6 ms·

Yes, this is an idiotic decision that makes me question the decisions being made as a whole by Signal. Does anyone have recommendations for a good default SMS

Yes, this is an idiotic decision that makes me question the decisions being made as a whole by Signal. Does anyone have recommendations for a good default SMS app on Android?

wslack 4y ago
The provide a fairly clear rationale beyond the ideological concern: users don't know/see who is on SMS and who isn't, and are being hit with high fees, and they are concerned that users may believe they have privacy when they do not. These are reasonable issues and concerns, so I don't follow why you would question all of the other decisions they make.
- roer 4y ago
  There are surely ways around this that don't limit the functionality of the application
  - dylan604 4y ago
    As if Signal couldn't change the color of the text bubbles to some shade of, let's just say, green, to indicate when a user is chatting via SMS instead of a Signal secured message.
    - maratc 4y ago
      And then everybody and their dog would accuse them of green-shaming or whatever.
      - dylan604 4y ago
        No such thing as bad PR, unless you're removing features. Having people green-shame just means there are other people that are rolling their eyes and still getting their name out there.
- busymom0 4y ago
  Couldn’t they just do something like have the sms messages in a different color than the rest? Similar to how iOS used blue for iMessage and green for texts? Signal could use an annoying red color for sms to make it even more clear.
  - aidenn0 4y ago
    Not sure if this is a joke given that Signal uses Blue for sms and Red for encrypted...
    - busymom0 4y ago
      I am on iOS and have never seen red. Only see blue. Color can be customized though.
      - aidenn0 4y ago
        I didn't specifically sate "on Android" since on iOS all messages are through Signal.
- nh2 4y ago
  > users don't know/see who is on SMS and who isn't They could just show the literal word "SMS" in the send button. I think that would be more obvious than wha they do now (button being grey instead of blue with a minimally changed lock symbol [1]). [1]: https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007318911#android_private https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007318911#an...
- Markoff 4y ago
  so put SMS in different tab and let users turn on/off this feature in settings, done, problem solved, but I understand giving users options nowadays ain't trendy
- rodgerd 4y ago
  If only there were a company that had, at some point, demonstrated that you can use indicators such as colour to indicate to users whether their messages were being transported via SMS or an E2E secure transport layer. I guess that's just a pipe dream though.
nazgulsenpai 4y ago
I've been using QKSMS on Android 12 and haven't had any problems in about a year of use. I think its on Google Play as well. https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=com.moez.QKSMS https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=com.moez.QKSMS
- _-david-_ 4y ago
  Last commit was a year ago. Do you know if it is still being developed?
  - nazgulsenpai 4y ago
    I'm not sure, but I haven't had any issues or want any more features than it already has so it's not an problem for me, but might be for some.
  - daedalus_j 4y ago
    Doesn't look good... https://github.com/moezbhatti/qksms/issues/1881 https://github.com/moezbhatti/qksms/issues/1881
jmcphers 4y ago
The Google Messages app is pretty good. It's a little thing, but it's the only app that supports tapbacks from iOS -- so on the (many) group threads I'm on that have iPhone users, I can see loves/like reactions instead of a flood of texts that say "Jane Doe loved an image".
- LtWorf 4y ago
  It's terrible. Every once in a while they decide to convince me that I really don't want to be sending an SMS but I want to use google's messenger of the month, that will inevitably be gone next month.
  - gs17 4y ago
    Huh, it's never done that to me. How often does it happen?
    - aidenn0 4y ago
      Every time it updates it asks me if I want to enable "messaging features" the next time it opens.
    - LtWorf 4y ago
      Used to happen to push duo. I installed an sms app from fdroid after that.
- MAGZine 4y ago
  +1 google messages. rcs support works well, the emoji reactions are good. the web ui for it is pretty alright. I use the quick responses and scheduled send from time to time. and it cleans up my 2fa codes automatically. Also, it now sends emoji reactions over sms which is a nice little graceful degredation from sms.
- metamet 4y ago
  I also use the "messages for web" sync that Google Messages offer: https://messages.google.com/web/ https://messages.google.com/web/ Really convenient to be able to respond to texts without having to take out my phone.
Markoff 4y ago
Pulse SMS is really good, but I blacklisted updates since they were bought in 2020 https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/10/29/it-looks-like-pulse-sms-has-been-bought-by-maple-media-get-ready-for-intrusive-ads/ https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/10/29/it-looks-like-pulse... QKsms is open source but abandoned more than a year, so I guess Simple SMS at Fdroid should be ok, it's from the guy behind Simple Gallery
evandale 4y ago
I've been using Chomp SMS a long time and it's still being updated.
- cannam 4y ago
  Yeah, I like Chomp. As I recall, I first installed it because it had an optional emoji pack with the old blob emojis in it, which I was miffed to have had taken away from me in an Android update.
neogodless 4y ago
Posted elsewhere in this thread but... Personally like TextraSMS. Has a free ad-supported version, but I paid to remove ads when it was on sale several years ago (maybe $1). 4.4 stars. I believe it's $3 or $5 to remove ads now. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.textra https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.textra Also surprised me the other day when a friend used an iOS reaction, and it applied it correctly on my end. > Added support for Reactions (also known as Tapbacks) received from iOS Apple devices.
- davchana 4y ago
  I am also using it on both devices, and I also paid for it using Google Opinion Credits :) Textra is an amazing SMS app.
rtcoms 4y ago
SMS Organizer by Microsoft https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.android.smsorganizer&hl=en_IN&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft....
- DesiLurker 4y ago
  shudder
- whoibrar 4y ago
  Been using this for years, I really like the Updates and finances tab. https://i.imgur.com/hUABKGr.jpg https://i.imgur.com/hUABKGr.jpg
genpfault 4y ago
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.smsmessenger/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.smsmes... ?
- Stamp01 4y ago
  This is what I'm switching to. I would have suggested Textra, but when I downloaded it just now, TrackerControl told me there are a bunch of tracking libraries in it. Simple SMS Messenger, on the other hand, not only doesn't have any tracking libraries, but doesn't ask for internet access! I've used other tools in the Simple suite and I love them. Although I like using F-Droid, this app is also available on the regular Play Store as well.
  - Stamp01 4y ago
    Update: I switched back to Textra because Simple SMS lacked a way to see timestamps for arbitrary messages. It will show occasional times when a message was received with some lull between it and the previous message. Otherwise, the timestamps are a mystery. I don't like that.
autoexec 4y ago
Silence is like a less polished version of Signal. The only important feature I really think it's lacking is a search function. You can export your texts to an XML file though, so to find something from a long time ago I just export to a file and use grep to search through that.

Yes, this is an idiotic decision that makes me question the decisions being made as a whole by Signal. Does anyone have recommendations for a good default SMS app on Android?

wslack 4y ago

The provide a fairly clear rationale beyond the ideological concern: users don't know/see who is on SMS and who isn't, and are being hit with high fees, and they are concerned that users may believe they have privacy when they do not. These are reasonable issues and concerns, so I don't follow why you would question all of the other decisions they make.

roer 4y ago
There are surely ways around this that don't limit the functionality of the application
- dylan604 4y ago
  As if Signal couldn't change the color of the text bubbles to some shade of, let's just say, green, to indicate when a user is chatting via SMS instead of a Signal secured message.
  - maratc 4y ago
    And then everybody and their dog would accuse them of green-shaming or whatever.
    - dylan604 4y ago
      No such thing as bad PR, unless you're removing features. Having people green-shame just means there are other people that are rolling their eyes and still getting their name out there.
busymom0 4y ago
Couldn’t they just do something like have the sms messages in a different color than the rest? Similar to how iOS used blue for iMessage and green for texts? Signal could use an annoying red color for sms to make it even more clear.
- aidenn0 4y ago
  Not sure if this is a joke given that Signal uses Blue for sms and Red for encrypted...
  - busymom0 4y ago
    I am on iOS and have never seen red. Only see blue. Color can be customized though.
    - aidenn0 4y ago
      I didn't specifically sate "on Android" since on iOS all messages are through Signal.
nh2 4y ago
> users don't know/see who is on SMS and who isn't They could just show the literal word "SMS" in the send button. I think that would be more obvious than wha they do now (button being grey instead of blue with a minimally changed lock symbol [1]). [1]: https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007318911#android_private https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007318911#an...
Markoff 4y ago
so put SMS in different tab and let users turn on/off this feature in settings, done, problem solved, but I understand giving users options nowadays ain't trendy
rodgerd 4y ago
If only there were a company that had, at some point, demonstrated that you can use indicators such as colour to indicate to users whether their messages were being transported via SMS or an E2E secure transport layer. I guess that's just a pipe dream though.

nazgulsenpai 4y ago

I've been using QKSMS on Android 12 and haven't had any problems in about a year of use. I think its on Google Play as well. https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=com.moez.QKSMS https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=com.moez.QKSMS

_-david-_ 4y ago
Last commit was a year ago. Do you know if it is still being developed?
- nazgulsenpai 4y ago
  I'm not sure, but I haven't had any issues or want any more features than it already has so it's not an problem for me, but might be for some.
- daedalus_j 4y ago
  Doesn't look good... https://github.com/moezbhatti/qksms/issues/1881 https://github.com/moezbhatti/qksms/issues/1881

jmcphers 4y ago

The Google Messages app is pretty good. It's a little thing, but it's the only app that supports tapbacks from iOS -- so on the (many) group threads I'm on that have iPhone users, I can see loves/like reactions instead of a flood of texts that say "Jane Doe loved an image".

LtWorf 4y ago
It's terrible. Every once in a while they decide to convince me that I really don't want to be sending an SMS but I want to use google's messenger of the month, that will inevitably be gone next month.
- gs17 4y ago
  Huh, it's never done that to me. How often does it happen?
  - aidenn0 4y ago
    Every time it updates it asks me if I want to enable "messaging features" the next time it opens.
  - LtWorf 4y ago
    Used to happen to push duo. I installed an sms app from fdroid after that.
MAGZine 4y ago
+1 google messages. rcs support works well, the emoji reactions are good. the web ui for it is pretty alright. I use the quick responses and scheduled send from time to time. and it cleans up my 2fa codes automatically. Also, it now sends emoji reactions over sms which is a nice little graceful degredation from sms.
metamet 4y ago
I also use the "messages for web" sync that Google Messages offer: https://messages.google.com/web/ https://messages.google.com/web/ Really convenient to be able to respond to texts without having to take out my phone.

Markoff 4y ago

Pulse SMS is really good, but I blacklisted updates since they were bought in 2020 https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/10/29/it-looks-like-pulse-sms-has-been-bought-by-maple-media-get-ready-for-intrusive-ads/ https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/10/29/it-looks-like-pulse... QKsms is open source but abandoned more than a year, so I guess Simple SMS at Fdroid should be ok, it's from the guy behind Simple Gallery

evandale 4y ago

I've been using Chomp SMS a long time and it's still being updated.

cannam 4y ago
Yeah, I like Chomp. As I recall, I first installed it because it had an optional emoji pack with the old blob emojis in it, which I was miffed to have had taken away from me in an Android update.

neogodless 4y ago

Posted elsewhere in this thread but... Personally like TextraSMS. Has a free ad-supported version, but I paid to remove ads when it was on sale several years ago (maybe $1). 4.4 stars. I believe it's $3 or $5 to remove ads now. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.textra https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.textra Also surprised me the other day when a friend used an iOS reaction, and it applied it correctly on my end. > Added support for Reactions (also known as Tapbacks) received from iOS Apple devices.

davchana 4y ago
I am also using it on both devices, and I also paid for it using Google Opinion Credits :) Textra is an amazing SMS app.

rtcoms 4y ago

SMS Organizer by Microsoft https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.android.smsorganizer&hl=en_IN&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft....

DesiLurker 4y ago
shudder
whoibrar 4y ago
Been using this for years, I really like the Updates and finances tab. https://i.imgur.com/hUABKGr.jpg https://i.imgur.com/hUABKGr.jpg

genpfault 4y ago

https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.smsmessenger/ https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.simplemobiletools.smsmes... ?

Stamp01 4y ago
This is what I'm switching to. I would have suggested Textra, but when I downloaded it just now, TrackerControl told me there are a bunch of tracking libraries in it. Simple SMS Messenger, on the other hand, not only doesn't have any tracking libraries, but doesn't ask for internet access! I've used other tools in the Simple suite and I love them. Although I like using F-Droid, this app is also available on the regular Play Store as well.
- Stamp01 4y ago
  Update: I switched back to Textra because Simple SMS lacked a way to see timestamps for arbitrary messages. It will show occasional times when a message was received with some lull between it and the previous message. Otherwise, the timestamps are a mystery. I don't like that.

autoexec 4y ago

Silence is like a less polished version of Signal. The only important feature I really think it's lacking is a search function. You can export your texts to an XML file though, so to find something from a long time ago I just export to a file and use grep to search through that.