this post was submitted on 17 Jun 2025
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Privacy
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Signal collects your IP address and the last IP address you sent a message to. They store that info to maintain their services. They also store your phone number, either of which can be tied back to your identity (in the US, don't @ me, friends from across the pond).
The only thing these reveal is that you use Signal, which is currently still legal. Also, even if a judge ordered Signal to collect outgoing messages for your user, the content of your messages would already be encrypted. So unless your use of the service could be construed as illegal (or perhaps who you're talking to), then it's probably still safe to use.
However, all that said, I still agree that SimpleX is a better choice for activism. No phone numbers or other useful identifiers, uses a series of nodes rather than a central server, expiring contact-adding codes, etc... it's simply better, if you need privacy against external threats.
And there's no reason you can't have both on your phone for different kinds of groups!
can you show evidence for this?
The best choice for activism right now is signal and has been for years. The best choice isn't necessarily the most hardened app or messaging system, it's the most hardened balanced against ease of use and access, along with features.
It's been proven in court several times. The only information they keep is your phone number, unix timestamp of your account creation, and the unix timestamp of when you were last online.
Which is not the claim OP made.
Which claim are you referring to?
Yeah, they likely misremembered that it was timestamps instead of IPs.
I mean its the principal claim.
I'd say that the principal claim is that they can't see your messages and that they have no incriminating data on you. No judge can order them to hand over your data and incriminate you because they don't have that data. What exactly is the very little data they have is less important.
Thats re-interpreting what they said to be something defensible; but it isn't what they said. What they said was specific, and isn't, afaik, supported by any evidence. Its also the very first thing they said. Their main point. The primary point. Not some other thing they didn't say, but the very first, and very specific thing they said first.
Re-interpreting what people say to support our bias is both de-constructive when real security concerns are on the line, disingenuous, and shows a lack of reading comprehension.
Ok.
Usability of Simplex is very similar to Signal.
Evidence for what?
The claim being made?
I promise I'm not being pedantic. Which claim? I made at least two.