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Briar: Peer-to-Peer Encrypted Messaging

briarproject.org

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Re: Briar: Peer-to-Peer Encrypted Messaging

#91

Post by newaccount74 »

hutzlibu wrote: post #63
KennyBlanken wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's actually instant messaging without any client hiccups or latency (looking at you, Signal). This is almost certainly poor wifi / cell coverage, not Signal having "hiccups" or "latency." I routinely have real-time texting conversations with friends and I can see the messages are "seen" almost instantaneously, half-way across the US. I've also never had an issue with voice chat. It's been flawless, and very high…

"This is almost certainly poor wifi / cell coverage, not Signal having "hiccups" or "latency." I routinely have real-time texting conversations with friends and I can see the messages are "seen" almost instantaneously, half-way across the US." Here in europe not so much. Most of the time it works somewhat instantly, but it too often happend, that a single message arrived a unknown time later. It seems signal is optim…

Yeah, Signal is definitely not a reliable messenger. I've also had messages arrive with hours of delay.

iMessage is way more reliable in my experience.

Re: Briar: Peer-to-Peer Encrypted Messaging

#92

Post by anon400232 »

anonym29 wrote: post #52
KennyBlanken wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's actually instant messaging without any client hiccups or latency (looking at you, Signal). This is almost certainly poor wifi / cell coverage, not Signal having "hiccups" or "latency." I routinely have real-time texting conversations with friends and I can see the messages are "seen" almost instantaneously, half-way across the US. I've also never had an issue with voice chat. It's been flawless, and very high…

>iOS, which is superior for digital privacy False dichotomy. GrapheneOS, LineageOS, you have options on (some) Android handsets. You have no options on iOS. Further, much of Apple's walled-garden ecosystem is closed source. Apple is HORRIBLE for user privacy, only marginally less horrible than Google. The difference is that Google isn't a tyrant who insists on making devices that MUST run their own OS. Ironically, Pi…

Privacy is not a one dimensional thing. Just like security, it exists in context, relative to a threat model.

Think about the threat model for an "everyday" person. It is different than an American journalist contacting sources in the United States, which is different than a journalist in Russia or China.

Re: Briar: Peer-to-Peer Encrypted Messaging

#93

Post by O__________O »

californiadreem wrote: post #18

My wife and I use Briar for household communication because of subsidiarity rather than any direct privacy concerns. Out of all the messenger projects that we've tried, Briar actually works for local communication. It's actually instant messaging without any client hiccups or latency (looking at you, Signal). We've tried a ton of other options, but we keep ending up back at Briar. There are points of UX friction in t…

If an adversary is within bluetooth range of a Briar user what if any data or meta data they are able to gain?

For example, say there is a protest and law enforcement is running devices to capture the Briar data and meta data, what would they be able to record and would it be possible to playback (decrypt) the data at a later point if they were able to capture keys; my understanding is Signal counters playback attacks, but lacks P2P Bluetooth support.

Worth noting that Briar’s Bluetooth support appears to forward data, but not in real-time, so it’s technically not a mesh network; though not sure what you would call what it supports, maybe an asynchronous network?

Re: Briar: Peer-to-Peer Encrypted Messaging

#94

Post by seb1204 »

KennyBlanken wrote: post #37
californiadreem wrote: post #18

My wife and I use Briar for household communication because of subsidiarity rather than any direct privacy concerns. Out of all the messenger projects that we've tried, Briar actually works for local communication. It's actually instant messaging without any client hiccups or latency (looking at you, Signal). We've tried a ton of other options, but we keep ending up back at Briar. There are points of UX friction in t…

> It's actually instant messaging without any client hiccups or latency (looking at you, Signal). This is almost certainly poor wifi / cell coverage, not Signal having "hiccups" or "latency." I routinely have real-time texting conversations with friends and I can see the messages are "seen" almost instantaneously, half-way across the US. I've also never had an issue with voice chat. It's been flawless, and very high…

Here in Australia I can send a message from one phone in onee hand to the other phone in the other hand. Most of the time I can unlock the second phone and open signal before the message arrives. Fast enough for me but not instant.

Re: Briar: Peer-to-Peer Encrypted Messaging

#95

Post by andai »

kybernetikos wrote: post #79
californiadreem wrote: post #18

My wife and I use Briar for household communication because of subsidiarity rather than any direct privacy concerns. Out of all the messenger projects that we've tried, Briar actually works for local communication. It's actually instant messaging without any client hiccups or latency (looking at you, Signal). We've tried a ton of other options, but we keep ending up back at Briar. There are points of UX friction in t…

Seems like Briar might be good for messaging to young kids. I could give them an old phone without a sim card, and run Briar on it.

What is your motivation for the "without a sim card" part? If the phone is connected to Wifi then they're either at home or at school--isn't the point being able to reach them no matter where they are?

I'm not too keen on my kids being on the internet all day. In my case the opposite solution seems better, a dumbphone so I can reach them, but TikTok can't.

Re: Briar: Peer-to-Peer Encrypted Messaging

#96

Post by GTP »

californiadreem wrote: post #18

My wife and I use Briar for household communication because of subsidiarity rather than any direct privacy concerns. Out of all the messenger projects that we've tried, Briar actually works for local communication. It's actually instant messaging without any client hiccups or latency (looking at you, Signal). We've tried a ton of other options, but we keep ending up back at Briar. There are points of UX friction in t…

> we both have email hosting in Europe

If this is for privacy reasons, I have to point it out that the GDPR protects the data of people that are physically in the EU. I'm not a lawyer, but I'm not sure this applies to non-EU citizens that just happen to deposit some of their data in the EU without being physically here. Maybe you should delve in this corner case deeper, or if you did, I'm curious to know the answer.

Re: Briar: Peer-to-Peer Encrypted Messaging

#97

Post by giphyman »

lrvick wrote: post #90

The biggest privacy problem of Briar is it requires iOS or Android to use. If you cannot control your endpoint, you cannot control your keys or your privacy. Briar will become useful to me when it can run on open platforms like a Pinephone, Librem 5, Precursor, etc.

There is a WIP desktop client which is targeting linux phones: https://code.briarproject.org/briar/briar-desktop#design-goa...

Re: Briar: Peer-to-Peer Encrypted Messaging

#98

Post by Aachen »

FollowingTheDao wrote: post #87
kevinfiol wrote: post #16

Just wanna say this app saved my family and I when we went on a cruise. Normally, we would had had to pay to use the chat service via the ship's paid-only Wi-Fi (since we get no phone reception on the seas). Without needing to pay for the Wi-Fi, we were all able to use Briar to communicate whilst connected to the network, which made coordinating and finding each other on the ship way easier. It was great and worked r…

I miss the days of mystery and adventure as a child, of being totally disconnected and unfindable, and lost without fear.

Because you aren't a child anymore or because you can't put your phone away?

Re: Briar: Peer-to-Peer Encrypted Messaging

#99

Post by MayeulC »

toastal wrote: post #51
KennyBlanken wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It's actually instant messaging without any client hiccups or latency (looking at you, Signal). This is almost certainly poor wifi / cell coverage, not Signal having "hiccups" or "latency." I routinely have real-time texting conversations with friends and I can see the messages are "seen" almost instantaneously, half-way across the US. I've also never had an issue with voice chat. It's been flawless, and very high…

> available on iOS too Ah yes, the two operating systems: Android + iOS. You can't have an account without registering a primary device on one of those OSs. No KaiOS, no Linux phones, no desktop machines, no web-only options. I'm mad about these mobile-duopoly-app-first services because you can't participate in alternative lifestyles when it Cowes to phone usage.

Well, while not officially endorsed, there is `signald`. With mautrix-signal, I'm able to bridge my Signal and Matrix accounts. I can also make signald my primary device.

https://signald.org/

https://github.com/mautrix/signal

Re: Briar: Peer-to-Peer Encrypted Messaging

#100

Post by FollowingTheDao »

Aachen wrote: post #98
FollowingTheDao wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I miss the days of mystery and adventure as a child, of being totally disconnected and unfindable, and lost without fear.

Because you aren't a child anymore or because you can't put your phone away?

I am in my late 50's and many women still call me a child (in a positive way), so I do not think that is my problem.

It is not about my phone use, but the expectation that I should always be findable since I have a cellphone. But I do admit to working at challenging my fear of living without a cellphone, but I am homeless so it is more difficult than when I had housing.

Fear is the hook I guess. It is ok to not know where your kids are or for them to miss dinner on a cruise ship.

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