This is beyond stupid. This is the only way I was able to convince friends to use Signal. Heck, it's one of the only reasons I used it myself. Didn't have to juggle two apps.
Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)
101–110 of 649 posts
Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)
#102I've been a user for nearly 10 years and still only a few people in my circles uses Signal. If they go through with this, Signal is as good as dead.
Well for what it’s worth it sounds like you weren’t really using Signal for secure messaging anyway… so not much of a loss.
Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)
#103That sucks. The data fee argument makes no sense – you could just have a setting or warning or something for those who live in places where you have to pay for sms (I know every setting introduces complexity, but I that's got to be nothing compared to the level of engineering needed for all those other fancy features in Signal).
I agree with this - I already get a little popup telling me a message to a 6-digit number might cost me money. Just reuse that pop-up or something.
Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)
#104I think the real rationale for this change is signal believes this will push user adoption.
If User A (who uses the signal app) regularly communicates with User B (who doesn't), then this change might encourage User A to ask User B to join signal. It makes a stronger network effect, and will increase viral growth.
However, I think the Signal team is misguided, and in fact they will just lose users who don't want one more app to manage.
Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)
#105> "Letting a deeply insecure messaging protocol have a place in the Signal interface is inconsistent with our values and with what people expect when they open Signal" > "We’ve heard repeatedly from people who’ve been hit with high messaging fees after assuming that the SMS messages they were sending were Signal messages" > "We can only do so much on the design side to prevent such misunderstandings" It sounds like t…
Indeed. Double-check icon indicates Signal messages. Unlocked icon indicates non-Signal. My 85-year-old mother understands this.
Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)
#106Is this Moxie's decision?
Very likely. Moxie was always horrible.
Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)
#107hahaha, that was literally the only reason why at least consider signal over other IM, now they lost it they have literally zero benefit over Element or Telegram since you will need dedicated SMS app in phone anyway
personally I jumped the boat when they made app unusable with PIN code nag screen, which they backpedaled from after uproar but it was already too late for me and my extended family where I pushed Signal, there were message delivery issues, horrible downtime in Europe because US admin was taking sleep, but the unavoidable nag screen was the last drop, the later news about shady crypto and other stuff just convinced me this app ain't worth a dime, which this SMS announcement just confirmed
if you wanna alternative IM app use Element (Matrix), unlike Signal it doesn't require phone number, it use decentralized network and you can choose from whatever app you like, never understood why IT skilled people pushed Signal after Element became already quite user friendly
Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)
#108This seems to be a "bug or feature" situation where the answer depends on the user profile. The ability for messages to leave the Signal app in plaintext SMS is a "feature" for users whose top needs include a single-app UX, and a "bug" for users whose top needs include an app that is foolproof E2EE (so users don't have to consciously pay attention to which conversations are Signal-native vs SMS). Maybe SMS support co…
Never used signal, so I don't know it's UI language. Couldn't they just put a red unlocked padlock symbol next to the send button, if the sent message is going to be over an insecure channel (SMS in this case)? Maybe they already had something like this, so sorry for my ignorance.
Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)
#109This seems to be a "bug or feature" situation where the answer depends on the user profile. The ability for messages to leave the Signal app in plaintext SMS is a "feature" for users whose top needs include a single-app UX, and a "bug" for users whose top needs include an app that is foolproof E2EE (so users don't have to consciously pay attention to which conversations are Signal-native vs SMS). Maybe SMS support co…
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Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)
#110RIP Signal