#CyberSecurity#Privacy#Messaging#Metadata#Encryption: "When stored, aggregated and analyzed, this metadata provides ample information that could potentially incriminate someone or be submitted to authorities. When WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger enabled end-to-end encryption for messages, of course it was a welcome and widely celebrated change. But it’s important to remember that not all end-to-end encryption utilizes the same standards, some implementations are more secure than others, so it’s something that shouldn’t necessarily be accepted at face value. More importantly: collecting and storing an obscene amount of metadata should invite global scrutiny, considering this data is often combined with whatever other information companies like Meta harvest about your identity (which is a lot.)
This is one of the many reasons why we need to resist giving out our phone numbers just to access an app, especially to do something as personal and intimate as private messaging. Even though users can sometimes mask their numbers with a username, their identity on the app is still fundamentally tied to their phone number. App operators have access to this, as well as user contacts. Additionally, with a simple modification to the app's source code, the contacts may also gain access in some cases. This should raise more concerns about privacy, and it makes the need for anonymity difficult to achieve." https://simplex.chat/blog/20240416-dangers-of-metadata-in-messengers.html
At what point are the #Democrats going to start engaging in coordinated #messaging, and pushing content to combat the flood of #rightwing bullshit? The clock is ticking, and we can't afford to wait til the night before the election to suddenly realize that effort is needed to inform the voters of the facts.
The messaging app you choose impacts others as well, not just yourself, and while you personally may not require complete privacy, others in your network might have their lives depend on it.
💬 "In March 2020 the information system for dealing with Covid was; I would wheel in a whiteboard and grab a marker and Simon Stephens would read out from scraps of paper, faxes that he'd got from the NHS…" - Dominic Cummings interviewed on Helen Lewis has Left the Chat, on BBC Sounds.
Since DMs suck on here and @signalapp added usernames, is anyone just publicly sharing their Signal username? I’ve thought about doing that but am not sure. #SignalApp#messaging
#SocialMedia#Messaging#Telegram#Privacy#CyberSecurity: "Taking the company public would change the power structure and force greater disclosure, although Durov could maintain voting control by issuing dual class shares.
Monetising messaging apps is not easy. Users do not want adverts to pop up in their private messages. Signal relies on donations and Meta does not give profit figures for WhatsApp.
Telegram is not yet profitable. It told the FT that it makes “hundreds of millions of dollars” in annual revenue via digital ads, crypto payments and premium subscriptions. It is planning an AI-powered chatbot, but then who is not? Server costs are large. Durov described costs as less than 70 cents per user, which translates to around $630mn a year. Revenue is below that.
Selling tokens linked to its own blockchain effort could have funded the endeavour but it was shot down by regulators. However, Telegram still facilitates use of the tokens, called Toncoins, after developers took on the project. Toncoin’s price has climbed about 60 per cent in the past year. Talk of a possible IPO is proving lucrative in more ways than one."
I published a couple of Instagram stories recently, and now that I got a foot there, my friends are starting to send me Instagram Direct messages. Yet another #messaging app…
To keep up with all the channels, I regularly use #Beeper, mainly on desktop. But I just learnt that their #Android app has been rebuilt from scratch, and it looks really neat!
If you want to try, just ask and I'll share my invite code.
#Telegram is being temporarily blocked in Spain. Will this trigger an uptick in #Signal account registration?
"Spain's High Court has ordered the suspension of messaging app Telegram's services in the country after media companies complained it was allowing users to upload their content without permission"
Android's #satellite#messaging support has been in the works for about a year now, and it sounds like #Android 15 is going to launch the feature for apps.
The new OS is including notifications and better status bar indicators for when you're connected to space.
A "NonTerrestrialNetwork" API will let apps know when they're limited to barely there satellite connectivity.
Google says Android 15 will let third-party SMS and MMS applications tap into the satellite connectivity APIs,
but enhanced messaging with RCS support will be limited to "preloaded" applications only.
Signal is an encrypted messaging application that supports post-quantum cryptography.
Google Gmail is the email provider for Signal Messenger LLC, this is the company that develops the Signal messaging application and the Signal protocol.
Signal support can be contacted from within the application by going to Signal Settings (profile) > Help > Contact Us.
After a long hesitation I finally installed #Signal. Along with Fb Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google Messages… it is yet another #messaging app on which I have to make myself available. For only a dozen of contacts listed, I still wonder if it is worth it.