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[-] Nima@leminal.space 3 points 1 month ago

signal requires a phone number and won't even allow you to send sms to those that aren't on signal.

its better, but still not great.

[-] TeddE@lemmy.world 3 points 1 month ago

It used to function as a fallback SMS/MMS messenger (like how iMessage does) but when Google started moving to convert Android from SMS/MMS to RCS Signal made the hard decision to cut the fallback functionality rather than follow Google's new framework.

I personally hope once the dust settles Signal designs a RCS engine and restores the fallback functionality.

[-] oppy1984@lemm.ee 2 points 1 month ago

Yeah killing the sms function was basically a deal breaker for me, no matter how much I tried I could only get three people to use Signal, the rest were all sms. When the sms feature was removed 2 of the 3 dropped Signal completely, so now the only person I know who still uses it is my mom and even she still flips back and forth between Signal and Google messages when texting me.

I still have Signal on my phone and suggest it people when they ask how to contact me, but everyone just wants to text my phone number.

[-] anachrohack@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

If you need to send sms to someone not on signal, why not just send them an sms

[-] Nima@leminal.space -1 points 1 month ago

if they need my phone number to have an account anyway, they can offer both.

i dont need more apps that do the same thing. i need less.

[-] FooBarrington@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

It's arguably a very bad idea for a secure messenger to also provide an SMS interface, since those are basically cleartext

[-] Nima@leminal.space 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

exactly. so I'm wondering what the purpose is for its need.

(edit: apologies- the phone number. needing the phone number.)

[-] FooBarrington@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

What? You use a secure messenger to send secure messages. It doesn't make sense for a secure messenger to offer sending insecure messages (SMS).

Edit: oh, you're probably referring to why it requires a phone number. This seems to be due to abuse/spam prevention, as otherwise creating new accounts to spam people with is basically free.

this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2025
119 points (96.9% liked)

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