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Long-time Signal user but I'm on the verge of moving I think. There are several UX shortcomings but the new PIN nag is a bridge too far. What are my options for alternatives? I imagine Telegram is the next best bet but very open to suggestions.

discuss

wscott|5 years ago

Keybase has end-to-end encryption and you can connect to people without publishing the fact. But unfortunately, it was recently purchased by Zoom and probably won't be headed in a good direction in the future.

Of course, Keybase's main idea is to have a verifiable public identity which might not be what you want.

meitham|5 years ago

Threema. Don’t provide your phone number when signing up, and don’t permit it to access your address book. Set a recovery password. It’s not free, but a one small fee per app is worth getting my privacy back.

Oh and it’s hosted outside the jurisdiction of 5-eyes!

drannex|5 years ago

Settings -> privacy -> Pin Reminders

You can disable them there.

0xADEADBEE|5 years ago

I tried that but that just makes you set a PIN which I don't want to do! I appreciate the help though, thank you.

soziawa|5 years ago

I like Threema. You don't have to provide a phone number to create an ID with them. You can create a backup of your private key in a completely offline way but there is also an online backup for convenience.

Telegram is great for public things like huge groups or newsletters. But no encryption by default is a no go for me.

hiq|5 years ago

In terms of security and privacy, WhatsApp and Wire are the next ones in the list after Signal.

amiguel|5 years ago

I have been using an app provided by my company (finance) called SecurLine It's weird how simple it is, and I don't have to provide my phone number like on Signal

openfuture|5 years ago

Wire, not phone number based and they are working on distributing their backend and making it FOSS. Client is already FOSSand they've been audited a few times iirc.

stevehawk|5 years ago

oof the pin nag is brutal, i hear that. as someone who doesn't back up or transfer their message is completely unnecessary to me to even have it.

0xADEADBEE|5 years ago

Same. How hard is it to make it optional?

fsflover|5 years ago

Matrix: https://matrix.org/

balladeer|5 years ago

If UX is the concern then Matrix/Riot may not fare very well.

jimbob45|5 years ago

Same. The UI is just atrocious. It’s fundamentally a better product but just doesn’t come through as a whole. Evidently they learned nothing from Gimp/Photoshop.