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Is it time to leave WhatsApp – and is Signal the answer?

20 points by crossroadsguy 6y ago

julianlam 6y ago
> Signal benefits from being the most similar to WhatsApp in terms of features, while Telegram has had problems as a secure and private messaging app, with its live location feature recently coming under fire for privacy infringements. Crucially, Telegram is not end-to-end encrypted by default, instead storing your data in the cloud. Signal is end-to-end encrypted, collects less data than Telegram and stores messages on your device rather than in the cloud. Interestingly, this reads like a hit piece against Telegram. Also, I thought the sentiment here was that Telegram was closest to WhatsApp in terms of feature parity.
- Barrin92 6y ago
  > hit piece against Telegram. it just lists actual facts. Telegram is for some reason hugely overrated. Even Whatsapp actually is better from a privacy standpoint because of default e2ee. Not to mention that if you're alienated by Facebooks business culture what to make of Telegrams strange ICO experiment that ended with them having to repay investors.
egberts 6y ago
A comparison of secured messaging apps https://www.securemessagingapps.com/ https://www.securemessagingapps.com/
kumarvvr 6y ago
I remember a time where the general effort was to have a common protocol and a number of inter-operable clients for chatting on the desktop. (XMPP?, not sure) I wonder if its possible to have a common messenger format and a series of independent servers and providers that can service a variety of users, while allowing users to switch servers / providers. Monetization will always happen, at-least we dont have to be worried about central control / censorship.
oakpond 6y ago
It's substituting one walled garden for another. 5 years from now Signal will be Evil Corp and everyone will have this problem all over again. Protocol solutions that are provider-independent like Matrix or even Delta Chat are the obvious long term solutions. How long before ISPs finally realize they need to pick up the ball here?
- innagadadavida 6y ago
  More like FB will acquire Signal and integrate their ad platform.
- 1_player 6y ago
  You want your ISP to build their own IM service, and/or offer Matrix servers? I would much rather use Facebook Messenger than any ISP provided service.

20 points by crossroadsguy 6y ago

> Signal benefits from being the most similar to WhatsApp in terms of features, while Telegram has had problems as a secure and private messaging app, with its live location feature recently coming under fire for privacy infringements. Crucially, Telegram is not end-to-end encrypted by default, instead storing your data in the cloud. Signal is end-to-end encrypted, collects less data than Telegram and stores messages on your device rather than in the cloud. Interestingly, this reads like a hit piece against Telegram. Also, I thought the sentiment here was that Telegram was closest to WhatsApp in terms of feature parity.

Barrin92 6y ago
> hit piece against Telegram. it just lists actual facts. Telegram is for some reason hugely overrated. Even Whatsapp actually is better from a privacy standpoint because of default e2ee. Not to mention that if you're alienated by Facebooks business culture what to make of Telegrams strange ICO experiment that ended with them having to repay investors.

egberts 6y ago

A comparison of secured messaging apps https://www.securemessagingapps.com/ https://www.securemessagingapps.com/

kumarvvr 6y ago

I remember a time where the general effort was to have a common protocol and a number of inter-operable clients for chatting on the desktop. (XMPP?, not sure) I wonder if its possible to have a common messenger format and a series of independent servers and providers that can service a variety of users, while allowing users to switch servers / providers. Monetization will always happen, at-least we dont have to be worried about central control / censorship.

oakpond 6y ago

It's substituting one walled garden for another. 5 years from now Signal will be Evil Corp and everyone will have this problem all over again. Protocol solutions that are provider-independent like Matrix or even Delta Chat are the obvious long term solutions. How long before ISPs finally realize they need to pick up the ball here?

innagadadavida 6y ago
More like FB will acquire Signal and integrate their ad platform.
1_player 6y ago
You want your ISP to build their own IM service, and/or offer Matrix servers? I would much rather use Facebook Messenger than any ISP provided service.