5 ms·

This is very very good news. As a heavy Signal user, from where I sit I personally see the following clear needs: -Better group support. Right now, to do a gr

This is very very good news. As a heavy Signal user, from where I sit I personally see the following clear needs: -Better group support. Right now, to do a group in Signal you have to name the group, which makes it kind of a pain to create ad hoc quick groups. I'm forever naming them "John Sue Bill" or "Jane Roger Amanda". iMessage, by contrast, just automatically makes a group without a name. You get a thread for that group, so you can follow the discussion clearly, and you can leave the group, but it hides the nuts and bolts of the fact that a group has been formed. Also, Signal has no per-group notification settings, so if you're in a "noisy" group your only option is to turn off notifications universally (including one-on-one messages and other groups) or live with it. Lastly, you cannot form a group from Signal Desktop. -Better support for long messages (or a new product using the same network and security). Signal was clearly designed for short session lengths — brief messages that are composed quickly. But as it has become the catch-all app for encrypted comms — "just use Signal! PGP email sucks!" — many people, at least that I deal with, are trying to use it for email-type purposes. Long messages with arbitrary attachments. It would be nice if, like, putting a line break in a long message didn't mean hitting Control-Enter or Command-Enter. It might even be nice if you could have multiple threads with the same recipient. You know, like email. I am not holding my breath on this one. But if people could email as securely as they chat, using Signal protocol, it would be a huge leap forward in keeping the NSA out of our business. Not to mention Google/Gmail's ad clients etc. -Ability to search. I can't full-text search my messages, even within Signal. As I use it more and more, this is a hindrance. -Group video chat. This is very pie in the sky. But a lot of sensitive comms involve groups — think of people organizing a protest, or a corporate takeover, etc. And right now there are few private options.

spappal 9y ago
Signal has no per-group notification settings Yes it has, at least on Android. Within a group, press the three-dots-menu on top and choose mute notifications. You can choose for how long they shall be muted, similarly to other apps. Adding to your list: - Working backups for text and media.
- StudentStuff 9y ago
  I'm pretty well stuck on my current phone without a working backup for texts and media, unless I'm okay with losing my memories. Essentially, there is no way for you to take any media with you in a reasonable fashion when changing phones with Signal.
- wfn 9y ago
  > - Working backups for text and media. Yes pretty please! For Android, any kind of media (bulk) backup option would help, for example. (IIRC iOS doesn't even have plain text backup). This is affecting a lot of everyday common users who cannot move to a new phone (or uninstall and then later install again) without losing all the media in the conversations. Saving the media items one by one (and detached from conversation and context) is not the same and sometimes impossible due to the sheer quantities involved. And so on. I know the resources have been really scarce but since this is hopefully changing now, this would be greatly appreciated. There's been some recent related work[1] required for encrypted backups to work, though. Also see ongoing discussion[2], GH issue thread[3] and possible implementation PR[4] etc., for anyone curious. Alpha testing[5] may help, too. (Me, I'm trying to find time and energy to help with this, but so far have only be able to grovel and complain). :) [1]: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/commit/f36b296e2ed211893835372513da57bb135c52c1 https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/commit/f36b296e2... [2]: https://whispersystems.discoursehosting.net/t/encrypted-backup/1227 https://whispersystems.discoursehosting.net/t/encrypted-back... [3]: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop/issues/522 https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop/issues/522 [4]: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/pull/7380 https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/pull/7380 [5]: https://whispersystems.discoursehosting.net/t/signal-android-alpha-channel-for-the-brave/1909 https://whispersystems.discoursehosting.net/t/signal-android...
jakebasile 9y ago
I'd love to use Signal, but in order for me to do so there's a lot that has to be added. - Real multi device support. I want my messages on all my devices, without having to have my phone on. - An iPad app. - A desktop app. I'd pay for a native one, without Electron. These things are basically table stakes for competing with Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and iMessage. If Signal's goal is to bring encryption to the masses they have to solve things like this, since regular people care less about security and more about convenience.
- IMcPwn 9y ago
  For #1, Multi device support already exists. I can put my phone on airplane mode and still send and receive messages just fine on my laptop
  - jakebasile 9y ago
    That's cool. When I tried it last it required my phone to be on just like WhatsApp. I'll check it out again. I still hope they use some of this cash to make a real iPad and Desktop app, though. I'd really love to use the service but those are deal breakers for me.
    - ikawe 9y ago
      Signal Desktop has never worked that way. After the initial linking process, Signal Desktop has always functioned independently of your phone being on.
      - jakebasile 9y ago
        I must be misremembering it. I'd edit my comment but it's timed out.
- amedvednikov 9y ago
  > - A desktop app. I'd pay for a native one, without Electron. I'm working on a native app that supports Signal, Slack, Twitter etc. It's only 90 KB (!). https://eul.im https://eul.im *edit Signal support is coming in early March.
distances 9y ago
This may sound silly, but: - Stickers I know many consider those to be annoying distractions, but in my experience stickers are the reason why many "normal" users prefer Telegram over WhatsApp.
- crtasm 9y ago
  Had them for a while now on Android: attach -> gif -> stickers tab. The browser UX isn't great though.
eadmund 9y ago
Completely agreed on all of these (the lack of search, in particular) is just atrocious. I'd also like to see: - Improved export functionality on all platforms :: I should be able to export my chats in some readable format from any client. - More clients :: I should be able to read my Signal messages within emacs. - Support for non-phone-number identifiers :: I shouldn't need to purchase a new phone number in order to get another Signal account. I completely get how valuable this is in limiting certain forms of abuse, but it also limits certain forms of legitimate use (e.g. Haven). - Better privacy for contacts :: I shouldn't be sending my contacts to Signal's servers. I don't trust Intel's secure enclave technology any more than I trust Intel's ME. There are ways to discover mutual contacts privately.
- catamorphismic 9y ago
  > There are ways to discover mutual contacts privately. Such as? I don't have the URL handy but the Signal team did investigate the literature and known techniques for this a few years ago and found them to be nonviable.
  - spappal 9y ago
    This is their latest blog post on the topic: https://signal.org/blog/private-contact-discovery/ https://signal.org/blog/private-contact-discovery/
  - eadmund 9y ago
    > I don't have the URL handy but the Signal team did investigate the literature and known techniques for this a few years ago and found them to be nonviable. Private set intersection (in which two Signal users compare contact lists to see which contacts they have in common, then trade Signal information for them) would work just fine.
giancarlostoro 9y ago
Absolutely there with you on full text search. The only way is to ... export in plain text my text messages. If only we could export it in a secure manner and have the export also encrypted and be prompted for an encryption password on import. That would be awesome! I think Group Video would be interesting but I personally don't do video on Signal, nor did I have a hint that it supported this? I thought it was just audio? Even so it would equally be amazing if they could improve the usage of a Desktop client and / or maybe allow for Tablet support? I don't want to run my texts through Google Chrome, I rather run them through a more stripped down Chrome (Electron, but it shouldn't be too much different!) that wont be randomly phoning home to Google or require me to open up a browser I rarely use outside of work. I really would love to see Signal work without phone numbers at some point (email as an alternative would open up Signal for Tablets - really wish Signal worked on Tablets) but I may not know enough about the existing structure to know how feasible this is or isn't. I think you hit the nail on the head about email though. If the Signal Foundation is serious about making encryption accessible by all I think their next big focus should be: * Making something that allows table usage of encrypted messaging (wondering if they signed something with Facebook and Co that disallows Signal to run elsewhere?) * Make email encryption painless and straight forward, whether they build their own mail client and plugins (please make this AND mandatory no exceptions) or they make plugins for all major mail clients, especially Thunderbird.
Kihashi 9y ago
> -Better group support. To go along with that-- Support for exporting group messages. I recently moved to a new phone. With the latest versions of signal on android, I had to export a plain text backup of my messages. The problem? All the group messages were removed from their groups and threaded into the individual conversations with the person who sent it. So not only did it ruin the group message, but it also ruined the individual conversations, too. I ended up downgrading to an older version of signal, creating an android backup of the data and then copying that to my new phone.

spappal 9y ago

Signal has no per-group notification settings Yes it has, at least on Android. Within a group, press the three-dots-menu on top and choose mute notifications. You can choose for how long they shall be muted, similarly to other apps. Adding to your list: - Working backups for text and media.

StudentStuff 9y ago
I'm pretty well stuck on my current phone without a working backup for texts and media, unless I'm okay with losing my memories. Essentially, there is no way for you to take any media with you in a reasonable fashion when changing phones with Signal.
wfn 9y ago
> - Working backups for text and media. Yes pretty please! For Android, any kind of media (bulk) backup option would help, for example. (IIRC iOS doesn't even have plain text backup). This is affecting a lot of everyday common users who cannot move to a new phone (or uninstall and then later install again) without losing all the media in the conversations. Saving the media items one by one (and detached from conversation and context) is not the same and sometimes impossible due to the sheer quantities involved. And so on. I know the resources have been really scarce but since this is hopefully changing now, this would be greatly appreciated. There's been some recent related work[1] required for encrypted backups to work, though. Also see ongoing discussion[2], GH issue thread[3] and possible implementation PR[4] etc., for anyone curious. Alpha testing[5] may help, too. (Me, I'm trying to find time and energy to help with this, but so far have only be able to grovel and complain). :) [1]: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/commit/f36b296e2ed211893835372513da57bb135c52c1 https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/commit/f36b296e2... [2]: https://whispersystems.discoursehosting.net/t/encrypted-backup/1227 https://whispersystems.discoursehosting.net/t/encrypted-back... [3]: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop/issues/522 https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop/issues/522 [4]: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/pull/7380 https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/pull/7380 [5]: https://whispersystems.discoursehosting.net/t/signal-android-alpha-channel-for-the-brave/1909 https://whispersystems.discoursehosting.net/t/signal-android...

jakebasile 9y ago

I'd love to use Signal, but in order for me to do so there's a lot that has to be added. - Real multi device support. I want my messages on all my devices, without having to have my phone on. - An iPad app. - A desktop app. I'd pay for a native one, without Electron. These things are basically table stakes for competing with Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and iMessage. If Signal's goal is to bring encryption to the masses they have to solve things like this, since regular people care less about security and more about convenience.

IMcPwn 9y ago
For #1, Multi device support already exists. I can put my phone on airplane mode and still send and receive messages just fine on my laptop
- jakebasile 9y ago
  That's cool. When I tried it last it required my phone to be on just like WhatsApp. I'll check it out again. I still hope they use some of this cash to make a real iPad and Desktop app, though. I'd really love to use the service but those are deal breakers for me.
  - ikawe 9y ago
    Signal Desktop has never worked that way. After the initial linking process, Signal Desktop has always functioned independently of your phone being on.
    - jakebasile 9y ago
      I must be misremembering it. I'd edit my comment but it's timed out.
amedvednikov 9y ago
> - A desktop app. I'd pay for a native one, without Electron. I'm working on a native app that supports Signal, Slack, Twitter etc. It's only 90 KB (!). https://eul.im https://eul.im *edit Signal support is coming in early March.

distances 9y ago

This may sound silly, but: - Stickers I know many consider those to be annoying distractions, but in my experience stickers are the reason why many "normal" users prefer Telegram over WhatsApp.

crtasm 9y ago
Had them for a while now on Android: attach -> gif -> stickers tab. The browser UX isn't great though.

eadmund 9y ago

Completely agreed on all of these (the lack of search, in particular) is just atrocious. I'd also like to see: - Improved export functionality on all platforms :: I should be able to export my chats in some readable format from any client. - More clients :: I should be able to read my Signal messages within emacs. - Support for non-phone-number identifiers :: I shouldn't need to purchase a new phone number in order to get another Signal account. I completely get how valuable this is in limiting certain forms of abuse, but it also limits certain forms of legitimate use (e.g. Haven). - Better privacy for contacts :: I shouldn't be sending my contacts to Signal's servers. I don't trust Intel's secure enclave technology any more than I trust Intel's ME. There are ways to discover mutual contacts privately.

catamorphismic 9y ago
> There are ways to discover mutual contacts privately. Such as? I don't have the URL handy but the Signal team did investigate the literature and known techniques for this a few years ago and found them to be nonviable.
- spappal 9y ago
  This is their latest blog post on the topic: https://signal.org/blog/private-contact-discovery/ https://signal.org/blog/private-contact-discovery/
- eadmund 9y ago
  > I don't have the URL handy but the Signal team did investigate the literature and known techniques for this a few years ago and found them to be nonviable. Private set intersection (in which two Signal users compare contact lists to see which contacts they have in common, then trade Signal information for them) would work just fine.

giancarlostoro 9y ago

Absolutely there with you on full text search. The only way is to ... export in plain text my text messages. If only we could export it in a secure manner and have the export also encrypted and be prompted for an encryption password on import. That would be awesome! I think Group Video would be interesting but I personally don't do video on Signal, nor did I have a hint that it supported this? I thought it was just audio? Even so it would equally be amazing if they could improve the usage of a Desktop client and / or maybe allow for Tablet support? I don't want to run my texts through Google Chrome, I rather run them through a more stripped down Chrome (Electron, but it shouldn't be too much different!) that wont be randomly phoning home to Google or require me to open up a browser I rarely use outside of work. I really would love to see Signal work without phone numbers at some point (email as an alternative would open up Signal for Tablets - really wish Signal worked on Tablets) but I may not know enough about the existing structure to know how feasible this is or isn't. I think you hit the nail on the head about email though. If the Signal Foundation is serious about making encryption accessible by all I think their next big focus should be: * Making something that allows table usage of encrypted messaging (wondering if they signed something with Facebook and Co that disallows Signal to run elsewhere?) * Make email encryption painless and straight forward, whether they build their own mail client and plugins (please make this AND mandatory no exceptions) or they make plugins for all major mail clients, especially Thunderbird.

Kihashi 9y ago

> -Better group support. To go along with that-- Support for exporting group messages. I recently moved to a new phone. With the latest versions of signal on android, I had to export a plain text backup of my messages. The problem? All the group messages were removed from their groups and threaded into the individual conversations with the person who sent it. So not only did it ruin the group message, but it also ruined the individual conversations, too. I ended up downgrading to an older version of signal, creating an android backup of the data and then copying that to my new phone.