SignalNov 16, 2023

Signal is a nonprofit. But what does this mean in practice? Today we do something most tech co’s avoid: talk money. What does it cost for Signal to play in a lane dominated by billion $ corporations, while rejecting the surveillance business model?

https://signal.org/blog/signal-is-expensive/

Privacy is Priceless, but Signal is Expensive

Signal is the world’s most widely used truly private messaging app, and our cryptographic technologies provide extra layers of privacy beyond the Signal app itself. Since launching in 2013, the Signal Protocol—our end-to-end encryption technology—has become the de facto standard for private commu...

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Show threadFilipeNov 16, 2023
@signalapp Thanks for the write up. I'd love to see the phone number registration fees decrease somehow, but I trust you are doing your research and found it's the least costly option, and also better for people (saving us from spam accounts).

I've donated, and plan to donate again once I have the capacity :)
Show threadNunya

@filipe @signalapp I wonder if they consider a $1 app fee as a form of verification instead of using SMS with the user paying the fee.

No different than accepting card for donation but instead tied to one time validation. This voids the need for SMS.

Nov 16, 2023 at 5:16pmMastodon for Android
Show threadFilipeNov 16, 2023
@nunyab @signalapp Hmmm I'm not in favor of it. When Elmo did it we all thought it was dumb ahahaha I think maybe a national ID/passport verification as an alternative (without removing the phone option for people who need it)? That might be much cheaper?

I give this opinion because having a phone number is not anonymous anyway. And if we want to prevent spam by tying each account to a real person (basically Sybil resistance), I'd love to see national IDs/passports used more.

I know there's concerns about 1984 state surveillance stuff, but, if implemented correctly, I think we can prevent that technically(?)