Anyone here using this? It’s probably been around for donkeys years, but I have only just found it. Is it as good [private] as they say? Any other thought? R-
Yes, I use it, and wish more people I know would do also. And yes, it is a secure as people say.
I’d love to use Signal, but nobody I speak to uses it so unfortunately it is useless for me. I happily use iMessage but have to use WhatsApp for some people which is annoying.
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I’d happily use any one messaging platform, honestly but if I want to speak to people I know I need to use WhatsApp, Messenger and iMessage. I hate how many messaging apps there are
I much prefer Telegram
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I’ve been using Signal for ages, managed to get a number of people to switch from WhatsApp. Still too many of many contacts using WhatsApp though, so I need that installed too.
Signal has the same end-to-end encryption as WhatsApp - they actually invented the encryption that WhatsApp uses - but they don’t keep any meta data on who you’ve contacted, when you connected them, etc. There’s also no chance of them stuffing your conversation list with ads, which is on the cards with WhatsApp.
Telegram isn’t end-to-end encrypted by default - you have to create a “secret chat”. I don’t believe they provide E2EE for group chats.
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They’re not end-to-end encrypted but they are encrypted. The reason why they’re not end to end is because you can use the Telegram app from basically anywhere and your phone could be dead but your messages are always accessible.
I trust Telegram’s encryption and appreciate how convenient it is to access it from any browser, phone etc. and have all of my messages available. With end to end encryption this wouldn’t be possible if your phone was offline. It’s why WhatsApp desktop doesn’t work that well.
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Interestingly a couple of people that I don’t speak to regularly chose to message me Happy New Year on Signal this year instead of WhatsApp (I’ve had it installed but dormant for ages) and someone just messaged me via it to say they’re going to switch to it as their primary.
I have both on my homescreen, and the interface is pretty similar, so doesn’t make much difference to me.
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This also came up in my feed today, which is what made me wonder how many people here have it installed either as a main or secondary app.
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Maybe they’ve moved because of privacy concerns.
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I’ve been using Signal for a couple of years, if it’s good enough for Snowden it’s good enough for me. Whatsapp, since being taken over by FB, simply can’t be trusted - backdoors & privacy issues everywhere.
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What’s everyone’s opinion on Telegram? I’ve been using that much more recently. It’s pretty great.
Feature-wise, Telegram is great. In terms of privacy and security, I’d 100% recommend Signal.
By default, messages in Telegram are not end-to-end encrypted. The feature is there (“Secret Chat”), but you have to switch it on for a conversation. Also, it’s closed source so you have to trust that the encryption works the way they say it does. They store meta data unencrypted and take a copy of your contacts to store on their servers.
Everything in Signal is end-to-end encrypted - text, voice and video chats. Even stickers have their own encryption! Everything is open source, so you can inspect the source code if you wish. For those who can’t/don’t want to do that, you can be sure that thousands of security professionals check it regularly. They don’t store any meta data and they don’t take a copy of your contacts.
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Don’t quote me on this but I’m pretty sure there was something mentioned before that if you ever sent a sticker in a Whatsapp chat, it was a backdoor for FB to be able to access the messages in chats.
Not sure how true it was, but definitely seen it mentioned before how both stickers and even gifs (FB own Giphy) opened up routes for them.
The fact FB targeted Apple with full print ads when they introducing tracking lists on the App Store shows to me where FB’s priorities lie, hence I have requested all my FB data, to then close both my Facebook and Whatsapp accounts - I currently can’t bring myself to delete Instagram tho…
I don’t mean to pick on you but I do find it amusing and a fairly widespread practice.
Whatcha mean?
People ditching Facebook for privacy / security reasons but keeping Instagram.
Oh definitely but I think its a step in the right direction, cause personally Facebook can go and get f*cked - they somehow manage to ruin every business they purchase
However until something else comes along to replace it, I can tolerate the targeted ads on Instagram and the fact the app has for some pathetic reason been styled more as a shopping app (we obviously know its because Facebook then absorb all the details about your purchases via the app including order numbers, cost and card details) - I also don’t currently need to sync my contacts to the app, contacts I have for clients etc which I’d rather not give the lizard that is the Zuck.
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Signal appears to be straining under the weight of a significant inflow of users:
I’ve downloaded Signal in preparation of operation Friends/Family leave WhatsApp *
*I doubt I’ll succeed
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