It makes me sad so see that they waste time on decoration like gif search but they don't have a client I can use on my PC for example.
This is only a first step in the right direction.
Telegram's Stickers are probably one of the features that most people feel other messengers lack to make people enjoy using it. Lots of friends are actually communicating daily through GIF's.
From my own experience the biggest reason is that "my friends are elsewhere". I force my gf to use signal, her mother started to use it too because of that and because she wants to have PC problems solved by me. Same goes for other people that want to interact with me through an communication app like Signal. Other just have to call or write an SMS. Those functions are still there.
Signal will not get traction because people want to have their PC problems fixed by Nerd friends. My IT club group chat are all nerds, yet we still do not use Signal, because things like gifs were missing.
The Strategy of Signal is to make a mass market chat client that is save. Not a nerd utopia chat client.
> EVERYTHING
Everything? Really?
I don't remember my mother asking for reproducible APK compilation. I don't remember her asking about the the forward security properties of the communication protocol.
Just like most people use whatsapp and I don't want to stop them at all. BUT there is a demand for a secure communication application that does just this. Secure communication.
I don't say they should never put in funny gifs or whatever is fancy or trendy aka "necessary" today when they are done with it and when it does not risk the main claim of the product at all.
But seeing that the priorities switch to really unnecessary stuff when there are so many important things that could be done with that, is sad and bringing in a bunch of trendy kids ideas in there won't help at all. You may be happy with your gifs then but if this is the case, and those are the features you consider important, you many be more of a problem for this product and the claim then a gain. And honestly, Signal survived without it, it wouldn't die not having it.
> My IT club group chat are all nerds, yet we still do not use Signal, because things like gifs were missing.
So what do you say? Would your "IT club" fall apart without it? Would you switch to unsecure messaging without it? If yes: Signal should not care about you at all because the marked is already covered with alternatives better suited for you. If no: why are you arguing with me?
Edit: my god...I misread that in your favour. You really don't use Signal because there is no gif search in it....this is...I don't even..
> The Strategy of Signal is to make a mass market chat client that is save. Not a nerd utopia chat client.
If their priorities are gif search and not an account without a number, secure contact sharing or all those other requests that have been out there, they will end up being not more then what WhatsApp is atm. If you think this is a viable marketing method, you should join a economics club instead.
> I don't remember my mother asking for reproducible APK compilation.
I was talking about the app in general. We have enough apps out there with fancy trending useless crap you miss so much. It even uses the same encryption. We don't need more of the same.
And it seems like it has a way of picking just the right time to fuck up. Right when there's a big question or when I need to say something important, bam, Signal will start being erratic. Plus the repeat messages has on at least one occasion ended up providing a totally different meaning.
I'd say with one particular contact, we exchange screenshots of Signal over MMS once a day to avoid misunderstandings.
Two things bothered me about the desktop application - it runs as a Chrome application rather than in a tab (not sure if there is a technical reason for this?). If I care enough out privacy to run Signal then I probably don't want to broadcast to anyone watching my screen that I'm running it (like a boss walking past etc) and would rather bury it amongst my other open tabs. I also couldn't find any obvious way to sign out of or lock the desktop client - if this isn't just user error then it seems like a significant oversight for a secure messaging app to not allow the user to control access if someone else was able to access the computer.
It also really bothered me that signal doesn't give me better control over what contacts can see my phone number. When I signed in I could see phone numbers for a contractor I had used for remodelling my home. The desktop client had them listed as someone to message on the default page. It's not a huge deal in this situation but if the phone number was for someone I no longer wanted to be in touch with (a former partner etc) then there was no obvious way in either the Android app or desktop client to block them. I assume that the other user can also see my details - security should include having control over who can see your phone number.
Edit: Screenshots from the desktop app as a response to comment below:
http://imgur.com/5nK07ER - the default screen http://imgur.com/mmEyQWH - the settings UI
http://imgur.com/gjdyPsF - showing Signal in my dock for all to see.
I don't know if you can sign out within Signal desktop (I assume you can, but I can't verify at the moment); you can sign out existing Signal sessions from within the mobile app.
The phone number is Signal's account identifier. You don't see somebody else's phone number because you've got them on Signal, you're seeing them on Signal because you've got their phone number. So you're worried about people having access to your phone number who already have access to your phone number. Signal using phone numbers as account identifiers has it's issues, this is not one of them.
The chrome app vs tab is definitely a minor issue related to user preference. It's not a deal breaker for me personally but others in my network (who are less concerned about privacy) will not switch if it's not easy. Not being able to sign out is a possible deal breaker and seems like basic functionality that has security implications.
Thanks for the information about the phone numbers - I understand that they aren't a "contact" in the sense that we added each other. I do think the issue of having control over who can see my phone number is a valid one though. How would I block someone I no longer want to have contact with without changing my phone number? Again, this seems like basic functionality for a platform that is concerned about security and privacy.
Here are screenshots from the desktop app showing the only options I can see:
http://imgur.com/5nK07ER - the default screen (includes the contact that I mentioned in my first post as someone I can message right now.)
http://imgur.com/mmEyQWH - the settings UI
As a workaround, you can unlink using the phone app[1], and I assume (but have not checked) deleting the desktop app will also work.
[1] http://support.whispersystems.org/hc/en-us/articles/21645978...
I can live with it being a Chrome app, but I'd really like it if I could use it to send messages to people who don't have Signal (like I can with the Android app). Signal mostly takes the path of being a drop-in replacement for my SMS app, so it seems a shame not to do the same here.
2) Most people rely on cliche to communicate. It's obvious that gifs are another cheat that is being commonly integrated by most people. It's kind of silly to avoid acknowledging the reality of how younger people are commonly communicating.
3) Please don't be sad because a software team prioritized a feature you don't like. You deserve to have more control over your own emotions. Why would you let a software feature have such a drastic impact on your own happiness?
What you would not expect is gif search...