

Cheers

  • Dessalines@lemmy.ml
    10·
    3 days ago

    It’s a centralized, US-based service running on AWS, that’s not self-hostable, requires phone numbers, and you have no idea what code their server is running.

    Whether the app you use for it is open source, is entirely irrelevant for them building social network graphs, considering they have your real identity via phone numbers.

    If the answer is “I just trust them”, then you’re not doing security correctly.

    • MTK@lemmy.world
      5·
      4 days ago

      It is not as good as a decentralized system, and even though the server is open source, it isn’t self hostable (technically in an intranet you could but not easily)

      But the signal foundation is a non profit with external audits and a proven track record with law enforced requesting data and getting basically nothing (If i remember correctly they only have your user to phone number relation and the last time you were online)

      So although it is imperfect, it is an amazing solution that is almost the only 1:1 competitor to whatsapp/messenger/imessage that is privacy respecting, so I am very grateful for it’s existence.

      • Dessalines@lemmy.ml
        1·
        3 days ago

        even though the server is open source, it isn’t self hostable

        Since its a centralized server that isn’t self hostable, you have no idea whats running on their server. Signal even went a whole year once without publishing any server back end code updates, until it raised a lot of hackles so they started adding to it again.

        But the signal foundation is a non profit with external audits and a proven track record with law enforced requesting data and getting basically nothing (If i remember correctly they only have your user to phone number relation and the last time you were online)

        You have no idea what they give to authorities: in fact with NSL’s, its illegal for them to tell you. Signal’s response to this is “just trust us”.

        • MTK@lemmy.world
          1·
          3 days ago

          Just the fact that it costs means that most people won’t even consider it, making it very hard to recommend.

      • TheTux@lemmy.ml
        1·
        4 days ago

        100% this, there is matrix, but that was a pain when I used it (this was a few years ago, granted). Signal just works.