Chat Edward Snowden style

[John Connor]

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/apps/a25736/signal-app-guide-how-to-use/

While you're happily chatting away on your phone or in your web browser, are you ever wondering what happens to all those 1s and 0s you're sending into the digital ether?

Whether it's a nosy national security apparatus or the guy sitting behind you at the coffee shop, there are people out there who want to peek at your messages—and some apps make this kind of snooping easier than others.

Enter Signal, the most secure messaging app you can get for your phone. Here's what it is, why you'd want to use it, and how to get started.

What is Signal?
Signal is a messaging app, just like WhatsApp or iMessage or Facebook Messenger, but one that's geared towards privacy and security rather than cute emoji stickers. In fact, so good are its security measures that even Edward Snowden recommends it—and he should know which apps are the best for stopping unwanted snooping.

Sounds interesting. I like the voice feature unlike what Telegram offers. I just wish it didn't use your phone number though. I'd like to have a phone without service and just use WIFI just for signal.

Only thing I'd worry about are keyloggers and rouge Apps that can read and hear the communication. And then you have lots to consider privacy wise if you use the Chrome extension. If you use the Chrome extension I would encrypt the computer with Truecrypt or Veracrypt. Although, Veracrypt hasn't been audited yet and that's what keeps me away from it at the moment.

 

[bononos]

Telegram was criticized for not enabling end to end encryption by default and rolling its own encryption protocol. But more people are using Telegram instead of opensignal.

 

[John Connor]

I could have swore Telegram used AES 256.

 

[Unico]

I’ve being using Signal from Whisper Systems for the past year initially because text messages did not count against my monthly allotment from the phone company. Today I use it because my messages are not logged / recorded by my phone company; the voice calls are clear, crisp and free; and it just works – flawlessly.

Signal does encrypt text messages and in today’s world that’s a positive thing. I normally have messages set to auto expire after a week. This nicely keeps my log of messages at a reasonable length. Their system gives various expiration options but I find 1 day too short, and hours and minutes ridiculously too short. My memory is just not good enough to exactly recall what you might have sent me 15 minutes ago.

I don’t bother with a data plan for my phone, and if wi-fi is not available, its easy to “push” a text message the conventional way. Highly recommended.

 

[bononos]

I could have swore Telegram used AES 256.

Telegram doesn't encrypt by default. you have to use the secret chats mode and it uses it own proprietary encryption protocol which is frowned upon.
https://medium.freecodecamp.com/why...stop-using-whatsapp-and-telegram-e93346b3c1f0