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by Vinnl 1986 days ago
It's only until the end of your post where you say "unless it builds some of those features into its app". That's kind of an important qualifier. Signal has been steadily growing for a while, and while doing so, implementing plenty of features from other competing apps: disappearing messages came, stickers came, group video calling came, etc.

I'm not saying they're definitely going to overtake WhatsApp, but they've found a niche, are slowly expanding from there, and are doing so by implementing desired features. That's how most social networks have gotten where they are. There's no reason why Signal's current feature set is forever set in stone.
2 comments
bavell 1986 days ago
Not a single one of my Signal contacts (almost exclusively non-tech) uses any of the features you mention. It's been awkward watching them blindly copy "popular" features from other messaging platforms. The reason I like and use Signal is precisely because of the minimal feature set - all I want to do is text people directly or in group chat. Some emoji and gif support is nice and that's about it.

I hope Signal stays true to its roots and doesn't give in to more bloated crap like the other messaging platforms but unfortunately I'm not optimistic in that front...

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bostik 1986 days ago
> unless it builds some of those features

Here's a thing I don't understand - why is everyone obsessed with copycatting?

By aiming for feature parity you, as a business or service, are letting a competitor dictate your roadmap. And what's worse, with features they have already shipped.

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GordonS 1986 days ago
As a general case, I think you make a good point. But in this particular case, WhatsApp really is pretty perfect as far as messaging goes - the only issue is the terms of service, so it makes sense for Signal to have the same features, but without horrible ToS.
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bostik 1985 days ago
That's a scary thought. You're effectively saying that small-screen, asynchronous, human-to-human text based communications have been solved, with no further improvement possible.

Isn't that a rather depressing vision?

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Vinnl 1985 days ago
I think partially almost every business has their roadmap influenced by what their competitors do. Note that WhatsApp/Instagram/Facebook didn't come up with Stories either.

That said, it'll never be just feature parity - Signal's moat compared to Facebook products will always be better privacy.

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