Live data from Hacker News

Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

signal.org

591–600 of 649 posts

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#592
post #71

This is going to seriously harm their user base. I've used signal for years, but will have to drop it with change. People aren't interested in maintaining several different messaging apps.

Most people already use multiple messaging apps. Facebook Messenger, Instagram, default SMS app, etc.

Basically no-one does all of that in one app, so using Signal for Signal messages is normal for those people.

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#593

This is bizarre. If this were an in-depth announcement with a long and well-structured technical justification attached, I could understand. Though I suspect I'd likely disagree with the decision, I could probably accept it as a simple different of opinion if the arguments were evidently well-thought-through and considered. This blog-post is so lightweight. There's no technical analysis. There's barely any justificat…

Here's a (partially?) non-technical justification they shared on the Community forums. https://community.signalusers.org/t/signal-blog-removing-sms...

They definetly should publish those points out in the open. After reading this, it just make sense they are dropping SMS, as infuriating as it is. Thanks for the link.

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#594
post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Phone-based 2FA hasn't got to Austria yet?

Most sites and platforms use HOTP/TOTP (RFC 4226/RFC 6238) for 2FA, use an authenticator app of your choice. Regardless of that, you can still always receive SMS for the 3 outdated services that still use it.

Interesting. What do they do with the grandpa/grandma population who have neither an idea nor the skills for "RFC 4226/RFC 6238"?

(As my friend used to ironically say: "Is your grandma so senile that she can't type `configure; make; make install`?")

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#595
post #517
post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. Secrecy will have backdoor keys, but that is not what walled garden means: it means more like people have no power over the decisions made in the garden.

That's what OP was referring to. "... those designated as gatekeepers will have to: allow third parties to inter-operate with their own services, meaning that smaller platforms will be able to request that dominant messaging platforms enable their users to exchange messages, send voice messages or files across messaging apps. ..."

Thank you, I should have clarified that in the original comment.

(I admit that I actually edited that original comment, since the link I initially included was more speculative, talking about a law that was expected to pass, and being much more vague about when it might enter into force. The page at the updated link is more definitive, but not as narrowly focused, so I'm glad you managed to isolate the relevant section.)

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#596

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This "I don't want another app" thing is senseless to me. Why? What does it hurt having more than one communication channel? In my experience people that say this generally have no space on their phone, usually because of an unfettered willingness to install the taco bell app and the Starbucks app and whatever else. Their underlying reasoning is correct. SMS sucks, really really bad. They're a secure communications c…

> This "I don't want another app" thing is senseless to me. Why? My elderly mother pushes one button to text me and everyone else anything else is a show stopper, End of story.

My elderly mother uses Whatsapp, signal and element. They're all the same.

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#597

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People usually want both and that's what causes most people to ignore good tools.

Signal is in a weird place where they can do no right by users. It's a team of like 25 developers building extremely complex software criticized by people that don't understand security and trivialize everything. Reddit has a lot of evangelists that can't even program. Their community forums are a dumpster fire where users act like "my way or the world is going to end" (see the current username discussion. Most peopl…

Pretending like Signal is the second coming of Christ and implying that Telegram and all else is insecure and for dumb idiots and may have had something to do with it

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#598

Can anyone recommend a good SMS Android app?

None will do RCS so you basically have to use Googles

Why would I care about RCS? 100% SMS I receive from carrier, airline, delivery company, doctors, etc. are all plain regular SMS, not even MMS.

Heck I can't even use Google Messages in my phone without gapps.

Re: Removing SMS support from Signal Android (soon)

#599
post #176

It was obvious this was going to happen when they refused to implement RCS. So instead of working on RCS, we got mobilecoin, stickers, gif search, and now yank out legacy SMS support so more "features" can be developed? As an early adopter of TextSecure, through CyanogenMod integration, to Signal and everything in between, I have the t-shirts and all -- I am done with Signal.

Don't you have any group chats on Signal that you want to stay part of?
Post reply on HN