Earlier quoted context omitted.
Signal is a non-profit though no?
they still have to cover their cost somehow.
Signal was given $50M by Brian Acton (WhatsApp co-founder), I think they will be fine for a while.
Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests
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Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
Compared to WhatsApp that is owned by a massive megacorp that bought it for over $10bn and that has already tried to start mining metadata from it I would say Telegram still has its advantages. (FWIW: I prefer Signal.)
Prefer Signal myself too. It's a bit hard to switch over from WhatsApp and tried to use it at least with my spouse. One feature that Telegram and WhatsApp miss, is being able to send yourself a message. On Signal you can do this and it's very convenient for taking notes, sending passwords (laptop phone) and for saving bookmarks. I used to share interesting bookmarks from HN to my email, but that quickly got cumbersom…
You can do it on Telegram chatting with the "Saved messages" pseudo-user.
Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests
#63Should the revolution fail, the digital trail left by these messages will give the government everything they need to hunt down every last activist. We saw it with the Green Revolution in Iran. We've seen it several times since. So long as messages are not encrypted, messaging apps are much more naturally suited as tools of oppression than tools of revolution.
I don't know too much about Telegram but isn't it encrypted?
I'm pretty sure Signal at least doesn't encrypt at rest on your phone. So the drive would have to be encrypted as well, which is not default on Android
Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests
#64It's never "the work of a long-preparing revolutionnary crowd" revolution, but always a "latest fashionable technology" revolution. Tech propaganda at its best.
Long-preparing revolutionaries need a way to communicate and coordinate with a bunch of people who suddenly see things their way. The government often tries to jam the lines of communication, so some alternate form of communication is often critical.
I wonder why is it that folks in Hong Kong, xinjiang and Tibet can’t effectively work together using telegram to start a massive nation wide riot. There are so many Folks in those regions who are oppressed (millions) and they are being organ harvested, forced to work in factories as slave labor, held in concentration camps, disappeared without trials, and tortured for democratic ideals.
Or these folks can coordinate with protestors in other parts of the world, to raise awareness and stop consumers from buying from a dictatorship.
Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think so. Calling it "{arbitrary brand} revolution", when pretty much every messaging platform is indistinguishable feels crass and tacky. The brand isn't the one in the trenches making the sacrifices. It could be called a smart phone revolution instead. A revolution of the people.
It was reported that Telegram was the only thing that somewhat kept working when the internet was down country wide. Also, I installed Telegram for the explicit purpose of following the events in Belarus directly from sources. By doing that I noticed that apparently the local press in my country have done the same, as it seemed that most of the updates in online media have come from the same Telegram channels. So, it…
Uhhh how did it work when the internet went down ?
Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests
#66Should the revolution fail, the digital trail left by these messages will give the government everything they need to hunt down every last activist. We saw it with the Green Revolution in Iran. We've seen it several times since. So long as messages are not encrypted, messaging apps are much more naturally suited as tools of oppression than tools of revolution.
I don't know too much about Telegram but isn't it encrypted?
Not by default.
Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests
#67Should the revolution fail, the digital trail left by these messages will give the government everything they need to hunt down every last activist. We saw it with the Green Revolution in Iran. We've seen it several times since. So long as messages are not encrypted, messaging apps are much more naturally suited as tools of oppression than tools of revolution.
I don't know too much about Telegram but isn't it encrypted?
Not by default, no, because that has UX implications (e.g the chat will only be available on one on your device instead of being synced between all your devices). Though it’s quite easy to start an encrypted chat, and you can decide to have auto destructive messages.
Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests
#68Earlier quoted context omitted.
Compared to WhatsApp, they do have access to all messages from every person (except for the few people using secret chats) and group so I'd not be very surprised if they started to mine that data somehow if they really want the money.
Compared to WhatsApp that is owned by a massive megacorp that bought it for over $10bn and that has already tried to start mining metadata from it I would say Telegram still has its advantages. (FWIW: I prefer Signal.)
How does attacking Facebook dismiss the fact that Telegram has your raw conversations and can monetize them?
Re: Telegram messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests
#69Should the revolution fail, the digital trail left by these messages will give the government everything they need to hunt down every last activist. We saw it with the Green Revolution in Iran. We've seen it several times since. So long as messages are not encrypted, messaging apps are much more naturally suited as tools of oppression than tools of revolution.
I don't know too much about Telegram but isn't it encrypted?
Well it's server software is closed-source, so you would never really know who has a backdoor.
There are much better options than Telegram if you want real security. Signal for one.