3 ms·

> Don't they all? That's my point. I hate systems that require a phone number, as they usually mean that I have a substandard experience when I'm not on my pho

> Don't they all? That's my point. I hate systems that require a phone number, as they usually mean that I have a substandard experience when I'm not on my phone and I can't sign my children up so that we have a general chat tool. The only option ends up being massively over the top team style chats like Rocketchat, Mattermost, Discord, or Slack. So we end up back on Hangouts. A bit shit for general family conversation. [Edit] If they do allow signing up/in with a username then I'll probably be all over it. That would be awesome news.

godelski 6y ago
I'm curious why you value your phone number over your data. I'm unsure if they will allow signups without phone numbers, but they don't store that information. Signal doesn't have it. [0][1] It is very possible they go around this though. [0] https://signal.org/blog/looking-back-as-the-world-moves-forward/ https://signal.org/blog/looking-back-as-the-world-moves-forw... [1] (time-stamped to only the important part) https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=894&v=Nj3YFprqAr8&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=894&v=Nj3YFprqAr8&feature=yo...
- happymellon 6y ago
  Reasons: > they usually mean that I have a substandard experience when I'm not on my phone > I can't sign my children up so that we have a general chat tool. This isn't a privacy thing, this is a general tool that is fundimentally broken if I'm not on my phone. I'm not always on my phone, and my kids don't have phone numbers. They are unusable.
  - godelski 6y ago
    I think these are fair points. I'll mention that I predominately use the desktop client and it works well since I frequently leave my phone somewhere else. But doesn't seem like a right fit for you until usernames and multiple device signup. Both are in the works though so maybe good for you in the future but not now.
    - FalconSensei 6y ago
      If you don't have your phone with you, you can't sign in. Some services, like Whatsapp, will not work if your phone is turned off/broken
    - Asraelite 6y ago
      > I predominately use the desktop client and it works well since I frequently leave my phone somewhere else. In my experience the desktop client is slow, buggy, and takes eons to start up. There's also no web version, making it awkward to use on computers other than your own. I would be more willing to switch over to Signal if it wasn't so lacking in this regard.

godelski 6y ago

I'm curious why you value your phone number over your data. I'm unsure if they will allow signups without phone numbers, but they don't store that information. Signal doesn't have it. [0][1] It is very possible they go around this though. [0] https://signal.org/blog/looking-back-as-the-world-moves-forward/ https://signal.org/blog/looking-back-as-the-world-moves-forw... [1] (time-stamped to only the important part) https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=894&v=Nj3YFprqAr8&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=894&v=Nj3YFprqAr8&feature=yo...

happymellon 6y ago
Reasons: > they usually mean that I have a substandard experience when I'm not on my phone > I can't sign my children up so that we have a general chat tool. This isn't a privacy thing, this is a general tool that is fundimentally broken if I'm not on my phone. I'm not always on my phone, and my kids don't have phone numbers. They are unusable.
- godelski 6y ago
  I think these are fair points. I'll mention that I predominately use the desktop client and it works well since I frequently leave my phone somewhere else. But doesn't seem like a right fit for you until usernames and multiple device signup. Both are in the works though so maybe good for you in the future but not now.
  - FalconSensei 6y ago
    If you don't have your phone with you, you can't sign in. Some services, like Whatsapp, will not work if your phone is turned off/broken
  - Asraelite 6y ago
    > I predominately use the desktop client and it works well since I frequently leave my phone somewhere else. In my experience the desktop client is slow, buggy, and takes eons to start up. There's also no web version, making it awkward to use on computers other than your own. I would be more willing to switch over to Signal if it wasn't so lacking in this regard.