4 ms·

Let me know when it's ready to use without a phone number. As it is, I lose my identity if I switch phone numbers (say, I move to another country). Even worse,

Let me know when it's ready to use without a phone number. As it is, I lose my identity if I switch phone numbers (say, I move to another country). Even worse, someone else might get my old identity when my old phone number is recycled.

kome 7y ago
For me is just mind-blowing that "secure" apps, run only on devices which are basically a security nightmare.
- _wldu 7y ago
  Signal Desktop runs on standard linux systems.
alpn 7y ago
This. Is there an actual technical limitation preventing Signal from offering a one-field signup, whereby one would simply enter a self generated public key?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- maqp 7y ago
  There's no technical limitation, but read this (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22357948 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22357948) comment to understand why Signal did what they did. Your SIM card stores your contact list across devices. With usernames, your phone's contact list doesn't work anymore. You need a persistence, i.e. cloud backups, to store the contact list first. This is in the works (https://signal.org/blog/secure-value-recovery/ https://signal.org/blog/secure-value-recovery/). Expect to see user names once that's done. The nice thing is the persistence can also remember identity keys, fingerprint and their verification statuses, and even group membership status -- so it'll mean much more convenient use once it's ready.
anarchodev 7y ago
You could register it with a voip number. This doesn't entirely mitigate the problem, but at least you'd have more digital control over what happens to that number (and can pretty much be sure you won't lose it unless you want to). If you already have it registered to a "real" number on your cell phone, there are processes for porting that number to google voice.
- ossguy 7y ago
  Or to a service like https://jmp.chat/ https://jmp.chat/ that allows you to signup anonymously.

kome 7y ago

For me is just mind-blowing that "secure" apps, run only on devices which are basically a security nightmare.

_wldu 7y ago
Signal Desktop runs on standard linux systems.

alpn 7y ago

This. Is there an actual technical limitation preventing Signal from offering a one-field signup, whereby one would simply enter a self generated public key?

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
maqp 7y ago
There's no technical limitation, but read this (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22357948 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22357948) comment to understand why Signal did what they did. Your SIM card stores your contact list across devices. With usernames, your phone's contact list doesn't work anymore. You need a persistence, i.e. cloud backups, to store the contact list first. This is in the works (https://signal.org/blog/secure-value-recovery/ https://signal.org/blog/secure-value-recovery/). Expect to see user names once that's done. The nice thing is the persistence can also remember identity keys, fingerprint and their verification statuses, and even group membership status -- so it'll mean much more convenient use once it's ready.

anarchodev 7y ago

You could register it with a voip number. This doesn't entirely mitigate the problem, but at least you'd have more digital control over what happens to that number (and can pretty much be sure you won't lose it unless you want to). If you already have it registered to a "real" number on your cell phone, there are processes for porting that number to google voice.

ossguy 7y ago
Or to a service like https://jmp.chat/ https://jmp.chat/ that allows you to signup anonymously.