The biggest issue with Matrix is that the server collects ALL the metadata.
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Yes it does
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You can choose to share a username instead of a phone number, but they still require the phone number at setup iirc.
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Good to know!
Is the phone number required for 2fa codes or anything like that at any point ?
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I got an initial verification code and haven't heard from signal since. Signal doesn't support totp or SMS 2fa. But has a pin code set along with your password. A new device that is added doesn't have access to old messages unless you have the correct seed key iirc
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You're right. Only for setup though, which is something I guess.
How to Use Signal WhatsApp Without Phone Number?
As mentioned above, a valid phone number that can receive calls and text messages is required to create and verify your Signal Account.
Since, your mobile device does not have a phone number or you do not want to use your phone number, you can use a Landline Phone Number or a Virtual Phone Number as provided by TextNow, Google Voice and others to verify your Signal Account.
Once the account verification process is completed, you will be able to use Signal on your mobile device, regardless of whether or not it has a phone number or SIM card installed on it.
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I think you'd have a theoretical issue if the next person who got that number also tried to set up a signal account.
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You might be right. I'll have to go double check, but I don't think that you can just set up a new account with the same number without the password you set up.
I might be wrong, though.
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To be clear, I have a phone number, but I do not WANT to have one. Most aspects of my life I have removed my phone number from. There are still a few services ( like signal! ) which requires one, and I cope. Cellular data is also something worth avoiding, from a privacy perspective. It is very possible to live a life where you're never very far from wifi, especially in a city. I do not currently do this, but would love to one day.
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It creates a cost for spammers. They have to have an account with a Telco, which isn't free, which in a lot of countries comes with some sort of National ID to register. That's the reason.
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No they don't, you can sign up with a VoIP provider.
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It’s been recently added to FDroid.
No, it has not. A third-party published it in an f-droid compatible repository. That might be convenient for people who happen to trust that third party and manually add it to their F-Droid client, but it is not at all like it being added it to F-Droid.
You can use NTFY with Molly (which has been on FDroid for some time).
This does not refute what I wrote. Unless you only communicate with people who get their Signal app from some non-Google source and they all rig up alternative push notification channels, your conversations are still tied to Google. Perhaps you have so few contacts that you could achieve that, but approximately nobody else is in that position.
network-level metadata monitoring by anyone with sufficient access/influence at Signal or their data center provider (such as a government who doesn’t like encrypted messaging).
This one is just a straight-up lie. Everything on the server is encrypted and no one has the keys except the participants.
Encryption doesn't hide network traffic. Signal's centralised design means there is a single point where that traffic can be monitored and traced to reveal which endpoints are talking to each other, and where, and when.
What I write is not a lie, which you would know if you actually understood these issues.
Please stop making baseless accusations. You are being very rude.
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I’ve been trying SimpleX a little this week. It hasn’t been great, unfortunately. It could be an iOS issue, but notifications aren’t coming through. Maybe Android will be better.
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or every one of them uses Signal exclusively on iOS, your conversations are still tied to Google
Just because someone else uses Google on the other end does not make it dependent on Google on your end.
you are being very rude.
I'm being rude because you're spreading FUD and misinformation and actively making people unsafe. If you have evidence to prove that Signal has access to all of that information, feel free to share with the class. Otherwise, shut it.
If Signal had access to any of that information they would have been legally compelled to provide it when they were served with warrants but they did not, which proves that you're incorrect.
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You can enable a registration lock, where anyone with your number would have to enter a pin to register an account with it. However, it removes itself if you don't log in for a while.
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I would be more concerned about how phone-oriented it is. A phone's default OS is such spyware that I am not sure just what is safe from from being uploaded. And even if the person wants a more private alternative, most phones have locked bootloaders. On the other hand, Linux would run on damn near anything... But using Signal on it without a smartphone is very annoying. No way my mom would understand an Android VM or a command-line client, because the desktop client isn't feature-full and doesn't even allow registration.
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Yep, that's what I was thinking of. I guess just set a reminder to login every now and then (if you don't use regularly).
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Lol, let me introduce you to http://smspva.com/
