this post was submitted on 27 Feb 2026
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Privacy
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Pretty sure signal is not the best option, but telegram should be avoided at all costs.
How is signal not the best option?
Signal is good because it is easy to get others on board because of its simplicity, while having good encryption and security. However, SimpleX is just a better option. No phone number required, the same encryption, you can make a new profile whenever you want and you can have however many you want at a time. The groups can hold thousands of people. You can have it automatically make a new anonymous profile for you for each contact and group so that you can't be tracked across them apart from your writing style. There are no usernames, you add each other through links, which can be temporary or permanent, and you can add or remove a link whenever you want.
Sorry for that big wall of text, I just spat out all the things SimpleX is better for. I think that it's platform is the future.
the tracking argument against signal is pretty weak imo… signal has no ability to build a social graph because in 2018 they implemented a feature called sealed sender which is a cryptographic mechanism that allows you to send a message without disclosing to signal who you are (the receiver still knows, and rate limiting still works)
the reality of signal having your phone number is they know you (as an identity/person) use signal and that’s it
I know about that and that's why I'm not worried about them having my phone number, but its still a pointless requirement. What if I don't have a phone number for privacy reasons? SimpleX is still better in every way other than simplicity.
i’d agree that for privacy alone simplex is probably better, but until it scales i’m not sure we can say that it will be able to scale. i have my doubts, simply because if you can have unlimited anonymous profiles, when it becomes a high value target then spam becomes a real problem, and then there’s only 2 major solutions that i can think of:
Well spam seems pretty easy to combat. A lot of the groups make you talk to the admins and wait before you can talk, and you can have it so you approve contacts before they can contact you using one of your links. And if one of your links falls to spam, you can just delete it. I'd say spam isn't really an issue.
that’s reasonable. perhaps the best service is one with both options: you can somehow have a verified account that lets you msg people you haven’t connected with (perhaps they have an “allow from verified” contact option), and join groups without verification, but that you can also have unlimited anonymous accounts that are assumed spammy
Personally I disagree and think that the way SimpleX already has it is the best way because I don't think trying to protect your privacy as much as possible should automatically get you labelled as a spammer, but I can see your viewpoint.
yeah, bad choice of words on my part… and i think the verification doesn’t have to be identity-based… it just has to be some limited resource (which identity is, and guarantees fairness because it’s n per identity)
it’s all compromises, and i don’t think there’s a perfect solution… what we want is the largest impact on general privacy the world over, and options that allow verifiable perfect privacy when needed - but understanding that that requires compromise in things like usability simply because it’s more complex to set up things like trust networks than to … just not
Tbf, there's options that are just as secure and don't require a phone # to register, but that doesn't make Signal bad
Signal does not require a phone number to register anymore, afaik.
Signal still requires a phone number. What was added is usernames for contacts, so you no longer need to give other people your phone number for them to contact you. It is a step in the right direction, but it would be great for them to get rid of the phone number requirement all together.
Ah thank you for the clarification!
Why do you say signal is not the best option? My only discomfort with it is the phone number requirement (and I think they maybe relaxed that)
Phone number requirements + afaik servers are in USA + it was some cryptocurrency related story (they tried to add some crypto wallet at some point)
It's important to remember that for a lot of programs that have some tangentially related crypto feature, crypto used to be popular. It still is popular in some circles. There was a time when it made sense to include those features because users were asking for it. So time, money, and energy was spent to add those features.
What do you expect them to do with those feature now? You really think they're just going to delete them? Why would they remove an already developed and implemented feature? They hurt nothing. People don't have to use them. Them existing doesn't take anything away from the app functionality.
It's like being upset that old car models weren't recalled to remove ash trays and cigarette lighters when smoking became unpopular.
It's not the wallet itself that bothers me (it is these days equivalent of adding some ai feature), but the story behind their involvement with and promotion of a particular blockchain or coin . Frankly can't recall all the details .
Damn near everyone was making a coin at some point. Again, why would they remove or get rid of a feature they spent time, money, and energy to develop when it doesn't hurt anything by being there. In fact, they'd have to spend more time, money, and energy to remove it than if they just left it in place.
Ah I am not bothered by the cryptocurrency … thing. It’s pretty well buried in the app, and doesn’t seem like anything they’re particularly trying to push. More like a failed experiment.
You mean one of the few countries not currently trying to dismantle encryption?
Yeah, you can make payments with MobileCoin. 🤮
Luckily, Signal does give you the option to completely ignore it. I only see it mentioned in the settings and I have not enabled it.
Same with stories, you can enable/disable them. Although, if I want to convince my normies friends to look at Signal using stories probably helps that. 🤷
Context:
https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/6829998083994-Phone-Number-Privacy-and-Usernames-Deeper-Dive
Supported by US nasty agencies.. They do NOT care about any-ones 'privacy' and would only support if they have another purpose or a way in..
What do you mean? ~~DoD~~ DOW uses it, it must be super secure /s
It is as long as you pay attention to who is in a group chat