Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon) • Hacker News Board

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#281

Post by CommitSyn » Wed, Oct 12, 2022, 6:21 PM UTC

ndsipa_pomu wrote: post #242

daedalus_j wrote: post #149

I've been using Signal for a long time. I have repeatedly been unable to convince iOS users to use Signal because "I don't want another app". Android users have been much more willing to give it a shot. As an android user myself, I much prefer having SMS built in because I use the search feature often to look back through all my SMS/Signal chats. I also regularly forward an SMS message to a Signal user, or vice versa…

The biggest issue I can see with using two separate apps is checking who's on Signal and who isn't. That means opening up Signal to see if they're on there and then switching to SMS if they aren't. I much prefer having both types of contacts in the same UI and it's been obvious to me which messages are secure. Also, when someone then joins Signal, subsequent messages to them automatically get upgraded to being secure…

Yes... Unless it's able to somehow alert you that you're texting someone with Signal, it seems like Signal will be phased out because everyone will default to SMS, unless they have a reason to use Signal for a conversation, which hurts the entire privacy ecosystem.

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#282

Post by ghastmaster » Wed, Oct 12, 2022, 6:21 PM UTC

> After much discussion, we determined that we can no longer continue to invest in accommodating SMS in the Android app while also dedicating the resources we need to make Signal the best messenger out there.

I did not need emoji's, groups, gifs and all the other neat stuff that signal has introduced throughout the years(to varying degrees of success). I had been using it, while none of my friends were. What I did need was a single messenger to handle sms/mms with the default being secure when security was available. I have multiple friends now using it and sadly will revert back to a 100% insecure messenger for my phone for 99% of my messages. The new one will do everything better than signal does except security, so it will have some benefits.

I will be on the lookout for a replacement. I hope signal continues to bring security for entities that need it through the future. I have not looked at tox in a while. I'll check that out again.

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#283

Post by cannam » Wed, Oct 12, 2022, 6:22 PM UTC

evandale wrote: post #239

CommitSyn wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

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

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.

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#284

Post by daedalus_j » Wed, Oct 12, 2022, 6:22 PM UTC

pmlnr wrote: post #247

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never understood why decisions and options have to be mutually exclusive. Yes, you want to have a rock-solid, thoughtfully-design default install for new and casual users. You can still have an advanced control panel with everything a power user could want.

It's not mutually exclusive at all, see KDE, but it takes more time, and people will have the option to mess it all up. Taking that factor away - allowing people to mess it up - makes it easier for developers.

KDE is such a great example of how to do it right that I didn't even think of it. It just works so well and so transparently that I forget how great it is sometimes.

Rock solid and both works and looks great right out of the box. So customizable that using literally anything else feels like using a Fisher-Price computer for toddlers.

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#285

Post by Y-bar » Wed, Oct 12, 2022, 6:24 PM UTC

adfm wrote: post #260

Waterluvian wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's another reason for iOS users to avoid Signal: It eats up Gigabytes of storage space, refuses to ever clear it, and the devs are rather resistant to accepting that it's even a problem at all: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-iOS/issues/4916

Since there’s no server storing media, consider saving the stuff you want and dumping all the old photos and video you don’t. It’s a more secure communication tool, not an archive.

Yeah, that would be nice. But an export-import. Or any backup function whatsoever is sorely missing on iOS.

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#286

Post by S0und » Wed, Oct 12, 2022, 6:24 PM UTC

Why do I have the feeling that every person who complains about this as something of a deal breaker are from the US? This is so weird, the rest of the world moved on SMS 10-15 years ago.

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#287

Post by chimeracoder » Wed, Oct 12, 2022, 6:25 PM UTC

zwily wrote: post #262

chimeracoder wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If the recipient chooses to not have SIgnal installed any longer, then your messages go into a black hole. For two weeks, messages will be shown as sent but not delivered, and after two weeks Signal will not let you send messages to that number until it reconnects to the Signal servers. For comparison, Apple automatically sends all SMS messages via iMessage opportunistically, and if the user then switches to anothe…

That hasn't been true for awhile: https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage/ They will also deregister you automatically after some period of time. What you described is the situation several years ago, but it's much better now.

That's a link to deregister a phone number from iMessage without an iPhone, which is good, but I don't see any text on that page that confirms that they'll deregister you automatically, or if there's any user-visible indication of the issue. If that's the case, then I'm glad they finally addressed it, because it was definitely a problem for far too long.

In that case, Signal's current behavior would be comparable to Apple's, if Apple also deregisters you after a period of inactivity.

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#288

Post by DavidVoid » Wed, Oct 12, 2022, 6:26 PM UTC

Well that's probably going to suck for everyone who convinced their non-technical parents to switch to Signal.

"My bad, this easy SMS client I got you to switch to is going to stop supporting SMS, and we're going to have to export all your old texts or they'll be gone forever."

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#289

Post by gs17 » Wed, Oct 12, 2022, 6:28 PM UTC

LtWorf wrote: post #256

jmcphers wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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".

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.

Huh, it's never done that to me. How often does it happen?

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#290

Post by TheNewsIsHere » Wed, Oct 12, 2022, 6:28 PM UTC

dymk wrote: post #68

eatwater123 wrote: post #10

This is an awful decision. I've converted some friends and family to Signal over the past years (it took a while) and it is now their default messaging app on their phones. This is going to confuse them and is going to make it difficult for me to keep convincing them that Signal is the route to use. ("Why do I need 3 apps (Android Messages, Signal, Whatsapp) to talk to people?")

I dunno, all my friends use at least a handful of messaging apps (iMessage, FB messenger, Discord, Telegram, SMS). Sure people grumble about a new messaging app but the younger generation seems to not have an issue adopting new things.

I wouldn’t frame it as an issue around adopting new things. Some don’t care, some go with the flow, and some prefer to make active choices about these kinds of things.

I am very intentional and active when it comes to what has push notification privileges. I factor that into my app use consideration. I have multiple email accounts in two different email apps, each that send me notifications. I have Signal, Discord, iMessages and SMS. I have a few Google chat apps. I used to have WhatsApp and Wickr and Telegram. I have Skype, Teams, and two Mattermost servers.

It’s exhausting to constantly switch between these, so over the course of a few years I’ve been very clear in where people can expect to reach me reliably. If you need or want to chat with me on Discord, Skype, or Google whatever you need to send me an iMessage, SMS, Mattermost, or Signal message. Sending me a message anywhere else will get you a response only the next time I open that app. That only happens when someone specifically asks.

I’m OK with having 63847394038 chat and video calling apps, but I’m not OK with being instantaneously notified by an infinity such apps. I can’t be that available.