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Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

support.signal.org

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Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#211

Post by shafyy »

pbasista wrote: post #85
shafyy wrote: post #4

I also started donating €10/month. I figured that I pay a lot more for other services that I use far less often and provide me far less value, so why not pay for this. Also got me to think about this topic a bit more and write this blog post: https://canolcer.com/post/pay-for-internet-stuff/

> I pay a lot more for other services that I use far less often and provide me far less value, so why not pay for this Is that the only reason why you would like to pay for this service? It seems irrational to me to justify an expense merely by the existence of other expenses.

The rationality is: I get a lot of value, so it's worth my money.

I just compare it to other services I pay for that have no free option (e.g. Netflix) but provide less value, so it's a reason for me to pay for Signal because I want them to keep existing and improve the product. Is that irrational?

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#213

Post by agentdrtran »

pessimizer wrote: post #104
agentdrtran wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Matrix is probably the closet alternative but it's harder to use than Signal (lost your password? say goodbye to your messages!).

That's a feature. I don't want my account to be recoverable without my password.

I understand that use case, but for most people that's horrible as they don't take care of their passwords very well.

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#214

Post by zeagle »

hwhelan210 wrote: post #173
gaius_baltar wrote: post #43

They should sell the ability of creating an account not attached to a phone number. Pay $5, get a code that allows creating a single account, enter the code somewhere in the app to allow using a user name in place of the phone. This limits spam and, as this code can also be sent to another person, there is a way to hide the relationship between payer and final user. No need for cryptocoins, NFTs, or other stupid thin…

You might be interested in the technical reasons for requiring a phone number to use Signal. Not sure if there have been any updates since this blog post. https://signal.org/blog/secure-value-recovery/ > One challenge has been that if we added support for something like usernames in Signal, those usernames wouldn’t get saved in your phone’s address book. Thus if you reinstalled Signal or got a new device, you would l…

I feel like that issue could be solved by creating a random unique say 16 digit UID that users could then add as a phone number for contacts. As long as it does not map to a real routable phone number a phone dialer won't have issues if you call it by accident. Smarter dialers like that in calyxos could recognize it for signal calls if it has a unique prefix.

They could even sell existing users UIDs so they could share their contact info without sharing their phone number if they so desired, e.g. via a website. If they charged some nominal fee users could reset their UID. Maybe with escalating prices if done in short succession to make revenue and discourage abuse.

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#215

Post by ohthehugemanate »

fao_ wrote: post #98
tapoxi wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean 'not fully released'? It's here: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Server

Is that the version that is actually deployed to their servers, though?

Well your signal client performs SGX remote attestation before sending any contact data to ensure that the server codebase matches a valid release. So if they're not running the published source, your client will refuse to share your contact information and social graph. Note that messages are e2e encrypted on the client side, so they don't enter into it.

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#216

Post by imwillofficial »

Freak_NL wrote: post #161
imwillofficial wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And insane spam follows.

Why would you add a spammer to your contacts in Signal?

People can request to write you without being in your contacts. I have received several spam messages this week in this way. Imagine how much more with a lower barrier to entry

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#218

Post by unraveller »

_wldu wrote: post #25

Is there a market for a secure messaging app (similar to Signal) that does not rely on personally identifying information (phone numbers and emails) or is that too fringe?

https://getsession.org is a signal clone without the number requirement, just uses a session id.

E2EE voice & video conferencing is available in the beta coming in the next release

Re: Signal users can give a recurring monthly contribution

#219

Post by EVa5I7bHFq9mnYK »

egberts1 wrote: post #120
Tepix wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

WhatsApp is subsidized by Facebook. Threema is a better comparison. They offer a commercial, ad-free product with E2E for a one-time fee of 3.99€ in the iOS app store. They also don't sell your address book or other data. They don't even have your phone number.

That part about YOUR phone number that Apple will not have must be a lie. If you head over to the Apple App store and pull up Threema privacy policy: Threema has your CONTACT INFO identifiable to you, if you installed their app. And I don’t know many people who wont put the phone number down for its contact info.

There is absolutely no need for a phone number. ICQ in 1996 did not require any phone number to chat.
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