For me, the only need was using iMessage on non Apple devices. To solve that I am using a MacOS VM with AirMessage installed on it. It lets me access iMessage from a browser.
Ask HN: Tips for Reducing the Number of Inboxes
51–60 of 87 posts
Re: Ask HN: Tips for Reducing the Number of Inboxes
#52The EU is planning to require big online messaging services to be interoperable. https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/24/22995431/european-union-d... This would solve it. Then you could simply use a single app. This is a political thing. So, vote for it, talk to the politicians.
I don't see how this is possible if you also have E2EE. Great example is email encryption via PGP. It exists, it's used (rarely) in some cases, but it's so poorly implemented to the point of being useless unless
On the contrary, genuine end-to-end encryption is only possible this way. First-party end-to-end encryption is broken by design. (I’ve explained somewhat more with particular examples in a few comments: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=chrismorgan+end-to-end+encrypt....)
To be sure, interoperability requires a suitable spec for other clients to implement, but there’s absolutely nothing special about end-to-end encryption in this picture—it’s just a feature to implement like any other.
Re: Ask HN: Tips for Reducing the Number of Inboxes
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't see how this is possible if you also have E2EE. Great example is email encryption via PGP. It exists, it's used (rarely) in some cases, but it's so poorly implemented to the point of being useless unless
On the contrary, genuine end-to-end encryption is only possible this way. First-party end-to-end encryption is broken by design. (I’ve explained somewhat more with particular examples in a few comments: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=chrismorgan+end-to-end+encrypt... .) To be sure, interoperability requires a suitable spec for other clients to implement, but there’s absolutely nothing special about end-to-end encrypti…
tell me then, how exactly would this work as new features are developed - do all apps have to be static in functionality indefinitely? how would it work with group chats where you can add and remove people arbitrarily?
Re: Ask HN: Tips for Reducing the Number of Inboxes
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem is that it is a blacklist not a whitelist. So these apps that spam a lot just create a new category every week. It would be fantastic if you could switch some apps to whitelist mode.
What applications do that?
The Google Search/Assistant app seems to be one of the worst that I have installed. No matter how many categories I mute I seem to get a new spam notification every couple of weeks. Unfortunately there are 2-3 useful notification categories so I haven't completely shut it down now. Google Maps also used to be pretty bad for this but I don't seem to recall any new categories for many months now.
Re: Ask HN: Tips for Reducing the Number of Inboxes
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why should this be an issue at all? It's my account, I should know the encryption key & algorithm. Any open source app can then implement this.
How exactly would you implement an interoperable E2EE group chat app where you can arbitrarily add and remove people like with iMessage? The EU law linked does not actually recommend anything specifically, just vaguely states interoperability being a goal. Certain apps will have certain functionality. Unless you're willing to constrain the functionality it's not really possible. Right now everyone could already use e…
[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: Tips for Reducing the Number of Inboxes
#56I just moved to Signal and told everyone I was going to do that. Some have followed and some haven't. At a point I had 6 messaging apps to talk to 6 different people and it was untenable especially after moving to Graphene OS as I didnt want to run microg.
Those who havent migrated, well, not a huge loss and sone have switched over to email. Discussions also gained a bit more depth with the move to long-form writing. It really comes down to this - do you want to have fewer apps? then make the switch. Do you want to talk to everyone on their preferred platforms - continue as is. There are some apps that help mitigate this (I believe element can through addons) but I wanted to cut down not add complexity.
Re: Ask HN: Tips for Reducing the Number of Inboxes
#57I personally use Matrix and bridge all my social accounts to there. It works super well, because my friends don't have to switch their app, but I see everyone in just one app. matrix.org/bridges
Unfortunately, setting these up requires you to have a spare server at home.
Re: Ask HN: Tips for Reducing the Number of Inboxes
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why should this be an issue at all? It's my account, I should know the encryption key & algorithm. Any open source app can then implement this.
How exactly would you implement an interoperable E2EE group chat app where you can arbitrarily add and remove people like with iMessage? The EU law linked does not actually recommend anything specifically, just vaguely states interoperability being a goal. Certain apps will have certain functionality. Unless you're willing to constrain the functionality it's not really possible. Right now everyone could already use e…
> How exactly would you implement an interoperable E2EE group chat app where you can arbitrarily add and remove people like with iMessage?
Doesn't the matrix chat app allow for this? Might be useful to learn how they do it if this is of interest.
https://matrix.org/docs/guides/end-to-end-encryption-impleme...
Re: Ask HN: Tips for Reducing the Number of Inboxes
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why should this be an issue at all? It's my account, I should know the encryption key & algorithm. Any open source app can then implement this.
How exactly would you implement an interoperable E2EE group chat app where you can arbitrarily add and remove people like with iMessage? The EU law linked does not actually recommend anything specifically, just vaguely states interoperability being a goal. Certain apps will have certain functionality. Unless you're willing to constrain the functionality it's not really possible. Right now everyone could already use e…
How is the problem you're imagining solved by having just a single company in charge of the app?
Re: Ask HN: Tips for Reducing the Number of Inboxes
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
On the contrary, genuine end-to-end encryption is only possible this way. First-party end-to-end encryption is broken by design. (I’ve explained somewhat more with particular examples in a few comments: https://hn.algolia.com/?query=chrismorgan+end-to-end+encrypt... .) To be sure, interoperability requires a suitable spec for other clients to implement, but there’s absolutely nothing special about end-to-end encrypti…
tell me then, how exactly would this work as new features are developed - do all apps have to be static in functionality indefinitely? how would it work with group chats where you can add and remove people arbitrarily?
> tell me then, how exactly would this work as new features are developed - do all apps have to be static in functionality indefinitely?
Can you give an example of a "new feature" that you think would be stymied by this?
> how would it work with group chats where you can add and remove people arbitrarily?
I don't quite understand what issue you're pointing to. I'm not sure if you're unsure of how e2e encryption works or something else. Can you ask your question again with more specificity?