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“It’s time for Apple to fix texting”

android.com

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Re: “It’s time for Apple to fix texting”

#571
post #430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

SMS spam is real.

I've not had a single SMS/messaging spam message in the last decade. In the UK if that makes a difference, maybe we have effective laws around it? Not looked into it.

Here in Australia I am still getting a few a week.

And we have a loophole that allows politicians to legally spam whenever they want.

Re: “It’s time for Apple to fix texting”

#572

I setup a BlueBubbles server on a spare Mac and I installed the BlueBubbles App. Boom. iMessages on Android. Done. Messaging is already extremely fragmented. BB is only the eighth messaging app on my phone. Considering getting on Beeper to consolodate this madness. Matrix/Element was too rough to utilize as is. Almost everyone I text with is on iMessage in the US. 95% or more of my regular contacts. Many are often ou…

Can this be done without setting up a private Mac server?

Re: “It’s time for Apple to fix texting”

#573
post #129

> iPhones make texts with Android phones difficult to read, by using white text on a bright green background. Wow. I can't really come up with anything creative to blame Google for this one. Whatever you want to say about Google's messaging mess and RCS - Apple seems to go out of their way to make it inconvenient to text with Android users. Also it doesn't sound like Google's asking Apple to give up iMessage - just t…

The green used on the website is significantly brighter than on an iPhone. In fact, on the iPhone, I would say the green gives better contrast than the white text on a blue background. For direct messages, the colored bubbles are only used on messages you send. Messages received are always white text on black background (dark mode) or black text on grey background (light mode). edit: my bad. "increase contrast" optio…

The "increase contrast" green is both more readable and also just nicer looking. I don't know why it isn't the default.

Re: “It’s time for Apple to fix texting”

#574
post #535

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not fully encrypted yet though, not even if everyone opts into encryption. And if we want to be technical XMPP was before that and it was federated by some large networks, however briefly.

Of course fully encrypted

As of 2021-08 that doesn't appear to be the case

> It however turned out that although the content of the message is encrypted, there is still a lot of user identifiable data that is not encrypted and can be seen by potential attackers.[0]

[0] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266628172...

Re: “It’s time for Apple to fix texting”

#575
post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use XMPP because unlike Matrix, XMPP is properly standardized and not a product by a single VC funded startup. If you ever have multiple independent implementations a single monolithic spec will always only be partially supported (or there is only a single useable implementation like Synapse), so no different than having extensions.

Have you ever considered that your constant FUD against Matrix just ends up hurting open communications in general? How about putting your energy into improving XMPP rather than constantly whining about the existence of Matrix. Matrix is properly standardised at https://spec.matrix.org by a non-profit foundation: https://matrix.org/foundation . Just because the core team created a startup to fund our work (3 years in…

I don't think that promoting existing internet standards over Matrix will hurt open communications.

Instead I think constantly reinventing the same thing with slightly different, incompatible primitives is hurting the ecosystem a lot more.

Bridges also won't solve this. The matrix.org XMPP implementation (besides not being mentioned anywhere, not even in the Matrix FAQ about XMPP) is almost unusable and I suspect it will never allow for encrypted communications or A/V calls.

Re: “It’s time for Apple to fix texting”

#576
What's wrong with continuing to use SMS exactly? Why do we need to use alternative incompatible protocols if existing protocols are reliable and work even of 20 years old devices?

Both iPhone and Android support SMS and I see no improvement in either using iMessage or RCS. I may be biased because I don't use neither of them.

Re: “It’s time for Apple to fix texting”

#577
post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hear you believe me. But in the past five years, I have received so much call spam that I just don't answer my phone anymore. Imagine that, the primary use of a phone and it's all cocked up. Imagine what happens to imessages if they leave it open. Blame the cretins that spam people.

Sounds like iMessage spam is already a problem (if another poster in this thread is to be believed). Since I'm on Android, I'm stuck using SMS a lot, since most people I know have iPhones. I do get some SMS spam, but not a ton, and most of it is auto-flagged and I never see it. > Blame the cretins that spam people. SMS and voice call spam is actually a solved problem, but carriers have been dragging their feet implem…

Blaming spammers is like blaming mosquitoes. What's the point?

Re: “It’s time for Apple to fix texting”

#578

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> “standard” tied to a phone number subscription that brings along all the retrograde privacy nightmares of Big Telecom since the bell system broke up. Is there a way to make an account with Apple that isn't tied to a mobile phone number? If so, I've never been able to find it.

You don't need an Apple ID to use iMessage. Just an Apple device.

Using iMessage requires an Apple ID. The Messages app on iPhones supports both SMS/MMS and iMessage because it’s a phone and needs to support SMS. But without being signed into an Apple ID on the device the Messages app only handles SMS/MMS, i.e., green chat bubbles.

Re: “It’s time for Apple to fix texting”

#579

What's wrong with continuing to use SMS exactly? Why do we need to use alternative incompatible protocols if existing protocols are reliable and work even of 20 years old devices? Both iPhone and Android support SMS and I see no improvement in either using iMessage or RCS. I may be biased because I don't use neither of them.

> What's wrong with continuing to use SMS exactly

You can't send images with SMS. People like to send each other images.

Re: “It’s time for Apple to fix texting”

#580

What's wrong with continuing to use SMS exactly? Why do we need to use alternative incompatible protocols if existing protocols are reliable and work even of 20 years old devices? Both iPhone and Android support SMS and I see no improvement in either using iMessage or RCS. I may be biased because I don't use neither of them.

The only reason (from my POV) to stop using SMS, is that it is a security nightmare (no integrity or authentication, can be MITM) and for some crazy reason everyone has decided it is a splendid idea to use it for 2FA.

That is like using wolves to protect your sheep -- sure if you keep them well-fed it might work...

Otherwise, Google is complaining because iMessage is a moat Apple has, that Google can not break on its own.

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