by okneil on 2/14/17, 6:46 PM with 83 comments
by mirimir on 2/14/17, 11:59 PM
> But anyone testing the beta who links their iPhone to iCloud and wants the same level of privacy Signal has always offered should consider an extra step, too: Disabling a setting that uploads a call’s metadata to Apple. The beta upgrade to Signal will use CallKit, Apple’s framework for allowing VoIP calls like Signal’s, to be integrated more completely into the calling functionality of the phone. But that also means calls will be recorded in the iPhone’s call log and, for iCloud users, shared with Apple’s server. “iOS treats CallKit calls like any other call, however that also means some information will be synced to iCloud if enabled,” Open Whisper Systems warns. “This information includes who you called and how long you talked.”
https://www.wired.com/2017/02/encryption-app-signal-enables-...
by weinzierl on 2/14/17, 8:27 PM
I have a technical question:
> We immediately realized that protocols like SIP, which traditionally required holding open long-lived connnections in order to receive incoming calls, were not going to be compatible with the mobile environment.
Ok, so far so good.
> Instead we built our own simple REST-based signaling protocol [...], and used push notifications instead of long-lived connections to notify the client of incoming calls.
So, no long lived connection but a "simple REST-based signaling protocol". How is that supposed to work without a long lived connection?
> Actual push notifications hadn't been invented yet, though, so we created our own push infrastructure by sending encoded SMS messages that the app would silently intercept and interpret instead.
OK, that's pretty clear again.
> Over time, we switched to push notifications when they were created by Google and Apple [...]
But don't push notifications basically work over a long lived connection? Of course it's better to have just one long-lived connection to Apple instead of one for every communication App, but in the end if you want real time signalling in a mobile environment you won't get around a long lived connection, don't you? At least that is my understanding, but I'm always happy to learn something new.
by izacus on 2/15/17, 9:42 AM
On the other hand, Signal SMS support is broken (datastore and MMS issues), they don't want to bring SMS support to their "desktop" app (which STILL needs you to install Chrome to work) and they still don't support the use of multiple devices. Instead they're wasting resources implementing video chat which noone really asked for and won't help the adoption nearly as much as having a secure drop-in replacement for SMS client. Even worse, enabling SMS support will prevent any other SMS apps that let you have conversations via the computer from working.
It seems like they're actively trying to shoot their own foot.
The best Signal can do is to make a proper desktop application (even Electron would do now, even though Telegram's approach is significantly better UX wise) and make SMS seamlessly integrated into it both on the phone and on the desktop. Video chatting is nice, but it's not where the most important requirement for cross-platform private communication is.
by subliminalpanda on 2/14/17, 10:04 PM
Video was very smooth as well.
by flyx86 on 2/15/17, 1:39 PM
And it still frequently happens that I get the same text message from Android users six times. Where are the priorities of this project?
by bubblethink on 2/15/17, 6:58 AM
by lmedinas on 2/15/17, 9:23 AM
I will be interested in doing Video calls in a bigger screen, like iPad for example, is there any plans to expand this ? or is there any technical limitation like the phone number ?
by newman314 on 2/15/17, 5:17 AM
This config works for me with other VoIP apps. I tried earlier but was not able to get a call through...
by jrv on 2/14/17, 10:24 PM
by exodos on 2/15/17, 3:21 PM
Sometimes I'll MMS from other people inside other chat windows where they don't belong.
It's also really annoying that I have to attach a an item BEFORE I enter the message. Gets old after while.
Apps crashes quite frequently.
Using T-Mobile Wifi Calling feature makes MMS inconsistent, though at least it allows me to use.
Signal should add support for Windows 10 Mobile as an app for all platforms, and SMS/MMS should carry over, not just Signal-to-Signal.
I know there's a few other bugs, but I can't think of them at this moment.
BTW, I use the LG G4 unrooted, custom recovery, and unlocked bootloader
by ripdog on 2/15/17, 9:58 AM