What are your thoughts on Signal's policy for edited messages?

uninvitedfriend:

Why I stuck with the Signal-FOSS fork

Thanks for explaining.

uninvitedfriend:

Signal is not completely FOSS

I did not know that.

WhyRhy:

given the basic features of the official client compared to other similar communicators, I do fully understand why some may choose to use a Signal fork.

IMO, Signal has made a ton of progress in the last couple of years. It’s people like @maqp who made me understand why Signal was so slow to release new features compared to apps like Telegram. It’s because, unlike Telegram and WhatsApp, Signal’s priority is always privacy. E2EE is baked into every feature, and it is very hard to achieve, which is why it takes time.

With this insight, I gained a lot more respect for Signal, and I find myself to be more patient with their release of features. But I can appreciate that for some people, even in the privacy community, it is still lacking.

uninvitedfriend:

there always will be a way to bypass these restrictions

I never thought that a fork would make it easy to exploit vulnerabilities. This is new knowledge for me.

Libre_Software_Enjoyer:

I think this is an edge case and one could formulate a different case where its good that the honest version is preserved for the reciepent

This was just one example I gave among several. I reject the idea that the first draft or any draft that came before the final one is the “honest” version. It suggests that the final version of any text is inherently dishonest, which is preposterous.

otterfoghornrainfall:

I imagine there are cases where seeing the history of edits they missed can be helpful

There certainly are. I don’t deny that.

otterfoghornrainfall:

Similar situations likely occur with government officials who use Signal for secure communication, where information needs to be recorded and not so flippantly malleable.

It depends. I imagine that there are protocols in place. Since the Signalgate scandal, it has been my understanding that only low-level and, at best, mid-level government employees are given the OK to use Signal in an official capacity. High-level government employees are not allowed.

OFF TOPIC (click for more details)

otterfoghornrainfall:

The OP’s almost solipsistic insistence that the technology is faulty

You’re putting words in my mouth. I never said or suggested that it was faulty. There are various ways to implement edited messages, as not all apps do it the same way. I simply shared my critique of Signal’s implementation and asked the PG community what they thought about it.

otterfoghornrainfall:

unwillingness to imagine its value is honestly exhausting and counterproductive to actual privacy discussion.

Clearly, you have not been following the thread because I have conceded multiple points that others have made, which evidently indicate that I can appreciate the value that people see in it.

WhyRhy:

otterfoghornrainfall:

has made clear to me that this is not a forum to engage in meaningful privacy discussion, and I should put me energy elsewhere

Really?!

I am surprised too. I have found this discussion very engaging and have learned a lot from other people’s views. Just because I don’t agree with someone doesn’t mean their feedback is not valuable to me. The overwhelming majority of the time, hearing other people’s feedback sharpens my perspective. I enjoy the exchanges we have.