Signal is doing too little, too late. F**k’em! Donate to me instead: https://www.patreon.com/thehatedone
NOTE: You can still use something and f*ck it at the same time.
Signal is disappointing. And I am tired of pretending that it’s not.
I have been using and recommending Signal for longer than it existed. Signal just came out with a feature we have been waiting for for 8 years.
You see 8 years ago, the only flaw Signal had was that it required a phone number to register and find contacts. This was bad, because it meant you couldn’t get an anonymous Signal account, which meant you could get hacked or abused by anyone who knew your phone number. It was also easy for authoritarians to censor people’s access to Signal by denying phone registrations by country code.
The reason for the phone number requirement was to prevent spam. The primary function, was to use your phonebook to quickly onboard new users and send notifications whenever anyone in your contact list signed up on Signal. A very convenient Silicon Valley feature that allowed people to quickly connect with their friends and also let domestic abusers find out their victims are trying to contact a lawyer’s office over Signal.
SOURCES [references available in the transcript: https://www.patreon.com/thehatedone/posts/signal-is-174265074 ]
[*] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkjY1usppkM – privacy ranking of messaging apps
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TextSecure
[1] https://aboutsignal.com/news/signal-registration-without-a-phone-number-now-available/
[2] https://theintercept.com/2017/09/28/signal-tutorial-second-phone-number/
[3] https://web.archive.org/web/20200122040137/https://theintercept.com/2017/09/28/signal-tutorial-second-phone-number/
[4] https://web.archive.org/web/20200215082751/https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/issues/1085
[5] https://web.archive.org/web/20200628045054/https://community.signalusers.org/t/a-proposal-for-alternative-primary-identifiers/3023
[6] https://web.archive.org/web/20200215082751/https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/issues/1085
[7] https://netzpolitik.org/2026/messenger-ueberwachung-immer-mehr-polizei-ueberwacht-messenger-wie-whatsapp/
[8] https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-removes-whatsapp-threads-from-china-app-store-on-government-orders-a0c02100
[9] https://signal.org/blog/phone-number-privacy-usernames/
[10] https://www.wired.com/story/signal-launches-usersnames-phone-number-privacy/
[11] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/technology/iran-protests-social-media.html
[12] https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/15/signal-is-down-in-china/
[13] https://threema.com/en/faq/android-nogoogle
[14] https://www.macrumors.com/2021/01/08/messaging-app-signal-sees-surge-signups/
[15] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-20/donald-trump-social-media-apps-free-speech-privacy/13071206
[16] https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/12/tech/signal-growth-whatsapp-confusion/index.html
[17] https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-to-use-signal-without-giving-out-your-phone-number-a-gendered-security-issue/
[18] https://www.ababnews.com/en/news/93b793fa-9eb0-4f3a-8f01-0de4e84525ff
[19] https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/05/amazon-blocks-domain-fronting-threatens-to-shut-down-signals-account/
[20] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7lEm-sq64Q
[21] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC4Spp6Swxc
[22] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMNWOqXpxcc
[23] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/technology/iran-protests-social-media.html
[24] https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/2/16841292/iran-telegram-block-encryption-protest-google-signal
[25] https://gizmodo.com/signal-blocked-by-iran-as-encrypted-messaging-apps-popu-1846141987
[26] https://nordicmonitor.com/2021/07/secure-messaging-app-signal-has-been-effectively-criminalised-in-turkey/
[27] https://tarnkappe.info/artikel/interviews/meredith-whittaker-bei-signal-geht-es-nicht-ums-geld-258175.html
[28] https://signal.org/blog/the-ecosystem-is-moving/
[29] https://matrix.org/blog/2020/01/02/on-privacy-versus-freedom/
[30] https://docs.cwtch.im/security/risk/
[31] https://theintercept.com/2026/02/11/prairieland-antifa-trial-pretty-ice-protest/
[32] https://www.securemessagingapps.com/about.html
[33] https://cybernews.com/privacy/police-telegram-whatsapp-signal-surveillance-linked-devices/
[34] https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.8562-6/871795314_1758118625263288_7193349538318804642_n.pdf
[35] https://wire.com/en/blog/signal-attacks-securing-messages-vs-members
[36] https://cyberinsider.com/german-mps-advised-to-drop-signal-in-favor-of-wire-over-security-concerns/
[37] https://cyberinsider.com/signal-to-roll-out-anti-phishing-safeguards-following-account-takeovers/
[38] https://wire.com/en/blog/signal-attacks-securing-messages-vs-members
Full references available here: https://www.patreon.com/thehatedone/posts/signal-is-174265074
[lol] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSxQcAm3PE8
Follow me:
https://twitter.com/The_HatedOne_
https://www.reddit.com/r/thehatedone/
NOTE: You can still use something and f*ck it at the same time.
Signal is disappointing. And I am tired of pretending that it’s not.
I have been using and recommending Signal for longer than it existed. Signal just came out with a feature we have been waiting for for 8 years.
You see 8 years ago, the only flaw Signal had was that it required a phone number to register and find contacts. This was bad, because it meant you couldn’t get an anonymous Signal account, which meant you could get hacked or abused by anyone who knew your phone number. It was also easy for authoritarians to censor people’s access to Signal by denying phone registrations by country code.
The reason for the phone number requirement was to prevent spam. The primary function, was to use your phonebook to quickly onboard new users and send notifications whenever anyone in your contact list signed up on Signal. A very convenient Silicon Valley feature that allowed people to quickly connect with their friends and also let domestic abusers find out their victims are trying to contact a lawyer’s office over Signal.
SOURCES [references available in the transcript: https://www.patreon.com/thehatedone/posts/signal-is-174265074 ]
[*] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkjY1usppkM – privacy ranking of messaging apps
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TextSecure
[1] https://aboutsignal.com/news/signal-registration-without-a-phone-number-now-available/
[2] https://theintercept.com/2017/09/28/signal-tutorial-second-phone-number/
[3] https://web.archive.org/web/20200122040137/https://theintercept.com/2017/09/28/signal-tutorial-second-phone-number/
[4] https://web.archive.org/web/20200215082751/https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/issues/1085
[5] https://web.archive.org/web/20200628045054/https://community.signalusers.org/t/a-proposal-for-alternative-primary-identifiers/3023
[6] https://web.archive.org/web/20200215082751/https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/issues/1085
[7] https://netzpolitik.org/2026/messenger-ueberwachung-immer-mehr-polizei-ueberwacht-messenger-wie-whatsapp/
[8] https://www.wsj.com/tech/apple-removes-whatsapp-threads-from-china-app-store-on-government-orders-a0c02100
[9] https://signal.org/blog/phone-number-privacy-usernames/
[10] https://www.wired.com/story/signal-launches-usersnames-phone-number-privacy/
[11] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/technology/iran-protests-social-media.html
[12] https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/15/signal-is-down-in-china/
[13] https://threema.com/en/faq/android-nogoogle
[14] https://www.macrumors.com/2021/01/08/messaging-app-signal-sees-surge-signups/
[15] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-20/donald-trump-social-media-apps-free-speech-privacy/13071206
[16] https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/12/tech/signal-growth-whatsapp-confusion/index.html
[17] https://www.vice.com/en/article/how-to-use-signal-without-giving-out-your-phone-number-a-gendered-security-issue/
[18] https://www.ababnews.com/en/news/93b793fa-9eb0-4f3a-8f01-0de4e84525ff
[19] https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/05/amazon-blocks-domain-fronting-threatens-to-shut-down-signals-account/
[20] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7lEm-sq64Q
[21] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC4Spp6Swxc
[22] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMNWOqXpxcc
[23] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/02/technology/iran-protests-social-media.html
[24] https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/2/16841292/iran-telegram-block-encryption-protest-google-signal
[25] https://gizmodo.com/signal-blocked-by-iran-as-encrypted-messaging-apps-popu-1846141987
[26] https://nordicmonitor.com/2021/07/secure-messaging-app-signal-has-been-effectively-criminalised-in-turkey/
[27] https://tarnkappe.info/artikel/interviews/meredith-whittaker-bei-signal-geht-es-nicht-ums-geld-258175.html
[28] https://signal.org/blog/the-ecosystem-is-moving/
[29] https://matrix.org/blog/2020/01/02/on-privacy-versus-freedom/
[30] https://docs.cwtch.im/security/risk/
[31] https://theintercept.com/2026/02/11/prairieland-antifa-trial-pretty-ice-protest/
[32] https://www.securemessagingapps.com/about.html
[33] https://cybernews.com/privacy/police-telegram-whatsapp-signal-surveillance-linked-devices/
[34] https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.8562-6/871795314_1758118625263288_7193349538318804642_n.pdf
[35] https://wire.com/en/blog/signal-attacks-securing-messages-vs-members
[36] https://cyberinsider.com/german-mps-advised-to-drop-signal-in-favor-of-wire-over-security-concerns/
[37] https://cyberinsider.com/signal-to-roll-out-anti-phishing-safeguards-following-account-takeovers/
[38] https://wire.com/en/blog/signal-attacks-securing-messages-vs-members
Full references available here: https://www.patreon.com/thehatedone/posts/signal-is-174265074
[lol] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSxQcAm3PE8
Follow me:
https://twitter.com/The_HatedOne_
https://www.reddit.com/r/thehatedone/