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When I first looked at this, it boggled my mind that they require a phone number to sign up. Maybe that's no longer the case? But assuming it is, it just struck

by redwood 10y ago

When I first looked at this, it boggled my mind that they require a phone number to sign up. Maybe that's no longer the case? But assuming it is, it just struck me as the epitome of breaking away from the concept of secure anonymity.

SomeStupidPoint 10y ago
I thought the system was supposed to provide encryption to known communication, not anonymity? If that's the case, choosing to use an existing identity management system most people are part of is an excellent bootstrapping decision. Identity management is hard, and it's a fair problem to punt on if it's not your focus. Encryption != anonymity. (In fact, it usually does the opposite, because encrypted messages stand out.)
kbart 10y ago
Hm, Signal was never about anonymity, it's just an end-to-end encrypted chat and marketed as such.
Amir6 10y ago
You are absolutely right! Plus, getting a copy of all your contacts is and invasion of privacy for an app that is advocating for privacy and security. You cant even use a online voip phone number for this app. Its just such a turn off and I'm extremely disappointed with endorsements from people like Snowden ignoring such fundamental flaws.
- MrMullen 10y ago
  > Plus, getting a copy of all your contacts is and invasion of privacy for an app that is advocating for privacy and security. You really need to do research into this before making this claim. The phone numbers are hashed (Or something like it) before being sent to the Signal servers.
  - haffenloher 10y ago
    Unfortunately, hashing provides no meaningful protection here. The preimage space (i.e. the set of all possible phone numbers) is just too small. See https://whispersystems.org/blog/contact-discovery/ https://whispersystems.org/blog/contact-discovery/
- haffenloher 10y ago
  > You cant even use a online voip phone number for this app. That's incorrect. Signal works perfectly fine with any mobile, landline or VoIP number.
  - Amir6 10y ago
    In fact, what you just claimed is wrong. The app waits for the phone to receive the text and there is no way to enter the verification code you receive in another voip app. This is on top of not being able to use this app on multiple devices.
    - haffenloher 10y ago
      Let the SMS verification expire and do a phone call verification. Concerning multiple devices: I use Signal on my phone and on two desktops, works perfectly fine.
      - Amir6 10y ago
        I have tried that and it didnt work but I'll give it a try one more time. Regarding multiple devices I mean multiple mobile devices (iOS and Android apps) and not through a browser and extension.

by redwood 10y ago

SomeStupidPoint 10y ago

I thought the system was supposed to provide encryption to known communication, not anonymity? If that's the case, choosing to use an existing identity management system most people are part of is an excellent bootstrapping decision. Identity management is hard, and it's a fair problem to punt on if it's not your focus. Encryption != anonymity. (In fact, it usually does the opposite, because encrypted messages stand out.)

kbart 10y ago

Hm, Signal was never about anonymity, it's just an end-to-end encrypted chat and marketed as such.

Amir6 10y ago

You are absolutely right! Plus, getting a copy of all your contacts is and invasion of privacy for an app that is advocating for privacy and security. You cant even use a online voip phone number for this app. Its just such a turn off and I'm extremely disappointed with endorsements from people like Snowden ignoring such fundamental flaws.

MrMullen 10y ago
> Plus, getting a copy of all your contacts is and invasion of privacy for an app that is advocating for privacy and security. You really need to do research into this before making this claim. The phone numbers are hashed (Or something like it) before being sent to the Signal servers.
- haffenloher 10y ago
  Unfortunately, hashing provides no meaningful protection here. The preimage space (i.e. the set of all possible phone numbers) is just too small. See https://whispersystems.org/blog/contact-discovery/ https://whispersystems.org/blog/contact-discovery/
haffenloher 10y ago
> You cant even use a online voip phone number for this app. That's incorrect. Signal works perfectly fine with any mobile, landline or VoIP number.
- Amir6 10y ago
  In fact, what you just claimed is wrong. The app waits for the phone to receive the text and there is no way to enter the verification code you receive in another voip app. This is on top of not being able to use this app on multiple devices.
  - haffenloher 10y ago
    Let the SMS verification expire and do a phone call verification. Concerning multiple devices: I use Signal on my phone and on two desktops, works perfectly fine.
    - Amir6 10y ago
      I have tried that and it didnt work but I'll give it a try one more time. Regarding multiple devices I mean multiple mobile devices (iOS and Android apps) and not through a browser and extension.