@obi @pganssle Is signal removing SMS functionality?

@corv Yup, they announced it a few months ago, as not to confuse users as to the security of their SMS messages. @pganssle

@corv @obi @pganssle

Yeah it was announced like 3 months ago
https://qoto.org/@lucifargundam/109388484048094379

@obi What does direct APK mean? If I upgrade today through the play store is that the same thing? I’d be happy to delay this decision a while.

@pganssle I don’t have google play services on my devices. Signal offers a direct apk link, as to protonmail and a few other services https://signal.org/android/apk/

@obi @pganssle

Signal is removing sms indefinitely due to support issues. Paying extra or installing AndroidPackageKit won't change anything about it moving forward.

If you're using signal for encrypted chat, it's still a good option. If you're mixing sms and encryption, you're SoL. Personally, I'd rather have an app that served both. I'm still trying to find an equivalent option.

@jerub I don’t know, I think I used Google Voice before Signal, and I actually really like Signal as an SMS client. I assume Messages is not good because I’m not sure I’ve ever liked a default app, but maybe it’s OK?

@pganssle hah. I assumed there was a critical missing feature or an ideological opposition. I didn't anticipate "i hadn't considered it" as your reason.

@gpshead I don’t really understand this. It sounds like you are saying that I should disdain SMS so much that I don’t care about my client, but it’s not like I can stop using SMS.

I’m almost certainly going to need to start using SMS more now, because a good chunk of the people I talk to on Signal are people where I went to send them a text message through Signal and I got a “blue send button”. Now I’m just going to go straight for the SMS app, and all those communications will be unencrypted.

@gpshead I think the main reason Signal has taken off so much is that it was effortless. It was a better SMS client than the default one plus it did opportunistic encryption.

Anecdotally, it seems to me that Signal adoption is lower among iOS users, and I’ve always attributed that to the fact that they have a basically degraded experience, since they can’t set Signal as their SMS app.

@pganssle @gpshead yeah I only use Signal with other paranoid nerds.

That said, nobody outside the US uses SMS because of the historic price-gouging by mobile carriers.

@pganssle thats the same reason I was initially enthusiastic about Hangouts having SMS support: Opportunistic best comms channel possible between parties without the user having to think about apps and services at all.

An intended user action focus: message/chat with person X

rather than a "I need to contact X, what Brand do I bow down to?" focus that we all live with today. (and is the sole reason I get piles of group text conversations among friends when infinitely better tools exists)

That user action focused concept as a whole was basically killed by Apple. They refuse to allow user action focus support by apps on their platform. Because it'd disrupt their own monopoly over the concept reserved solely for brand loyalists and break vendor lock-in.

Ignore specific UX implementation reasons of Hangouts issues itself. Irrelevant. Any app/service/network/product owner is free shoot their own foot... Is Signal shooting its foot here? Time will tell. At this point I think the world understands that Signal is the only choice if they want security. But that most will have a hard time convincing those they communicate with why opt-ing in to security is relevant.

@pganssle if you're willing to be the pedant pariah in your social group, install an auto-responder app: for non 2FA code SMS messages, set it to auto-reply to the sender with a messaging instructing them to install and use Signal - containing a link to it in both platform's app stores. And proceed to ignore and delete all texts.

Most people don't feel like offending their contacts this way as that isn't the way their social power dynamic works.

@gpshead Well I’m not that interested in boosting Signal anymore anyway. The main selling point is gone and and non-technical types I have convinced to use Signal now have to deal with two apps plus a migration of their SMS history.

This plus the general vendor lock-in model Signal has going don’t make me enthusiastic to spend what limited influence I have over my contacts’ technical choices on promoting Signal.