4 ms·

What I don't understand about the phone app version of Signal is, when I say "No I don't want to share my contacts" or "No I don't want notifications", it says

What I don't understand about the phone app version of Signal is, when I say "No I don't want to share my contacts" or "No I don't want notifications", it says Ok, we'll remind you later. And it sure does. I thought that apps were generally supposed to respect a user's decision to tell it to fuck off.

bsaul 4y ago
problem is that those are two really core features of a messenging app, so they probably don't see how you can keep using the app without them and not have a shite experience. edit : in case people wonder "share your contact" is actually the only way an app can tell you if a friend from your contact book can be contacted through the app. It's a pretty important thing especially for the onboarding of new people.
- dybber 4y ago
  Works fine for e.g. Facebook Messenger, Element app etc. You just put in their email adress, username or phone number and you connect. What’s the problem?
  - bsaul 4y ago
    You'll have to do that, hoping that they're on the platform, then the server will respond "sorry, i don't know this guy". Then either you send him a SMS or email, saying "hey, when you're on signal, let me know". or you repeat the process every day until finally the person is on signal. That's a crap experience for an onboarding to the platform.
    - checkyoursudo 4y ago
      Most people will allow contacts and notifications, which will help with onboarding ordinary users. I don't need help. I already want to use it the way I want to use it. Don't need to keep reminding me after every update or more than once or whatever. How about a "No, and don't remind me again" option? But yeah, I get what you are saying about most users.
- Macha 4y ago
  And back in the day apps used to ask for your email password to find your contacts and I never did that either. Having to manually exchange usernames is a tradeoff I have mo problem making against having to provide my social graph to a corporate entity or having people able to do a basically public identifier lookup to my private life. I'm surprised recruiters haven't started spamming signal yet - they certainly have my phone number in DBs against my will, and 1 has tried it on whatsapp.
- checkyoursudo 4y ago
  I have lots of contacts in Signal without sharing my contacts list. I put my friend's number in, and send a message. No prob. If a messaging app needed me to add a contact first before I could send a message, then maybe I wouldn't use it. My wife's messaging is just a lot of phone numbers and I don't know how she keeps track of who is whom, but she does and she has never put them into contacts. [edit: e.g., using the default phone msg/txting app.] That doesn't work for me, but my way does just fine. I don't need notifications for Signal just like I don't need notifications for email just like I don't need notifications for anything besides reminders or alarms. I don't want my life to be "oh shit I gotta check out this latest notification". Just because "they" don't see it that way doesn't mean "they" shouldn't respect my denial. I have a lovely experience, in fact! :) YMMV, and I get that. Not knocking anyone who lives that way.
public_defender 4y ago
I've never denied these permissions to Signal, but I have denied them to WhatsApp. What's really surprising to me is that WhatsApp never asks again and totally functions without contacts access. Weird, right? I just receive messages from rando +93 numbers, which is exactly what I want. Of course this is not a comment supporting WhatsApp, since it has all kinds of user-hostile components (I can't even send a message without adding a number to my contacts and giving the app permission to read contacts).
- checkyoursudo 4y ago
  Just let me suffer with the amount of pain I am willing to put up with to use the app the way I want. If I don't need profile pics and names from my contacts, then don't try to make me have them! :) It's okay to praise Whatsapp for something they do right even if they don't do everything right. I suppose.

bsaul 4y ago

problem is that those are two really core features of a messenging app, so they probably don't see how you can keep using the app without them and not have a shite experience. edit : in case people wonder "share your contact" is actually the only way an app can tell you if a friend from your contact book can be contacted through the app. It's a pretty important thing especially for the onboarding of new people.

dybber 4y ago
Works fine for e.g. Facebook Messenger, Element app etc. You just put in their email adress, username or phone number and you connect. What’s the problem?
- bsaul 4y ago
  You'll have to do that, hoping that they're on the platform, then the server will respond "sorry, i don't know this guy". Then either you send him a SMS or email, saying "hey, when you're on signal, let me know". or you repeat the process every day until finally the person is on signal. That's a crap experience for an onboarding to the platform.
  - checkyoursudo 4y ago
    Most people will allow contacts and notifications, which will help with onboarding ordinary users. I don't need help. I already want to use it the way I want to use it. Don't need to keep reminding me after every update or more than once or whatever. How about a "No, and don't remind me again" option? But yeah, I get what you are saying about most users.
Macha 4y ago
And back in the day apps used to ask for your email password to find your contacts and I never did that either. Having to manually exchange usernames is a tradeoff I have mo problem making against having to provide my social graph to a corporate entity or having people able to do a basically public identifier lookup to my private life. I'm surprised recruiters haven't started spamming signal yet - they certainly have my phone number in DBs against my will, and 1 has tried it on whatsapp.
checkyoursudo 4y ago
I have lots of contacts in Signal without sharing my contacts list. I put my friend's number in, and send a message. No prob. If a messaging app needed me to add a contact first before I could send a message, then maybe I wouldn't use it. My wife's messaging is just a lot of phone numbers and I don't know how she keeps track of who is whom, but she does and she has never put them into contacts. [edit: e.g., using the default phone msg/txting app.] That doesn't work for me, but my way does just fine. I don't need notifications for Signal just like I don't need notifications for email just like I don't need notifications for anything besides reminders or alarms. I don't want my life to be "oh shit I gotta check out this latest notification". Just because "they" don't see it that way doesn't mean "they" shouldn't respect my denial. I have a lovely experience, in fact! :) YMMV, and I get that. Not knocking anyone who lives that way.

public_defender 4y ago

I've never denied these permissions to Signal, but I have denied them to WhatsApp. What's really surprising to me is that WhatsApp never asks again and totally functions without contacts access. Weird, right? I just receive messages from rando +93 numbers, which is exactly what I want. Of course this is not a comment supporting WhatsApp, since it has all kinds of user-hostile components (I can't even send a message without adding a number to my contacts and giving the app permission to read contacts).

checkyoursudo 4y ago
Just let me suffer with the amount of pain I am willing to put up with to use the app the way I want. If I don't need profile pics and names from my contacts, then don't try to make me have them! :) It's okay to praise Whatsapp for something they do right even if they don't do everything right. I suppose.