I had to leave Signal when they dropped SMS support.
Signal Introduces Stories
131–140 of 480 posts
Re: Signal Introduces Stories
#132Earlier quoted context omitted.
About once a week I get a notification that random person X I haven't talked to in a decade is now on signal. About two months ago the super at my old apartment building got on signal and I got a notification. My late coworker's phone number finally got recycled and the new person using it is on signal too. They appear to be reaching critical mass. Still really mad about them dropping SMS support. I'll be deleting it…
I really don't understand the qualms with SMS support. SMS was never secure, and it certainly doesn't become more secure when you push it through a pass-through on one app or another. There is nothing you can do to SMS to make it more secure except to send encrypted strings: but then you have the same problem of sharing secrets, etc. that requires a separate app to manage anyway.
Because you can use it as your only messaging app if it has SMS. You can't if it doesn't.
Re: Signal Introduces Stories
#133Removed SMS support and then added stories. Worried about signal's recent direction. Being able to interact with my remaining non-signal contacts was huge. Really going to miss it. In contrast they are now adding a feature I do not care about at all.
Don't forget integrating and pumping a shitty crypto altcoin, completely ignoring the vastly more legitimate and well trusted privacy coin monero while also potentially opening itself up to legal attack vectors for helping to facilitate money transfers, not just protect speech. Lots of reasons recently to develop deep distrust for Signal leadership, and start calling into question whether the app is still legitimatel…
> Lots of reasons recently to develop deep distrust for Signal leadership, and start calling into question whether the app is still legitimately private.
How about when Signal started storing people's contacts, their name, their photo, and their phone number in the cloud ignoring cries from their users that Signal should provide a way to opt out and bringing up security concerns, then refusing to update their privacy policy to reflect the new data collection meaning that for years now they've been outright lying to people about what data is being collected and how it's used. That was when I moved off the platform.
If you want private/secure consider looking elsewhere.
Re: Signal Introduces Stories
#134Removed SMS support and then added stories. Worried about signal's recent direction. Being able to interact with my remaining non-signal contacts was huge. Really going to miss it. In contrast they are now adding a feature I do not care about at all.
In case you haven't seen the technical motivation for removing SMS yet, see https://community.signalusers.org/t/signal-blog-removing-sms...
It doesn't look like it has anything to do with Signal's direction in particular, but rather the changing environment they're in. (Specifically Android/Google making things harder.)
Re: Signal Introduces Stories
#135Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perverse incentives to get folks to use signal more. Checking it when you get a message isn't good enough, need to get creators and influencers on the platform to let folks doom scroll. How many followers on Signal do you have?
Is there anyone that actually gets excited when they see a platform has stories, or is adding them? I feel like it's just out-of-touch product managers who see everyone else doing the stories thing and blindly aping it cause it's the thing to do. In reality, the only place people seem to use stories is Snapchat, Instagram, and seemingly some people post to Facebook stories but I think it's mostly cause of the toggle…
> Is there anyone that actually gets excited when they see a platform has stories, or is adding them?
I was honestly excited when I saw the headline, not because I have any intention of using stories myself, but because my friends have repeatedly tried to explain to me why they use stories on Whatsapp and Snapchat, and I have some hope this will make Signal more attractive to them.
I feel the same way about stickers and the Giphy proxy, both of which are features I would never have asked for and was initially skeptical of, but that have wound up being widely used by most of my friends who use Signal.
Re: Signal Introduces Stories
#136I have never understood all the song and dance about stories. I can see how they differ from simple posts in the sense that they can be interactive and last only last some time before disappearing (and even then, it seems the concept was extended by allowing permanent stories), but I just don't see the appeal. It forces me to check another section of the app to stay up to date with things, while I could just check cl…
Does Signal have a "classic posts" feature I don't know about?
Re: Signal Introduces Stories
#137Earlier quoted context omitted.
> broadcasting images to your contact list isn't exactly what I think of when I think "private messaging". Neither was signal taking your contact list and uploading a copy along with your name and photo and storing that data forever in the cloud. Neither was refusing to update their privacy policy to reflect their new data collection practices. A company that promotes itself to whistleblowers and human rights activis…
> Neither was signal taking your contact list and uploading a copy along with your name and photo and storing that data forever in the cloud. It seems incomplete to not mention that that data is end‐to‐end encrypted, and that name and photo are optional.
In which case it would also be incomplete not to mention that that same data is stored insecurely and protected by an easy to brute force PIN. ( see https://community.signalusers.org/t/proper-secure-value-secu...)
Re: Signal Introduces Stories
#138Disregard this comment. This feature, while disappointing to me, is a fine addition to Signal for many people who would like to use the Story format without snooping or ads from Meta. That is a good thing and we should celebrate it. I previously commented something much more negative and snarky. I regret it.
People aren't expecting to get quote sniped so they assume that you have read the previous section where they explain in exacting detail what value they see in the story format.
> In the past years, stories have emerged as a new way to communicate, with their own unique purposes, norms, and idiosyncrasies. Ephemeral, low-stakes, and image-heavy, people use stories to share updates about their lives without the expectation of a response.
> Sometimes you just need a chill way to show your crush that you went to a very cool concert, without having to text them. Stories let you share your life with a select group of people in a way that doesn’t result in a new message notification. They give you a place to tell the kinds of jokes that work better in a sequential image or video format, and to share what you’re doing without the pressure of a conversation.
> Stories have emerged to serve these specific functions and others in the broader communications landscape, and many of us have integrated them as one of the ways that we connect with one another. That’s why they have a natural place in any messaging app, including Signal.
> Stories also happen to be one of the most common feature requests we receive from all over the world. People use them, people want them, so we’re providing a way to do stories privately. And without having to wade through a sea of ads.
Re: Signal Introduces Stories
#139Signals existence was too inconvenient for oppressive governments/law enforcement, so instead they've been subverted.
Re: Signal Introduces Stories
#140Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't forget integrating and pumping a shitty crypto altcoin, completely ignoring the vastly more legitimate and well trusted privacy coin monero while also potentially opening itself up to legal attack vectors for helping to facilitate money transfers, not just protect speech. Lots of reasons recently to develop deep distrust for Signal leadership, and start calling into question whether the app is still legitimatel…
> Lots of reasons recently to develop deep distrust for Signal leadership, and start calling into question whether the app is still legitimately private. How about when Signal started storing people's contacts, their name, their photo, and their phone number in the cloud ignoring cries from their users that Signal should provide a way to opt out and bringing up security concerns, then refusing to update their privacy…
> If you want private/secure consider looking elsewhere.
Already on it.
Just such a shame that after years of trying to convince friends and family to use signal, I now have to convince them to use something else.
Oh well, that might just be the natural circle of life.