With all my gripes with# Signal (centralized, non-federated, server-based, Electron-based desktop app), the fact that in my circle of contacts it's not longer the "pretty good solution we should be using" but the "pretty good solution we are using but looking for something better" is such a win.

I just wanted to stop for a second and appreciate that.

If we're talking about the need to move to something better than Signal, we are in a pretty decent place.

#infosec

@rysiek
This is great news!
I'm still at:
them "hey, we use Skype to communicate"
me "let's use something confidential enough for the sensitive information we have to exchange, I know signal"

The problem is, when anything as private as signal and decentralised comes along, I'll have to start it all over.

@ScriptFanix yes. That is what annoys me. But at least Signal is open, so one could create a multi-protocol client supporting Signal and (say) Briar, and Tox, and...

@rysiek @ScriptFanix xmpp

@phil
End to end encryption is not as easy as with signal. Also, the identification of contacts by phone numbers is (imo) the biggest advantage of signal. If you have someone's phone number, and they use signal, you're encrypted. Xmpp requires the exchange of additional information : xmpp address + key exchange for E2E encryption. Also, I tend to assume people don't have an xmpp account (Gmail accounts don't qualify)
@rysiek

@ScriptFanix @rysiek tying everything to a mobile phone number also has drawbacks

@phil @ScriptFanix @rysiek Wire has the same protocol as Signal, open-sourced their server components, have announced they'll build a federated system, can be used without being tied to a mobile phone number.

@skiant @phil @ScriptFanix @rysiek wait wire announced they are going to do federation support?!

@wakest @skiant @phil @ScriptFanix not the Fediverse support, obviously, but yes, the idea is to be able to run your own Wire server and talk to users on any other Wire servers.