I wish I could be excited for this but after no longer being able to use it for SMS and shoving crypto in it… Well, I just don’t wanna use Signal anymore :(
@TheEntity @bbbhltz @Lionir To have all communications in a single place/app, and be able to back up / restore in a single place, instead of messing with multiple applications.
If you’re trying to move from using only one messaging platform (SMS) to two (SMS+Signal), then I understand the friction. If you’re like me and you have five other messaging platforms anyway, then a sixth makes no difference. This has never bothered me, but it’s one of the reasons I have not moved my mother onto Signal — it’s added complexity that she’s not really going to understand.
That said, I never enabled SMS in the Signal app and I wouldn’t even if it came back. RCS is available now, and until Android provides third-party app developers the ability to make RCS clients, it’s a dead end.
That makes a lot of sense, thank you for the explanation.
Would you mind summarizing to me the state of RCS on Android right now? You seem to be knowledgeable on the matter and I’m very behind the times on it.
Because if the username is a phone number, it is just very convenient. If someone I know switches then I keep the entire conversation with them and just continue. If I want to encourage someone I know, I can just tell them about the features they’ll get with Signal rather than trying to sell them a platform which kind of sucks on desktop.
I sure hope so. This is the single biggest problem I have with Signal. Phone numbers really should not be treated as primary IDs. They are under the control of a third party and can be reassigned or fairly easily hijacked. Ideally you shouldn’t need a phone number to sign up, either, especially for a privacy-focused service.
Im not holding my breath. Its been years since i heard it could “soon” get usernames.
If you want to join the Beta you can at least have the option of creating a username ⬅ INCORRECT
Which beta? I’m on Signal beta on Android and it isn’t there yet. The screenshot does look like an iphone
Are users still required to provide a phone number?
I’ll believe it when I see it. It’s been “soon to come” for about 2 years now.
Edit: that said, the Signal team had done an excellent job with the app and overall UX. So much so, that my technologically inept friends are no longer asking me"how do I" and are, instead, showing me “look at this”.
