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Funny comments, but jokes aside, I think we're missing a very obvious reason why he has signal. Mark most likely has contacts that are super high up in governme

by gtsop 6y ago

Funny comments, but jokes aside, I think we're missing a very obvious reason why he has signal. Mark most likely has contacts that are super high up in governments and coorporations who use signal since they can't trust any other app. People who say that he just tested out competition, I think you guys underestimate his technological knowledge and his resources waaay too much. If he wanted to do that he could have easily ordered someone to get him a clean phone with a sim card not linked to his name and let that device sit on his desk for testing.

wunderflix 6y ago
Maybe. And maybe he’s there because he is a smart lad who knows which products to monitor closely. After all he bought Instagram and WhatsApp for peanuts, and copied the best features of SnapChat.
- christophilus 6y ago
  To me, this is the obvious answer.
- JeremyNT 6y ago
  He wouldn't need to use his real number/name just to do product research though. It would just needlessly confuse any contacts who have his actual number and use signal. Signal also has nothing he can emulate. Its most meaningful selling point is that it doesn't have an association or integration with a scummy social media company, and people using it for that reason are already lost to Facebook. This is a feature he cannot ever hope to copy.
  - Closi 6y ago
    > Signal also has nothing he can emulate. Its most meaningful selling point is that it doesn't have an association or integration with a scummy social media company, and people using it for that reason are already lost to Facebook. This is a feature he cannot ever hope to copy. Even if there is nothing to emulate, downloading the app at least gives him a feel for how close it is to WhatsApp's capabilities and would help him understand if it is a major competitive threat or not.
  - thrwyoilarticle 6y ago
    >Signal also has nothing he can emulate. Both of them now have some variation on encrypted chats.
- canadianfella 6y ago
  WhatsApp for peanuts? That’s just wrong.
bvaldivielso 6y ago
Maybe you're right, but considering how easy it is to set up a signal account (<5 minutes) vs messaging your assistant to provision a phone and a sim card (or a couple of them, just so that he could text someone), I'm not so sure about it. Assuming that his threat model is "my phone number will not be leaked", signing up on signal with his personal number seems fine.
specialist 6y ago
Yes, and, just a guess: Were I on Team Zuck, I'd have every competing messaging app installed, just to see what everyone's doing. eg I'm certain everyone touching Instagram also uses Snap. Further: LAN Manager era Microsoft had a Novell Netware group, Microsoft also continued to use (Windows port) of sendmail while selling Exchange, had an entire Macintosh enthused business group. TLDR: Of course Zuck has a Signal account.
OminousWeapons 6y ago
An even more obvious answer is he doesn't want his employees or his competitors to be able to monitor his private conversations which they would be able to do if he were to use most commercial messaging systems.
- ViViDboarder 6y ago
  They allegedly can’t monitor WhatsApp. That’s why this is news. Of WA is so secure (supposedly implementing the Signal protocol), then what use does ZuckerB have for Signal?
  - tinus_hn 6y ago
    The ability to contact people who are not on WhatsApp but are on Signal?
- koheripbal 6y ago
  ...and an even more obvious reason is that he just wanted to see what his competition looked like. I bet the CEO of McDonalds has been to Burger King at least once to check out the customer experience. It really doesn't mean anything.
afpx 6y ago
People I know only use Signal for drugs. ymmv
- memorysafety 6y ago
  ... which should be taken as a sign of Signal's technical excellence. Just consider: if you're looking for privacy-respecting, actually secure, reviewed, audited and tested to bone tech -- short of replicating the work yourself, who's assessment can you trust? Perhaps paradoxically, you should foremost trust the unspoken opinions of criminals. Because those people are likely betting their lives and freedoms on the tech choice. Barely any other group will approach such a choice with more vigor. So, morals aside, that a technology is being used by criminals is actually a compliment to that technology.
- reasonabl_human 6y ago
  A number of my friends and I use it for cross-platform group chats since we have a mix of android and iOS users. It’s a convenient messaging app, the privacy is a bonus for most of them...

by gtsop 6y ago

wunderflix 6y ago

Maybe. And maybe he’s there because he is a smart lad who knows which products to monitor closely. After all he bought Instagram and WhatsApp for peanuts, and copied the best features of SnapChat.

christophilus 6y ago
To me, this is the obvious answer.
JeremyNT 6y ago
He wouldn't need to use his real number/name just to do product research though. It would just needlessly confuse any contacts who have his actual number and use signal. Signal also has nothing he can emulate. Its most meaningful selling point is that it doesn't have an association or integration with a scummy social media company, and people using it for that reason are already lost to Facebook. This is a feature he cannot ever hope to copy.
- Closi 6y ago
  > Signal also has nothing he can emulate. Its most meaningful selling point is that it doesn't have an association or integration with a scummy social media company, and people using it for that reason are already lost to Facebook. This is a feature he cannot ever hope to copy. Even if there is nothing to emulate, downloading the app at least gives him a feel for how close it is to WhatsApp's capabilities and would help him understand if it is a major competitive threat or not.
- thrwyoilarticle 6y ago
  >Signal also has nothing he can emulate. Both of them now have some variation on encrypted chats.
canadianfella 6y ago
WhatsApp for peanuts? That’s just wrong.

bvaldivielso 6y ago

Maybe you're right, but considering how easy it is to set up a signal account (<5 minutes) vs messaging your assistant to provision a phone and a sim card (or a couple of them, just so that he could text someone), I'm not so sure about it. Assuming that his threat model is "my phone number will not be leaked", signing up on signal with his personal number seems fine.

specialist 6y ago

Yes, and, just a guess: Were I on Team Zuck, I'd have every competing messaging app installed, just to see what everyone's doing. eg I'm certain everyone touching Instagram also uses Snap. Further: LAN Manager era Microsoft had a Novell Netware group, Microsoft also continued to use (Windows port) of sendmail while selling Exchange, had an entire Macintosh enthused business group. TLDR: Of course Zuck has a Signal account.

OminousWeapons 6y ago

An even more obvious answer is he doesn't want his employees or his competitors to be able to monitor his private conversations which they would be able to do if he were to use most commercial messaging systems.

ViViDboarder 6y ago
They allegedly can’t monitor WhatsApp. That’s why this is news. Of WA is so secure (supposedly implementing the Signal protocol), then what use does ZuckerB have for Signal?
- tinus_hn 6y ago
  The ability to contact people who are not on WhatsApp but are on Signal?
koheripbal 6y ago
...and an even more obvious reason is that he just wanted to see what his competition looked like. I bet the CEO of McDonalds has been to Burger King at least once to check out the customer experience. It really doesn't mean anything.

afpx 6y ago

People I know only use Signal for drugs. ymmv

memorysafety 6y ago
... which should be taken as a sign of Signal's technical excellence. Just consider: if you're looking for privacy-respecting, actually secure, reviewed, audited and tested to bone tech -- short of replicating the work yourself, who's assessment can you trust? Perhaps paradoxically, you should foremost trust the unspoken opinions of criminals. Because those people are likely betting their lives and freedoms on the tech choice. Barely any other group will approach such a choice with more vigor. So, morals aside, that a technology is being used by criminals is actually a compliment to that technology.
reasonabl_human 6y ago
A number of my friends and I use it for cross-platform group chats since we have a mix of android and iOS users. It’s a convenient messaging app, the privacy is a bonus for most of them...