• Nima@leminal.space
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    19 hours ago

    if they need my phone number to have an account anyway, they can offer both.

    i dont need more apps that do the same thing. i need less.

    • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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      19 hours ago

      It’s arguably a very bad idea for a secure messenger to also provide an SMS interface, since those are basically cleartext

      • Nima@leminal.space
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        17 hours ago

        exactly. so I’m wondering what the purpose is for its need.

        (edit: apologies- the phone number. needing the phone number.)

        • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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          17 hours ago

          What? You use a secure messenger to send secure messages. It doesn’t make sense for a secure messenger to offer sending insecure messages (SMS).

          Edit: oh, you’re probably referring to why it requires a phone number. This seems to be due to abuse/spam prevention, as otherwise creating new accounts to spam people with is basically free.

          • Nima@leminal.space
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            17 hours ago

            using the phone number is still a pretty unnecessary risk, imho.

            there’s no real need for it any longer.

            • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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              17 hours ago

              Do you have a better approach to prevent spam in mind? Without a barrier of entry it becomes a serious issue.

              • Nima@leminal.space
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                15 hours ago

                Spam prevention? Ive got spam on Signal. Having your phone number be the barrier of entry doesn’t make Signal a flawless app.

                and considering i can just plug a google voice number in, I’m not sure its the best barrier.

                • FooBarrington@lemmy.world
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                  6 hours ago

                  Spam isn’t a binary issue, where it either exists or doesn’t. It could very well be the case that, without requiring a phone number, there’d be far more spam (since it’d be far easier to automatically create new accounts).

                  Again, do you have a better suggestion for spam & abuse prevention?

                  And still, aside from that - it doesn’t really make sense to expect Signal to offer SMS integration just because it requires a phone number for spam prevention, when offering this integration would be detrimental towards the mission of Signal (offering secure messages).

                  • Nima@leminal.space
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                    58 minutes ago

                    it does make sense, actually. as they had that function when the app was first around. why do you think they have you sign up with a phone number in the first place?

                    also, it’s not on me to solve every technical hurdle you make up. if you want to learn more about Spam Prevention methods, I can point you to some resources if you’re truly interested.

                    I’m sorry that not everyone thinks Signal is a god app worthy of worship. its a message app, and its not the only one. it does stuff some people don’t like. including me.