Has anyone had their signal app want to auto update outside of an app store?
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Does seem odd doesn't it. How could I verify the app is authentic and no malware or anything has accessed my phone.
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My Signal auto updates via Obtainium. That is outside of a store. I think I remember the two updates your talking about.
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Signal isn't on F-Droid out of the box, I don't think, but it is in the Guardian repo and probably in a few others as well. I downloaded the Signal apk directly from their website, and that version does auto update and has for quite some time.
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I'm completely open to hearing why the Signal update notification is a concern. I don't worry about it but you may know something that I am not seeing.
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I have one device where I installed the APK straight from Signal themselves. That is the only device where it has updated itself.
My other devices all use the Play version through Aurora Store, and always updates through that.
Maybe there's a config/setting somewhere?
But also, maybe don't use F-Droid for apps regarding privacy.
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I think about F droid and this aspect from time to time.
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It was 10 days ago for the last update, then the first one was a few days prior to that. Those two were the only two ever to have that happen.
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There are virus scanners for Android - I have Bitdefender on mine - but I don't know how effective they are. Back in the day they were a bit of a gimmick; I don't know whether they're better now.
I have seen other apps from F-Droid do this. NewPipe, I think, used to prompt me for updates even though I had installed it from F-Droid. But I was always a bit unsure so I tended to just go back to F-Droid to install newer versions. Maybe it's a thing some apps do but I don't know why they should need to and I don't entirely trust it.
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This article seems like a lot of FUD written from an anti-FOSS perspective. In their second point, they say that F-droid's inclusion policy is "ridiculous" for requiring programs exclude proprietary software. I think the author is ridiculous for asking for this. This is what F-droid is for. I don't want any proprietary apps or libraries on my phone. If developers only want to work on their proprietary software, they don't get into F-droid. If they make a modified FOSS version and put it in F-droid, and let it bitrot and go unpatched when vulnerabilities are discovered, and F-droid issues a security advisory for that program, that's not F-droid's fault.
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If you trust the initial install then unless there is a warning about the signing key you are good. Only signal devs can sign the builds so if you installed the play store version then then updated with their apk or fdroid then it should just work as the signing key is the same.
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You should consider using Molly, a fork of Signal with Unified Push.
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Yes. I remember seeing the notifications. I then went to Obtainium and updated. What I do not know is if these were signal or obtainium notifications. It did seem odd at the time.
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open-source
whatever software
development modelA blatant scam to backdoor our devices with software which fails to include a libre software license text file, to steal our control and privacy with anti-libre software.
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I had the same at the same time. I ignored the app request and updated from app store
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My signal app tries to update itself. Installed from obtanium. It is a very irritating process, the thing tries to update, there is sometimes weird response times from clicking it (you click the notification and simply do not know if something is happening) and then without notice the thing restarts and then usually it works. But sometimes, the update notification still comes back. Because of that, I just update via obtanium
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Signal is not distributed outside Play store and signal own website. If you downloaded from F-droid, its probably from Guardian repo.
If you download it from play store, signal will update through play store. If you download it from signal, it will update through itself. If you download it Guardian repo, it's basically the same downloading from signal website, it will update it self.
The thing you can do is just basically turn off the update notification and just update it from guardian repo. Or just disable the guardian repo and let the signal update itself.
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I had this happen. I clicked the notification many times nothing happened. Then eventually it did. It was odd. I just wanted to make sure everything was still intact.
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This sounds like the answer. The app updates from guardian repo. I will change the update path. Say the app had well something malicious injected would a new update flush the old app and in with the brand new?
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Phew. OK. Thanks. I'd rather post and ask then be ignorant. Still unsettling.
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I've heard of Molly and read the repo. But I'm unsure how it would be more official and secure than the actual official app.
