Signal Private Messenger Rolls Out Encrypted Group Video Calls Feature

[sideshowuniqueuser]

The only encrypted message sender besides iMessage which I somewhat trust. Pity I can't convince people to use it.

It's not possible to fully trust any encryption that isn't open source. Signal is open source, iMessage is not.

The thing about convincing people to use a particular message app based on the fact it has encryption or not, is that most people don't care. Unless they have something truly secret to send, what they care about is being familiar with the app.

And if you're worried about companies skimming your messages for keywords for targeted advertising, then most people don't care about that either. Most of them don't even bother with an ad blocker. And most that don't, would rather targeted ads that highlight new products and deals they might be interested in, rather than just annoy them with rubbish.

 

[DaveTheRave]

iMessage is generally considered to be safe because its encrypted, but that does not apply to iCloud backups. If the government were to subpoena your iCloud data, they could easily get your messages because nothing on iCloud is encrypted. (If you follow politics, guys like Paul Manafort and Roger Stone were prosecuted because they didn't realize their WhatsApp chats were backed up unencrypted on iCloud even though the messages on their devices were protected by the Signal protocol.)

My privacy concerns are less about the government and more about companies and data thieves using/abusing my personal data for financial gain or fraud. I trust Apple to not do funny things with my metadata. WhatsApp can't read your message content but they can tell alot about you based on the metadata - your contacts, who you communicate with and when. Signal is the best because there is no iCloud backup at all and they have no access to your metadata at all except your phone number to verify your account.

 

[mi7chy]

People at DHS use Signal so that must mean something.

 

[DaveTheRave]

People at DHS use Signal so that must mean something.

So does the US Senate:

US Senate Can Now Officially Use Signal For Encrypted Chats

Suck it, CIA. The US Senate has gotten permission to begin using the encrypted phone app Signal, according to a congratulatory letter from Sen. Ron

gizmodo.com

 

[HailAlistair]

This is great, but they still haven't added a way to backup your messages on iOS. I lost all of my messages recently, because I had to restore from an iCloud backup my iPhone and Signal excludes their data from device backups.

I will keep using Wire, thanks.

 

[zenodux]

The question is who holds the keys? Lots of things are "end to end encrypted" but if the MSS, NSA or FSB, holds the key, it isn't much use.

The good news is that Signal seems to be doing it right, looking at their software. First, their description shows that they don't hold the keys. Second, and more importantly, their software is open source so that it can be verified. Third, lots of people have done #2.

So, I agree, this is pretty much the only one I'd trust not to be spying, besides iMessage.

If a third party is holding your keys, by definition it is not end-to-end encrypted. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End-to-end_encryption

 

[Yptcn]

Can anyone download and install Signal for Mac ?