32 ms·

Agree. Stop using word "security" or "end to end" encryption and then enforcing me to disclose my phone number to use your "secure" app. This is scam.

chickenimprint 5y ago
The purpose of using phone numbers in many of todays services, is to shift the work of validating the authenticity of the user to carriers. Of course this has given rise to inumerable vendors of accounts or forged prepaid cards, but it raises the barrier just enough to make mass cheating, boosting, spamming unprofitable.
- 64bit_xombie 5y ago
  But the benefit of curbing spam doesnt outweigh the cost of abatement of privacy. Though more of my issue is being forced to have it on a phone, when I only want to use from my laptop.
  - Irongirl1 5y ago
    And I'm assuming that if you don't have a phone (like me) that you can't use it at all? No phone, no phone number...or would a burner number work?
cyberei 5y ago
Wow, that's interesting. I didn't expect to see Signal listed here. Disclaimer; Signal is probably my favorite app in in the world. As someone that doesn't use any Facebook owned services, there wouldn't be any other way for me to chat with my friends and family. But I'd really like to understand what you mean and if I am falling for a scam. How does disclosing my phone number make it insecure and not end-to-end encrypted?
- NikolaNovak 5y ago
  >>I didn't expect to see Signal listed here. I've put Whatsapp for broadly the same reasons. So not the Op, but my 2 cents: I cannot listen to any discussion of "privacy" or "encryption" when the software doesn't let me create multiple anonymous accounts on computing device of my choice, and instead it insists on tying itself to my most personal device and ID at the very beginning. I don't know if Signal does it, but Whatsapp additionally explicitly requires access to your phone contact list. At which point, the end-to-end encryption feels like sarcasm. What's left? You have my identity and you have my social graph. You can tie me to anything you want six ways to Sunday. You've asked for my most treasured things in the first 30 seconds of installation. Everything else feels like ridiculous security theater that makes my life explicitly worse (especially the lack of seamless multi-device support) for positively zero benefit for myself or any of my friends & family. I understand broad first-principles discussion, but for me personally: I DON'T care if my discussion with my mother in law is encrypted. I DO care if everybody I want to chat with gets my phone number and social graph.
- yeahman 5y ago
  In a lot of countries your phone number is tied to your passport.
- Trias11 5y ago
  Quite often you want to communicate with the person on the other end without disclosing your identity. Communication platform that enforces "KYC"-like disclosure to the platform itself is misleading their users about security.

chickenimprint 5y ago

The purpose of using phone numbers in many of todays services, is to shift the work of validating the authenticity of the user to carriers. Of course this has given rise to inumerable vendors of accounts or forged prepaid cards, but it raises the barrier just enough to make mass cheating, boosting, spamming unprofitable.

64bit_xombie 5y ago
But the benefit of curbing spam doesnt outweigh the cost of abatement of privacy. Though more of my issue is being forced to have it on a phone, when I only want to use from my laptop.
- Irongirl1 5y ago
  And I'm assuming that if you don't have a phone (like me) that you can't use it at all? No phone, no phone number...or would a burner number work?

cyberei 5y ago

Wow, that's interesting. I didn't expect to see Signal listed here. Disclaimer; Signal is probably my favorite app in in the world. As someone that doesn't use any Facebook owned services, there wouldn't be any other way for me to chat with my friends and family. But I'd really like to understand what you mean and if I am falling for a scam. How does disclosing my phone number make it insecure and not end-to-end encrypted?

NikolaNovak 5y ago
>>I didn't expect to see Signal listed here. I've put Whatsapp for broadly the same reasons. So not the Op, but my 2 cents: I cannot listen to any discussion of "privacy" or "encryption" when the software doesn't let me create multiple anonymous accounts on computing device of my choice, and instead it insists on tying itself to my most personal device and ID at the very beginning. I don't know if Signal does it, but Whatsapp additionally explicitly requires access to your phone contact list. At which point, the end-to-end encryption feels like sarcasm. What's left? You have my identity and you have my social graph. You can tie me to anything you want six ways to Sunday. You've asked for my most treasured things in the first 30 seconds of installation. Everything else feels like ridiculous security theater that makes my life explicitly worse (especially the lack of seamless multi-device support) for positively zero benefit for myself or any of my friends & family. I understand broad first-principles discussion, but for me personally: I DON'T care if my discussion with my mother in law is encrypted. I DO care if everybody I want to chat with gets my phone number and social graph.
yeahman 5y ago
In a lot of countries your phone number is tied to your passport.
Trias11 5y ago
Quite often you want to communicate with the person on the other end without disclosing your identity. Communication platform that enforces "KYC"-like disclosure to the platform itself is misleading their users about security.