@Baffling7384 @signalapp It doesn't stop spam at all,...

@Baffling7384 @signalapp It doesn't stop spam at all, it just makes it inaccessible to real people. Scammers that run spam campaigns can afford to purchase phone numbers in bulk from service providers that target businesses by using the same skeleton companies they use for their money laundering. This is why SMS spam is still so common. This is why WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, & Discord, which all require a phone number now, still have a spam issue. The only way to stop scams is active moderation, because no preventative measure works since they can rent a click farm for three minutes to verify all of their accounts.

I can't afford another phone subscription & that's why I can't make a Signal account, I'm not rich like scamming organizations are. I want a Signal account so I can communicate safely & securely with my friends & my family. Every other instant messenger has no encryption or has poorly implemented & vulnerable encryption or is underdeveloped.

Like 11 November at 21:58 | Wall-to-wall | Open on furry.engineer

17 comments

Baffling7384

@jackemled @signalapp As I said you should suggest the alias idea in the forum.

11 November at 22:00 | Open on hostux.social

Luna Lactea

@Baffling7384 @signalapp What's the point of an alias feature if I can't afford the phone number I need to make an account in the first place?

11 November at 22:01 | Open on furry.engineer

Baffling7384

@jackemled @signalapp Wait don't you have a Signal account already? The point of the alias feature would be that you would use that same phone number you already have for multiple aliases. You wouldn't need another subscription.

11 November at 22:04 | Open on hostux.social

Luna Lactea

@Baffling7384 @signalapp No, I don't have one. I can't make one. It needs a phone number

11 November at 22:05 | Open on furry.engineer

Baffling7384

@jackemled @signalapp I see. Well that's another issue. I just assumed you already had one because you complained about your profile data sharing.

11 November at 22:07 | Open on hostux.social

Luna Lactea replied to Baffling7384

@Baffling7384 @signalapp I think you're misunderstanding what I said.

11 November at 22:08 | Open on furry.engineer

Baffling7384 replied to Luna

@jackemled @signalapp I agree. Here (https://furry.engineer/@jackemled/113466486460566571) you say you need a second profile (an alias) for your main Signal account. Because of this I assumed you already had an account so using a phone number wouldn't have been an issue to begin with. That is not the case it seems. So you would want to use your furry persona in a secure way preferably via Signal without phone number because using your phone number would expose you right?

11 November at 22:13 | Open on hostux.social

Luna Lactea replied to Baffling7384

@Baffling7384 @signalapp I mean I need to be able to have two to have one at all. I'm already a minority & people also have something against furries too so that makes it even worse. I can't make a Signal account & have the real me on it because then I won't be able to make one where I pretend to be normal. I can't make a Signal account & pretend to be normal on it because then I won't be able to use it to talk to the people I want to talk to because "that's not normal". I need to have two completely separate identities for safety reasons.

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11 November at 22:18 | Open on furry.engineer

Baffling7384 replied to Luna

@jackemled You must be already using some platform to communicate with "normal" people and furries right? If the fact that you have to use a phone number to register is not a non starter, then all you have to do is decide which persona you want to have better privacy, and use the number you already have with that persona's Signal. Just because you can't use it on both doesn't mean you can't use it on at least one. Keep using the platform you are already using with the lower privacy persona.

11 November at 22:29 | Open on hostux.social

Luna Lactea replied to Baffling7384

@Baffling7384 @signalapp This isn't about furries. I use exclusively platforms that do not require a phone number to register, such as fediverse, but they do not provide end to end encryption or their encryption does not work properly & allows a third party to decrypt messages under certain conditions. The "normal person" persona exists only to protect me by allowing me to pretend to be normal when necessary. It is present on all platforms I have a real account on. If I can't also have that fake account on a platform it's not safe to have a real account on it because it will be exposed without the fake one present to accept people I don't trust to know who I am in its place.

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11 November at 22:39 | Open on furry.engineer

Luna Lactea replied to Luna

@Baffling7384 @signalapp For example, if I am told by my workplace to create a Signal account for communication I can't make the excuse "it won't let me, someone else registered with this phone number before". That would require me to contact Signal support to have them delete my real account & register my fake account, which loses all of the contacts I had. Then I will have the fake account to present to work, but I will no longer be able to use Signal to communicate to my friends securely.

11 November at 22:40 | Open on furry.engineer

Baffling7384 replied to Luna

@jackemled @signalapp I see. One thing I'd like to point out that you can delete and re-register your Signal account yourself in a matter of 10 minutes if necessary. But then of course you will lose your data and contacts. I don't know which company would require a Signal account though.

11 November at 22:43 | Open on hostux.social

Luna Lactea replied to Baffling7384

@Baffling7384 @signalapp Yes, & I don't want to lose all of my contacts. Even if I do end up registering a fake account for work or something it will be noticed when it gets deleted when I replace it with my real account again. I don't know of any company that requires a Signal account, but most workplaces will tell you things like "the work groupchat is on Signal & you need to join it so we can send you messages while you're not at work". It may not be Signal, it could be another platform, but that's guaranteed to happen. That's just how the work culture is in my country & it's really shitty. You can't get away with not being in the work group chat.

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11 November at 22:46 | Open on furry.engineer

Baffling7384 replied to Luna

@jackemled @signalapp Also wouldn't having multiple aliases help your situation? You can give different profiles with usernames to different people registered to the same phone number.

Profile A to people in A situation
Profile B to people in B situation

Both A and B tied to the same phone number. They can't be connected.

11 November at 22:46 | Open on hostux.social

Luna Lactea replied to Baffling7384

@Baffling7384 @signalapp That's exactly what I already do & what I've been explaining, but that doesn't work for Signal because you can only have one account for each phone number. Also, what about people that can't afford a phone number?

11 November at 22:48 | Open on furry.engineer

Baffling7384 replied to Luna

@jackemled @signalapp Okay now we're on the same page. The way to make things like that happen is to suggest them in places like the Signal community forum. Do you want me to check whether it has been suggested before, and if not suggest it for you? Do you want to do that yourself?

11 November at 22:50 | Open on hostux.social

Luna Lactea replied to Baffling7384

@Baffling7384 @signalapp I'm sure it has been suggested before. I'm pretty sure I actually looked for it & found it on there & it had been asked for & denied like eight years ago or something. I would prefer not to create more accounts for more things because I have too many, not counting the "normal person" accounts I have.

11 November at 22:52 | Open on furry.engineer