@Mer__edith except @signalapp does collect #PII (#Phonenumbers) and demand it alongside camera access to even use it.
- Compare that to @monocles / #monoclesChat and @delta / #deltaChat, which don't demand any personal data nor permissions (beyond internet access and being able to store the login details, obviously!), this is absolutely unreasonable.
Plus unlike #Signal, both offer #realE2EE with #SelfCustody of all the Keys, support @torproject / #Tor for #privacy and don't rely on "Trust me, guys!" advertising and a long-term unsustainable model of donations from billionaires and millionaires to keep running!
My [reservations](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114234551915193036) and [criticism](https://infosec.space/@kkarhan/114862595629371002) re: #Signal are not just valid, but the reality is *even worse than I thought*:
- The fact that @[email protected] requires not only their shitty #Android #App, and a #PhoneNumber but literally won't allow people to use their shitty #Desktop-App unless they have an Android device with a camera pointed at it makes it utterly unuseable for certain users *who don't have a fucking #camera in their Android*…
Seriously, do they expect folks to deal with that shit?
- It's already worse in terms of #UX than #telegram and #discord and that too makes #XMPP+#OMEMO clients like @[email protected] / #monoclesChat & @[email protected] / #gajim easier and faster to onboard #TechIlliterates onto.
- Whichever asshole decided that a *replacement for #SMS* should mandate #PII like a #PhoneNumber & not be natively cross-platform should be banned from doing any #tech in their life. Trying to circumvent this shit and helping folks with it makes me so fucking angry that I'm now explicitly refusing to support it!
FIX THAT SHIT, @[email protected], and if it means you need to kick some devs in their crouch then consider this a necessary *"investment"*…
#sarcasm #TechSupport #TalesFromTechSupport #Enshittification #SignalSucks #TelegramSucks #Messengers
Meredith Whittaker
Kevin Karhan 