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Signal Desktop beta now publicly available
- DKnoll 11y agoSeems a native desktop app would be ideal... privacy-concious consumers might be hesitant to use Chrome.
- rahiel 11y agoThere's at least some work being done for firefox support: https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-Desktop/pull/574 https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-Desktop/pull/574.
- nachtigall 11y agoDoes anybody know why this doesn't get merged? The Firefox related PRs are from january.
- anexprogrammer 11y agoCame to say just that. Was very disappointed it was Chrome app only.
- DKnoll 11y agoI'm disappointed, but only a little bit. Moxie has already given me secure communications and free text, media and voice messaging the world over so I can't complain too much.
- anexprogrammer 11y agoOh very much so. What's been done with textsecure/signal is amazing. I'm far more held back by not being able to get friends to switch from just chatting with Facebook app / Kik / Whatsapp etc than it being a browser app. I know I'm the outlier here. :)
- emdd 11y agoOn the bright side, it would work on a ChromeBook.
- j1vms 11y agoI agree. Last time I looked at why they were designing it be Chrome-only, it appeared to be due to a reliance on Google Cloud Messaging (GCM, [1]). This could be due to one or both of the following factors: a) they wanted to re-use as easily as possible their existing back-end infrastructure which already uses GCM for the Android app. b) they are using GCM to ensure that their desktops users are also "screened" by Google's existing authentication/security infrastructure - which ties a user down to a phone number among other things. [1] https://developers.google.com/cloud-messaging/ https://developers.google.com/cloud-messaging/ Edit: clarity, typos
- moxie 11y agoWe've never used GCM in conjunction with the desktop app, so I'm not sure where you were looking. Writing and maintaining three different fully native apps for Windows, OSX, and Linux is a non-starter for most organizations these days, but it's particularly true for a small open source project like us. We developed it as a chrome packaged app because it provides the same experience as a native app (appears fully stand alone, integrates with your native OS launcher, etc), and because that's where the people are in the world we live in today. Eventually we might consider wrapping it in electron or equivalent, but that's just a question of packaging.
- DeepYogurt 11y agoAny chance of doing a website interface ala web.skype.com? If so please please support voice on linux. If not keep fighting the good fight.
- darklajid 11y agoPicking up on the maintenance burden here: Is there library support (or documentation) for the underlying stuff? Say, is there a way to go to your Github page [1] and grab a project that allows me to a) build a client (I think that's possible) and b) link clients just like the browser? Could I create the world's ugliest native client, connecting to the Signal network using my (phone's .. hrm..) identity? Is that a scenario you support (in general, not with office hours..) or would consider if it isn't possible today? 1: https://github.com/WhisperSystems/ https://github.com/WhisperSystems/
- etiam 11y agoI'll be waiting eagerly for those native desktop clients too (especially something also including desktop voice communication), but this looks promising enough that maybe I can seriously start pulling people to Signal for things like coordination of groups, which as things stand often happens in Facebook or things almost as revolting. So I think this is a big thing. Haven't tested it yet and probably won't get time to today, but I'm really excited to see if it lives up to expectations.
- moxie 11y agoWorks perfectly with Chromium if you'd like a fully open source alternative.
- DKnoll 11y agoThat's a good alternative... didn't even consider Chromium. Thanks for chiming in.
- swah 11y agoWhats your browser BTW?
- DKnoll 11y agoFirefox currently.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- goda90 11y agoOr a web version like Telegram has. That way it can be used on any desktop with any browser.
- DeepYogurt 11y agoPlus one for a desktop client. I do get the idea of a chrome app (firefox would be better imo) though as it gives you windows/mac/linux coverage in one shot.
- mintplant 11y agoWhen it was at an earlier stage of development, I tried out porting the Chome App over to NW.js (formerly node-webkit). It was easy enough and the result worked fine. I'll have to see if this is still the case.
- emdd 11y agoPlease do!
- okneil 11y agoNot for iOS sadly. Edit: To clarify. It can't be paired with an iOS device yet.
- privong 11y ago> Not for iOS sadly. Do you mean OSX? If you really meant iOS, the Signal app has been available for iOS[0] since July 2014[1]. [0] https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/signal-private-messenger/id874139669?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/signal-private-messenger/id8... [1] http://www.techrepublic.com/article/new-signal-ios-app-allows-free-encrypted-voice-calls/ http://www.techrepublic.com/article/new-signal-ios-app-allow...
- PTRFRLL 11y agoI think they mean you can't pair the Chrome app to your iOS device like you can with the Android app.
- wintersFright 11y agoyes - which means I can't use the chrome app it seems :(
- jeromeflipo 11y agoWhy doesn't the title of the announcement indicate "for Chrome? Is there a reason not to mention the release of such an application for other Web browsers, like Firefox?
- iamtew 11y agoIt's a Chrome app and you need to have Chrome installed to run it, hence the title.
- superkuh 11y agoThis is not a desktop application. The browser chrome, which is required, is a desktop application. This is a browser extension. Not worth the time. Use Retroshare instead.
- moxie 11y agoIt's a Chrome packaged app, not an extension. It integrates with your OS to function just like any other stand alone application (visible in your native launcher, etc).
- darklajid 11y agoFor a moment I thought you meant that this is similar to say Atom: It's an application that just happens to run in a browser engine. The link in the article points to [1], the Chrome App Store. That in turn presents me a button 'Available on Chrome' and wants me to download that dreaded thing (the browser itself, not some Signal-Using-Chrome-As-Shell bundle) [2]. I admit I don't understand what a Chrome packaged app is, but it seems to require a normal installation of Chrome, going to the 'Chrome App Store' to finally install Signal. That's probably what the OP (and others here) try to say: This isn't a desktop app, it requires an installation of Chrome and then might act like a desktop app if you install it that way, right? 1: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/signal-private-messenger/bikioccmkafdpakkkcpdbppfkghcmihk https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/signal-private-mes... 2: https://www.google.com/chrome/ https://www.google.com/chrome/
- moxie 11y agoCorrect, you need to have Chrome or Chromium (if you want something fully OSS) installed. Once you do, it functions like a native app (integrates directly with your OS's launcher), rather than like an extension (something attached to a browser window). We might consider distributing it via something like electron in the future, but that's just a matter of packaging.
- darklajid 11y ago
- dmix 11y agoThis is finally what allowed me to get rid of Telegram/Whatsapp. The lack of desktop integration is what held me back from using and recommending Signal with most of my friends. It's nice being able to use the same app for SMS, IM, and now desktop IM. We've been using it for the last week and I've personally found it pretty flawless so far. The only complaint I've heard from other people is that they couldn't sign-up when their phone was offline. But not a big deal given the security advantage of routing through a local device. That is Telegram's biggest security/UX compromise which I hope they address, since I'm sure 90% of people using Telegram aren't really using E2E encryption the majority of the time - due to the fact encryption is not enabled by default in the UI, the lack of syncing conversations between devices for "secret" chats, and the fact a few official Telegram desktop GUI clients don't even support secret chats at all (including on Linux).
- nxzero 11y agoHow does giving away a known end point make a system more secure? To me, it's the opposite, and makes Signal less secure.
- dmix 11y agoA big problem with some E2E messaging systems is that your conversations aren't synced across devices. By routing messages through your phone, the way WhatsApp does in their desktop app, you can have the same conversation synced across both devices. (EDIT: additionally a server in between could sync the various client conversations as it seems Signal is doing). Otherwise you end up with a situation, such as with Telegram secret chats, where encrypted chats are initiated on your phone<>friend, then you switch to your desktop and create a second secret chat channel with the same friend. You could then potentially miss messages that are still going to your phones secret channel - as your friend won't be able to know which secret chat is mobile/desktop or the "right" one to use at that moment. You'd have to close the existing secret chat on your phone when switching machines, which we often forgot to do in practice.
- moxie 11y ago
- johnchristopher 11y agoI wish there was a windows phone app :(.
- mahyarm 11y agoWhat needs to be done to add iOS integration? Asking as an iOS developer...
- newman314 11y agoSignal is already avail as an iOS app. In fact, I believe they are looking for an iOS dev
- emdd 11y agoWhat do you mean? It's already on iOS. Do you mean integration where Signal could integrate the SMS messaging (or similar functions)? Just taking a stab in the dark, but that's not (afaik) something iOS allows. Edit: Duh, you mean to pair it with like you do now via QR code from an Android device. Sorry, gotcha.
- tlrobinson 11y agoFor those wondering why mahyarm is asking when there's already an iOS app... http://i.imgur.com/Dq6xcWT.png http://i.imgur.com/Dq6xcWT.png
- robto 11y agoI don't use a smartphone, but I think there's an old android phone lying around my apartment. Could I use that to set up this desktop version and then never need to bother with the smartphone again? Or would you need to use the phone pretty regularly?
- morsch 11y agoWorks like a charm. I'd love to see a more technical description, all the announcements are rather light on the details.
- vemy 11y agoA Chrome Extension is not a Desktop application.
- Longhanks 11y agoThis annoys me so much. Since when are websites tied to a specific browser "desktop apps"?
- qznc 11y agoSince most people cannot distinguish them from native apps. It has its own icon/menu entry. It opens its own window. Quacks like a duck.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- unhammer 11y agoI missed minimise-to-taskbar; made a temporary workaround: https://gist.github.com/unhammer/d970780be79a3121a48ccc8049fbe173 https://gist.github.com/unhammer/d970780be79a3121a48ccc8049f...
- SmellyGeekBoy 11y agoChrome is just the framework. Would an application written in Qt or .NET count as a "desktop application" by your definition? Chrome seems like a pretty sensible choice for a team with limited resources considering its portability and large existing install base.
- cm3 11y agoQt or .Net will integrate with your desktop properly.
- samstave 11y agowait - so desktop is available on mac, but you need to link it first to android? WTF? That just seems rushed and lame.
- emdd 11y ago1- it's beta 2- it's built as a chrome packaged app, which means it runs on all platforms regardless of what smartphone OS you use. 3- it's beta 4- it's okay.
- mafuyu 11y agoI've recently been coming across some strange message sync issues with using the desktop client on two different computers. It seems like they'll go out of sync, and not all received messages will arrive. Sending works sometimes, but I won't see the "received" checkmark. Re-pairing isn't enough to fix it, I need to delete the Chrome app to clear the history and re-pair. Anyone else coming across this issue?
- Animats 11y agoChrome only. Which probably means a Google backdoor.
- tptacek 11y agoWhat a nasty thing to say.
- br_smartass 11y agoYou should read up on the people behind this and the company before making this kind of accusation.
- vox_mollis 11y agoWhy all the negative responses here about it being a Chrome app? If you're paranoid about reliance on the product of a PRISM partner, I understand. But in that case, just quietly don't use it. Why shit on work done by Moxie and his team that is helping to mitigate dragnet surveillance? The perfect is the enemy of the good.
- locusm 11y agoSo Android is a requirement?
- SignalSucks 11y agoAh, a cross platform app that cannot be used cross platform because it needs an Android phone. Awesome.
- comex 11y agoSo it can't be used without a phone and phone number? Like most people I have those items - but only one of each. Good enough for standard chats with family and friends (which I currently use iMessage for), but on occasion I'd rather be pseudonymous, and it's precisely then that I need secure communications the most. Right now I have no idea what instant messaging software to trust, so I was hoping I could use Signal over Tor for this purpose, but I guess not.
- matkam 11y agohttps://github.com/Bitmessage/PyBitmessage https://github.com/Bitmessage/PyBitmessage
- Natanael_L 11y agoAlso: http://echelon.i2p.xyz/i2p.xyzbote/ http://echelon.i2p.xyz/i2p.xyzbote/
- simoncion 11y agoA few things: * You can use Signal with any phone number that can receive voice calls: http://support.whispersystems.org/hc/en-us/articles/213190677-How-can-I-get-Signal-working-with-my-Google-Voice-or-Project-Fi-number- http://support.whispersystems.org/hc/en-us/articles/21319067... * Signal's primary audience is non-technical users. The big goal of Signal is to thwart passive, dragnet surveillance of people's text and voice messaging. * AFAIK, Signal's use of GCM makes it more difficult for an adversary to perform traffic analysis to determine with whom a Signal user is speaking, but not impossible. * If you don't trust Open Whisper Systems to treat the phone number that you give them as sensitive and confidential, you really can't trust their messaging software, either. :)
- qznc 11y agoImho, the big thing is that I have to give people my phone number to communicate via Signal. For contrast, Threema only requires you to share an ID like K48FEHZD.
- 11y ago
- akerro 11y agoNSA sends drone strikes on people and villages based on metadata. How do I use Signal without exposing metadata to Google? It's metadata what counts, not content. So why hide context and purposely expose all metadata to Google and NSA?
- qznc 11y agoNobody figured out how to hide meta data yet given the requirements. P2P is not practical on mobile, because it eats your battery and data plan. Thus, client-server is a requirement. Federation is a problem for non-technical users, because it makes the app more complicated.
- pdkl95 11y ago> Federation is a problem for non-technical users Then teach them so it isn't a problem. Also, I want to see proof that federation is a problem for users, because most people seem to handle email addresses just fine. The resistance to federation is primarily from users, it's from business that want to control a protocol as middle-men. > it makes the app more complicated So? Federation is necessary. Leaving it out simply creates yet another centralized solution that can be targeted by businesses and/or governments. Saying "Security and freedom are complicated, so we left that feature out" is not a solution.
- nickik 11y agoTeaching people is incredibly hard and usually does not work. For years and years we have tried teaching people about gpg and it has done nothing. Its also incredibly difficult to make federation work, amd even harder when you want to hidemeta data. I am sure OWS would love to develop solutions for all of those, but they simply do not have time for it, not because the want to protect their costumers. Its opensource, and you can send them a pull request where you solve federation. Currently you sound like an intiteled brat who does not understand the concept of time constraints.
- Natanael_L 11y ago
- nachtigall 11y agoIs there a way to start Signal directly without starting Chrome/Chromium beforehand? I have Chrome/Chromium installed, but do not use it. I want to use only the Signal desktop webapp.
- metafex 11y agoIn the "Extensions Overview -> Details" you can create a desktop shortcut. If you start that, there is only the Signal window w/o a Chrome window. edit: spelling
- nullc 11y agoIf you install signal on your phone without google play it will magically stop working with no warning after some delay (6 months?) leaving you without communications ability. It was especially irritating when it cut out mid-conversation leaving me unable to tell the far end why I was unable to respond further, or get help getting a new package built. Pretty lame. I wonder if the desktop software also has this kind of logic bomb anti-feature?
- MindTooth 11y agoTo bad seeing it's a Chrome app. Maybe Electron would have been a better fit?
- cm3 11y agoAre there 3rd-party implementations of OpenWhisper or a complete and detailed spec, so that others can build clients more fitting their (integration) needs?
- piquadrat 11y agoThe desktop app doesn't show a lock key icon in the message bubbles, while the Android app does. I never quite understood why the Android app clutters the interface with that icon since, I assume, _all_ messages are end-to-end encrypted anyway.
- fweespee_ch 11y agoIt isn't encrypted unless both parties have the app.
- lashkari 11y agoThe Android app also supports standard SMS with non-Signal users. Those messages are not encrypted, so they show the lock to indicate whether the message was sent via Signal or SMS. Think Apple Messages blue versus green.
- piquadrat 11y agoAh, that makes sense, thanks! Never used the Android app for SMS :)
- elcapitan 11y agoHappy that it's public now, I'm a regular Android Signal user and was waiting for this. It seems to work fine, my desktop and phone messages are in sync.