[dontparticipate]

My family members will basically all stop using Signal now because they didn't want two apps for messaging. This will make all my conversations less private rather than more. It was a really dumb decision. I was able to convince a lot of people to switch because "it's just text and voice messaging except if we both have the app then it's more secure." I will basically be alone in my usage of Signal after the change goes through and am assuming I'll just uninstall it eventually as well once my family isn't there anymore.

[gspencley]

Same. Only now I will be "forced" to ditch Signal as well, for the exact same reason. And I'm an uber-paranoid privacy nut who uses GrapheneOS on my phone.

Thing is, I have all of 2 close contacts who use Signal. The rest use the default messaging app on their phone. So I already had to accept the fact that most of my texts were non-encrypted while I continued to try to persuade people to install Signal. Which was easier to do when it could conveniently replace their default messaging app and give them better security and privacy without any sacrifice.

But like them, I also have zero interest in using Signal to text all of 2 people and a different messaging app for everyone else. As much as I want e2e encryption for my texts, and would like SMS to be universally replaced by something secure, it's not like I text enough (or even use a phone enough) for my texts to be a particularly large attack vector in the first place. It would be way more useful to get MFA codes sent through Signal than it would to have my close contacts switch (and they're not going to anyway so what does it matter if I'm the only one who uses it?)

[aembleton]

Are you short of space on your phone? As a "uber-paranoid privacy nut" why wouldn't you keep it installed and continue to message those two contacts securely?

[gspencley]

1) Both of those contacts are not "uber-paranoid privacy nuts" so they will be dropping Signal too for the same reason.

2) The inconvenience factor. I don't really like smart phones and would live without one if I didn't need one for very specific purposes. Being able to text close family and friends is one of those specific purposes. I have zero interest in having to juggle different text-ing apps for different contacts.

I should also add that I'm way more concerned about

a) spyware that comes pre-installed with phones that sends data to 3rd parties that have bought it

b) malware (I don't install many apps for this reason, and I like to use FOSS software for the same reason)

b) being in control of a device that I own (same reason I use Linux on my desktops and laptops)

I'm less concerned about SMS messages being intercepted, except for things like MFA codes. So of all the "contacts" that I would like to use Signal, it would be situations where the content is security-sensitive, which [unfortunately] currently accounts for virtually 0% of e2e encrypted messages coming into Signal.

[m000]

> My family members will basically all stop using Signal now because they didn't want two apps for messaging.

Schedule time in your calendar for helping family with their "lost" SMS. At least at the moment, Signal seems to keep SMS separately from other apps. Uninstalling Signal will probably make any archived messages dissapear, at least temporarily.

[aeturnum]

If you uninstall signal w/o exporting your SMS and MMS I believe they will be gone forever.