Woozle Hypertwin

I just updated @signalapp and read the update message (from March 4, iirc).

I liked the first part:

Signal secure backups are here! Now you can choose to enable automatic end-to-end encrypted backups so you'll never lose a message when you get a new phone or reinstall Signal.

...but then...

You can back up all of your messages and the last 45 days of media for free, or you can pay a small monthly fee to get 100 GB of storage to back up every attachment. Tap on backups in your Signal settings to get started. Thanks to everyone who helped test this feature during the beta period!

...umm, where's the option to back it up locally, guys? This feels like extortion and customer lock-in, which should be antithetical to your mission.  

Worse, I clicked on the "learn more" link (buried elsewhere in the app) and found:

Signal Desktop does not support transferring message history to or from any device.

WTF. Just WTF. I am not okay with this. (Desktop should be where the most features are.)

#softwareGripe #WTF

Backup and Restore Messages

Signal messages, pictures, files, and other contents are stored locally on your device. If you have your old device, select the platform to transfer messages: Android iOS Desktop Message restora...

Signal Support
Mar 10 at 1:47pmWeb
Show threadNaga (he/him)Mar 10

@woozle @signalapp I've just started to explore Signal, and the limited functionality using it fro desktop is why I probably won't pursue it further.

Biggest for me is that it's an accessibility problem.

My disabilities make it very challenging to type messages on my phone.

#SoftwareGripe

Show threadWoozle HypertwinMar 10

@naga Given that typing on a phone is already difficult, your situation kind of makes the case overwhelming.

More generally: Phones should almost never be the primary UI target for any app. Mobile UIs are always going to be inferior to desktop -- what with the lack of screen-space, keyboards being tiny and almost always virtual, and the limitations of mouse-equivalent inputs (try doing a hover-over or location-sensitive right-click on a touchscreen).

@signalapp