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Comment by Jedi72 | Hacker News Reader

On their Android app, first thing it makes you do is give them permission to read your SMSs. It wont let you vefiry by entering a code. I immediately uninstalled - doesn't seem like a privacy focussed organisation to me.

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> It wont let you vefiry by entering a code

That's odd because I've absolutely verified numerous Signal clients by entering a code, without granting access to my SMS (I use Google Voice so my SMS database is basically empty except for random spam from my shitty carrier)

It used to be that Signal required reading the code from SMS and didn't work with Google Voice. But they listened to complaints and changed it to allow entering the code.

That sounds absolutely horrendous. Even Whatsapp allows you to verify using a fixed line and claim that number on the mobile for privacy.

Coupled with the recent LocationSmart revelations, it would make Signal unusable for those who wish to keep their location private. You absolutely need to provide the mobile number of the actual terminal being used.

Not true. I have Signal running in an iPod Touch.

I needed to give them a phone number I could read SMS from to set it up, but there's no need for that to be "the mobile number of the actual terminal being used".

At least on iOS, apps cannot get the phone number of the device through any APIs in the iOS SDK (AFAIK). So no app on the platform can reliably confirm if the number you entered is the number of the device. They all assume that to be true when you confirm the code they send by SMS. As another reply here has put it, you just need a device to receive the code via SMS. You can then use that code on any other device to set it up.

That seems odd. Perhaps it's to do with the fact that the app can act as your primary SMS app as well (I use it like this). But still, should be able to have it as an option.

Yep. I've complained about this so much.

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