← Back to context

Comment by cabbagesauce

3 years ago

NL is rather small sample to, say, larger countries like Poland that use SMS quite frequently. And depending on carrier, SMS texting most likely will be completely free with most of the current plans.

Signal's rationale is just Signal's own reluctance to build an umbrella messenger. And given they do drop SMS, still won't introduce usernames it's very hard to actually sell it as a WhatsApp replacement.

And now, with WhatsApp supporting password protected cloud backups and up to 2Gb attachments, I'd say Signal will loose the userbase it acquired during the hype and Musk tweet.

In fact, during 2020 Belarus protests, Signal did nothing to support it's own operations during internet semi-blackout in the country, while Telegram tweaked their server side to provide at least some possibility to know what was happening in big cities. So what are the values of Signal — I don't even know. But they sure did support pillagers and rioters in the USA.

To be even more brazen, Signal is not Apple. They stopped innovating. And they don't have enough political power to convince people do things the new way. Even their zero knowledge server is worthless. Check out the story on FBI cracking down on the leader of some right wing proud boys type of armed group. They tracked him and then compelled to give up access to Signal.

Their innovation stopped at providing solid cryptography that was adopted by most decent messengers already. And they aren't visionaries with cancelling SMS.

UPD: the funniest part is that the service that drops the SMS support still relies on SMS to provide account registration.

This is just an unprecedented level of sarcasm.

6 comments

cabbagesauce

Reply
claudedopplr  3 years ago

Being such a small operation, I think they're making a great decision by focusing on what matters most. "Most startups die by lack of focus". I very much believe this is their first public step towards breaking up with phone number based identity.

  • cabbagesauce  3 years ago

    >Being such a small operation, I think they're making a great decision by focusing on what matters most.

    Currently, it looks like they are focusing on social networking features: stories, emoji stuff, better link previews. Basically everything that competition already did. The roadmap is not public, so I wouldn't take guesses as what may come next. But...

    ..."dropping support of X as a feature" is some kind of new transcendent approach to product development incomprehensible to common earthlings.

    • claudoppl  3 years ago

      You seem very frustrated personally for the lack of SMS support on Signal.

      I don't agree with your take or arguments, and you seem to keep branching off pejorative comments on their organization and product instead of actually discussing the points. I think the conversation would be more productive if we focus on the same point, i.e.:

        * Focusing on what matters most is a good idea, as nobody serious about secure messaging uses SMS

    * Your argument: irony-covered "dropping features is not a good product development approach". 

      * My counter-argument: it **is** a valid approach, why support a feature that was useful in the past, but it is now dying/not aligned with your core value proposition?

    * Your other argument: their focus is on social networking, and some disdainful comment that "the competition already did it". 

      * My argument: how is catching up with well-established user behaviors across other messaging platforms a bad thing?

      I remember when I didn't have a smart phone (I don't come from a privileged background, and this was 2009) and I used twitter over SMS. I really wouldn't care if they dropped support for it now, but back then, I would have churned.

      (edited for formatting)

      1 reply →

Gasp0de  3 years ago

Enlighten me please, how can you register with a username and without a phone number in WhatsApp?