{"slug": "signal", "name": "Signal", "category": "communication", "category_name": "Email and chat", "description": "Free, open-source end-to-end encrypted messaging app for text, voice, video and group chats.", "recommenders": 35, "commenters": 69, "warners": 12, "score": 26.638, "rising": 5.47, "first": "2025-11-07", "latest": "2026-10-31", "why": "HN commenters recommend Signal for sensitive conversations and for friend, family and community group chats, and many say it just works.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 38, "neutral": 24, "compare": 1, "warn": 11}, "spark": [1, 3, 3, 4, 1, 2, 1, 1, 6, 9, 4, 3], "listed": true, "loved": ["Privacy and security", "Group chats"], "caveat": "Phone number required", "short_quote": "I use Signal more than any other messenger app, and I have never had the deliverability issues you complain about", "icon": true, "domain": "signal.org", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://signal.org", "pricing": "open source", "aliases": ["Signal"], "verdict": [{"text": "HN commenters recommend Signal for sensitive conversations", "cites": [{"id": 804849713, "item_id": 50303107, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50303107", "by": "JeremyNT", "date": "2026-10-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "use Signal for anything you care about.", "excerpt": "I use Fastmail which has been a very boring and high quality product. The company is not American, it is Australian, but any country with close ties to the US probably offers little in the way of surveillance avoidance. It's best to think of email as fully public information anyway, use Signal for anything you care about.", "context": "", "use_case": "private messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Manifestos, Fear, and 'Loser Thinking': Inside Proton's AI Reckoning"}, {"id": 792383554, "item_id": 49523972, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49523972", "by": "toomuchtodo", "date": "2026-09-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "whether higher risk comms should instead be in something like Signal", "excerpt": "\"What is your threat model?\" If you want to stay entirely outside of the reach of the US gov, stick with Proton and eat the outages. If you are willing to take on some more risk, try Fastmail. Consider the subject comms and whether higher risk comms should instead be in something like Signal.", "context": "", "use_case": "high-risk communications", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Alternative to Proton Mail?"}, {"id": 786922672, "item_id": 49182667, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49182667", "by": "nxtbl", "date": "2026-08-05", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You really, really should use Signal instead.", "excerpt": "> We use a WhatsApp group for co-ordination. The time and location of the meetup is announced there. That's a hard no. You really, really should use Signal instead.", "context": "", "use_case": "group coordination", "switched_from": "", "story": "Helsinki Hacker News Meetup"}, {"id": 781743344, "item_id": 48858959, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48858959", "by": "fnord123", "date": "2026-07-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the European Commission strongly recommends that staff use Signal", "excerpt": "This is really strange since the European Commission strongly recommends that staff use Signal[1]. [1]: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26073615-c-2025-5430-2-en-annexe-acte-autonome-nlw-part1-v1/", "context": "", "use_case": "secure messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "EU Parliament greenlights Chat Control 1.0 \u2013 Breyer: \"Our children lose out\""}]}, {"text": " and for friend, family and community group chats, and many say it just works.", "cites": [{"id": 788373056, "item_id": 49273316, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49273316", "by": "beej71", "date": "2026-08-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "we've managed to get our families into Signal groups that largely accomplish the same things at the scale we need.", "excerpt": "Meta is easier for that stuff, I won't deny. Nevertheless, we've managed to get our families into Signal groups that largely accomplish the same things at the scale we need. And the benefits of not needing to wade through slop make up for the losses. It's so peaceful! Hopefully more people give it a try.", "context": "", "use_case": "family communication", "switched_from": "Facebook", "story": "Facebook is paying controversial creators to produce rage-bait content"}, {"id": 751368689, "item_id": 46960543, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46960543", "by": "eigenspace", "date": "2026-02-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "my friends and I mostly just use Signal for group chats", "excerpt": "I used Zulip every day for the julia programming language (https://julialang.zulipchat.com). I really like Zulip, and I'd like to migrate my friend-group onto it, but it probably won't happen. I think Zulip is just a bit too heavy-duty for a friend group chatting, and also lacks the visual polish that a lot of people want. For now, my friends and I mostly just use Signal for group chats, which leaves a lot to be desi", "context": "", "use_case": "friend group chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month"}, {"id": 734800848, "item_id": 45925053, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45925053", "by": "thaumaturgy", "date": "2025-11-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The most engaging online interaction I've had recently has been some local community groups on Signal", "excerpt": "You're not alone. I've been on the web since around 1997, something like that. I remember it as a fun distraction, but also as a place that had recognizable handles, behind which sat a real person somewhere else in the world. Unrestrained SEO and the failure of search engines (or, in Google's case, complicity veering towards enthusiastic support) to do anything about that was the first thing that, for me, took a lot ", "context": "", "use_case": "local community groups", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Is building for the web even worth it now?"}, {"id": 754277793, "item_id": 47142362, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47142362", "by": "brendanmc6", "date": "2026-02-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I put them in an exclusive S-Tier with, surprisingly, Chase Mobile (in recent years), Signal, Google Sheets", "excerpt": "1password is by far my most recommended subscription to friends and family. In a world where almost every single app or service I use has thrown me into a rage from enshittification or show-stopping bugs or both, where I can hardly even type this message because even iOS keyboards have regressed\u2026 1password is actually a great service that makes my life objectively better. I put them in an exclusive S-Tier with, surpr", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "1Password Raising Prices ~33%"}, {"id": 782831617, "item_id": 48926976, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48926976", "by": "Krasnol", "date": "2026-07-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Privately, I prefer Signal. Works also great.", "excerpt": "I agree on all the content related things but your argument was about speed. I use whatsapp web every day at work. The page. In my Firefox browser. It's almost constantly open. Never had any issues with that. The phone app just does what it's supposed to do and even on my Pixel6, it's just fast. I mean there is always faster but it's not even a second. I use Whatsapp only because I have to. Privately, I prefer Signal", "context": "", "use_case": "private messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers"}]}, {"text": " The most common complaint is its reliance on a phone number and a primary phone,", "cites": [{"id": 737733712, "item_id": 46108357, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46108357", "by": "zenoprax", "date": "2025-12-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Signal is a perfect direct replacement for WhatsApp but it still requires a phone number.", "excerpt": "This feels like a distraction from what is really needed: a return to open standards/protocols. I love the idea of Matrix but the complexity of key management and federation for the average person is far too high. Signal is a perfect direct replacement for WhatsApp but it still requires a phone number. RCS is good enough... as a fallback protocol. I don't want a dependency on a phone number or a single physical devic", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "WhatsApp will become interoperable with other messaging apps in Europe"}, {"id": 740036097, "item_id": 46252256, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46252256", "by": "laserbeam", "date": "2025-12-12", "stance": "warn", "quote": "The fact that whatsapp, signal and other platforms tend to have a primary device for keys is bonkers to me.", "excerpt": "Someone needs to design a super dumb and robust system where I can safely store all my keys on all devices I use an account. The fact that whatsapp, signal and other platforms tend to have a primary device for keys is bonkers to me. A primary device that can randomly die, get stolen or fall in a lake. I have lost chat histories more times than I can remember, and I have to be extra diligent about this these days. I d", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Poor Johnny still won't encrypt"}, {"id": 737357456, "item_id": 46084841, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46084841", "by": "SigUp91", "date": "2025-11-28", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Signal blocks not only the specific app from working if it's not updated, but disables your whole account if you can't update the mobile app.", "excerpt": "Signal blocks not only the specific app from working if it's not updated, but disables your whole account if you can't update the mobile app. I had to live without a phone for about a year. First my phone broke and I couldn't repair it or buy a new one, then I lost my phone number due to unpaid fees. I kept using the Linux Electron app, updating it as often as possible. I saw this message on the Linux app after a whi", "context": "lived a year without a phone", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Molly: An Improved Signal App"}, {"id": 805097584, "item_id": 50318599, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50318599", "by": "ktosobcy", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "warn", "quote": "this was my reason not to use Signal at all", "excerpt": "TBH this was my reason not to use Signal at all... same with WhatsApp super annoying linking between mobile and desktop :/ Why can't we use XMPP where you can have multiple device and accounts without required mobile phone? Oh I know - because dumb walled gardens and BigTech not liking it... it's a mirracle we got away with e-mail before they came to power :/", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Molly (Signal fork) has not been updated since 3 months and is vulnerable"}]}, {"text": " which makes linking other devices, switching phones and keeping chat history painful.", "cites": [{"id": 737401809, "item_id": 46087613, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46087613", "by": "Zambyte", "date": "2025-11-29", "stance": "warn", "quote": "There is no way to use the Signal app on a device without a camera (USB cameras are even explicitly blocked!)", "excerpt": "There is no way to use the Signal app on a device without a camera (USB cameras are even explicitly blocked!), and sync it with another computer. I use a Daylight computer as my primary mobile machine, which does not have a camera. The Molly app is the only way I am able to use Signal on multiple devices.", "context": "uses a Daylight computer without a camera", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Molly: An Improved Signal App"}, {"id": 777225074, "item_id": 48576567, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48576567", "by": "em-bee", "date": "2026-06-17", "stance": "warn", "quote": "signal ties its keys to that wallet and does not allow me to switch. that's frankly very bad.", "excerpt": "i switched from GNOME to KDE just a few weeks ago. the main reason was that i thought GNOME had become unstable on fedora 42 because my session started crashing rather frequently. since i was already using some KDE applications i thought i'd give it a try. the switch cost me a week of productivity until i had it configured the way i liked it. (which was mostly to make it similar to GNOME/Mac with a main bar at the to", "context": "Fedora user", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "KDE Plasma 6.7 Released"}, {"id": 735738977, "item_id": 45983686, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45983686", "by": "joecool1029", "date": "2025-11-19", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I really soured on Signal early", "excerpt": "> Telegram, for all its faults, has an excellent desktop app. Their developers are also very responsive to PR's, I have a couple GCC build fixes in it. I really soured on Signal early with when running BB10, they would not let us fork and use/distribute websocket builds to get around not having google play services on available on that platform: https://github.com/libresignal/libresignal/issues/37#issuecomment-217211", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "I just want working RCS messaging"}, {"id": 742916658, "item_id": 46432291, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46432291", "by": "Foorack", "date": "2025-12-30", "stance": "warn", "quote": "FB Messenger, X Chat, WhatsApp, Signal, etc... NO. Just LET ME CHAT.", "excerpt": "Am I the only one who doesn't care about E2E encryption, and just want an EU alternative? I DON'T WANT my chats to be \"full E2E encrypted\" with a 6-digit pin, only for me to loose them when I get a new phone. I DON'T WANT having to use a special gateway instead of normal IMAP to access my Proton mail. It really feels like server-side encryption is being forced down my throat and I don't consent. FB Messenger, X Chat,", "context": "", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Bye Bye Big Tech: How I Migrated to an Almost All-EU Stack (and Saved 500\u20ac/Year)"}, {"id": 787629584, "item_id": 49226849, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49226849", "by": "rkagerer", "date": "2026-08-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Why has chat regressed?", "excerpt": "Why the limitations? - only 45 days of media - link lost if inactive for 30 / 45 days - max 5 devices Is it because of reliance on the network to provide these features? I used ICQ decades ago and I could back up everything and move it to a different computer, I can still search the message archives to this day, and there weren't these silly artificial limits. Why has chat regressed?", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging across devices", "switched_from": "", "story": "Signal can easily work across multiple Android devices and iPhones now"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Privacy and security", "summary": "Commenters steer sensitive or higher-risk communication to Signal and point to its encryption, encrypted backups and phone-number protections.", "quotes": [{"id": 804849713, "item_id": 50303107, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50303107", "by": "JeremyNT", "date": "2026-10-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "use Signal for anything you care about.", "excerpt": "I use Fastmail which has been a very boring and high quality product. The company is not American, it is Australian, but any country with close ties to the US probably offers little in the way of surveillance avoidance. It's best to think of email as fully public information anyway, use Signal for anything you care about.", "context": "", "use_case": "private messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Manifestos, Fear, and 'Loser Thinking': Inside Proton's AI Reckoning"}, {"id": 748588704, "item_id": 46786794, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46786794", "by": "OneDeuxTriSeiGo", "date": "2026-01-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it'd be extremely non trivial to extract user phone numbers.", "excerpt": "They weren't though? Signal requires a phone number to sign up and it is linked to your account but your phone number is not used in the under the hood account or device identification, it is not shared by default, your number can be entirely removed from contact disovery if you wish, and even if they got a warrant or were tapping signal infra directly, it'd be extremely non trivial to extract user phone numbers. htt", "context": "", "use_case": "private messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Kash Patel says FBI is investigating Signal chats of Minnesotans tracking ICE"}, {"id": 770713552, "item_id": 48169597, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48169597", "by": "microtonal", "date": "2026-05-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "A good counter-example is Signal, which opts out of backups on iOS and Android and the only option is to do E2E backups to their own servers.", "excerpt": "I think my message wooshed. I was not comparing disk encryption and iCloud backups. My point is that insecure defaults are Apple and other's alternative to backdoors. They give plausible deniability (\"how is someone able to recover their data if they lost their credentials and we used E2E?\"), while at the same time satisfying law enforcement, because the vast majority of people is not aware of them. Another example i", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Security researcher says Microsoft built a Bitlocker backdoor, releases exploit"}]}, {"label": "Group chats", "summary": "People have moved friends, families and local community groups onto Signal group chats.", "quotes": [{"id": 788373056, "item_id": 49273316, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49273316", "by": "beej71", "date": "2026-08-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "we've managed to get our families into Signal groups that largely accomplish the same things at the scale we need.", "excerpt": "Meta is easier for that stuff, I won't deny. Nevertheless, we've managed to get our families into Signal groups that largely accomplish the same things at the scale we need. And the benefits of not needing to wade through slop make up for the losses. It's so peaceful! Hopefully more people give it a try.", "context": "", "use_case": "family communication", "switched_from": "Facebook", "story": "Facebook is paying controversial creators to produce rage-bait content"}, {"id": 751368689, "item_id": 46960543, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46960543", "by": "eigenspace", "date": "2026-02-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "my friends and I mostly just use Signal for group chats", "excerpt": "I used Zulip every day for the julia programming language (https://julialang.zulipchat.com). I really like Zulip, and I'd like to migrate my friend-group onto it, but it probably won't happen. I think Zulip is just a bit too heavy-duty for a friend group chatting, and also lacks the visual polish that a lot of people want. For now, my friends and I mostly just use Signal for group chats, which leaves a lot to be desi", "context": "", "use_case": "friend group chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month"}, {"id": 734800848, "item_id": 45925053, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45925053", "by": "thaumaturgy", "date": "2025-11-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The most engaging online interaction I've had recently has been some local community groups on Signal", "excerpt": "You're not alone. I've been on the web since around 1997, something like that. I remember it as a fun distraction, but also as a place that had recognizable handles, behind which sat a real person somewhere else in the world. Unrestrained SEO and the failure of search engines (or, in Google's case, complicity veering towards enthusiastic support) to do anything about that was the first thing that, for me, took a lot ", "context": "", "use_case": "local community groups", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Is building for the web even worth it now?"}]}, {"label": "Reliability", "summary": "Several users say it just works, including on poor networks while traveling.", "quotes": [{"id": 754277793, "item_id": 47142362, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47142362", "by": "brendanmc6", "date": "2026-02-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I put them in an exclusive S-Tier with, surprisingly, Chase Mobile (in recent years), Signal, Google Sheets", "excerpt": "1password is by far my most recommended subscription to friends and family. In a world where almost every single app or service I use has thrown me into a rage from enshittification or show-stopping bugs or both, where I can hardly even type this message because even iOS keyboards have regressed\u2026 1password is actually a great service that makes my life objectively better. I put them in an exclusive S-Tier with, surpr", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "1Password Raising Prices ~33%"}, {"id": 805074768, "item_id": 50317173, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50317173", "by": "TFNA", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Signal more than any other messenger app, and I have never had the deliverability issues you complain about", "excerpt": "I spend about half of every year traveling the mountains and deserts of the world, often ones with poor infrastructure. I use Signal more than any other messenger app, and I have never had the deliverability issues you complain about; messages do all get through eventually.", "context": "travels mountains and deserts half the year", "use_case": "messaging while traveling", "switched_from": "", "story": "Molly (Signal fork) has not been updated since 3 months and is vulnerable"}, {"id": 800858256, "item_id": 50053641, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50053641", "by": "palata", "date": "2026-10-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Signal has been fine", "excerpt": "I use sandboxed Google Play Services, Signal has been fine... I cannot say it's always immediate (I'm not always on my phone :-) ), but I have never been frustrated for \"missing\" a notification. Like when I check my phone, the Signal messages are there, they don't appear 3 days later.", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Will Linux phones become a viable alternative to the Android/iOS duopoly?"}]}, {"label": "Easy adoption", "summary": "Commenters found it easier to get contacts onto Signal than onto Matrix or after leaving Wickr.", "quotes": [{"id": 782383937, "item_id": 48898996, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48898996", "by": "kaladin-jasnah", "date": "2026-07-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "adoption-wise I was able to get way more people on Signal.", "excerpt": "Not the original commenter, but Matrix is awful. I used it on and off, and self-hosted it too. It's slow, bloated (I'm pretty sure I tried other homeservers). The app UI/UX is not great either. The E2EE stuff got better by the end but adoption-wise I was able to get way more people on Signal.", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "Matrix", "story": "Telegram's t.me domain has been suspended"}, {"id": 788581121, "item_id": 49286320, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49286320", "by": "pseudohadamard", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "my entire social circle by a kind of unspoken consensus switched to Signal.", "excerpt": "Used it when it first came out, but it was a bug-riddled disaster. Messages would take hours to arrive on someone's phone a few hundred meters away, or report successful delivery and the other side never received them, and a million other things that I can't remember right now. It was so bad that eventually my entire social circle by a kind of unspoken consensus switched to Signal.", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "Wickr", "story": "Does anyone still use Wickr?"}, {"id": 777570802, "item_id": 48598175, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48598175", "by": "Cider9986", "date": "2026-06-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "switching contacts to Signal is becoming easier with its growing popularity", "excerpt": "GrapheneOS has released their Android 17 update. Grapheneos has stated that they won't be adding any identity verification or scanning, ever. It's highly usable and has very similar UX to Pixels. I switched from iOS and have found the UI to be better although it's largely the same on stock Pixel. There's over 99% app compatibility and the only failing apps are additional restrictions added by a small subset (less tha", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "From Australia to Europe, countries move to curb children's social media access"}]}, {"label": "Open and auditable", "summary": "The app can be audited, built from source, and updated directly from signal.org without Google Play.", "quotes": [{"id": 762625648, "item_id": 47664103, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47664103", "by": "palata", "date": "2026-04-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I can audit it, download it or even compile it myself from sources", "excerpt": "Those are valid arguments but I like apps better, for other reasons. Mostly security. When I use, say, the Signal app: - I can audit it, download it or even compile it myself from sources - Once I have installed it, Signal doesn't get to change it \"in my back\" - As a result, I don't need to trust Signal for the end-to-end encryption, which is the whole point of end-to-end encryption. When I use a webapp, say ProtonMa", "context": "prefers native apps for security", "use_case": "end-to-end encrypted messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "I Won't Download Your App. The Web Version Is A-OK"}, {"id": 787973329, "item_id": 49248333, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49248333", "by": "fwn", "date": "2026-08-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You do not need Google Play Store to download or update Signal.", "excerpt": "> [Signal is] obsessed with [...] user tracking, via app store stats. Not sure about that. You do not need Google Play Store to download or update Signal. I use Obtainium to update directly via signal.org for a very long time now. JSON: https://updates.signal.org/android/latest.json", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Signal is working on a paid option to create an account without a phone number"}]}, {"label": "Bots and notifications", "summary": "Some use it to send automated notifications as an easier alternative to WhatsApp or Telegram bots.", "quotes": [{"id": 782802832, "item_id": 48925177, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48925177", "by": "geek_at", "date": "2026-07-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use a signal api on a daily basis for all my agentic chatting and notifications", "excerpt": "I use a signal api on a daily basis for all my agentic chatting and notifications about energy prices and server downtime notification. Setup was quick enough but it needs a real phone number once during setup which is kind of a hassle. still better than using telegram which has no encryption for the bot backend so the devs can read everything you write", "context": "", "use_case": "agent chat and notifications", "switched_from": "", "story": "Telegram Serverless"}, {"id": 764460225, "item_id": 47778764, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47778764", "by": "JimmaDaRustla", "date": "2026-04-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I just switched to Signal.", "excerpt": "I tried creating a whatsapp \"bot\" which would just send notifications for my Jellyfin server. It was a bureaucratic nightmare - creating dev accounts, creating some sort of \"project\", then it was requiring I register it as a business as though the only valid use case for creating an app for WhatsApp is a business, then it required me to verify my identify and upload documents. I just switched to Signal.", "context": "", "use_case": "Jellyfin notifications", "switched_from": "WhatsApp", "story": "Peter Steinberger \u2013 WhatsApp CLI: sync, search, send"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Phone number required", "summary": "Signal needs a phone number and an active phone, and one user's account was disabled after a year without a phone.", "quotes": [{"id": 737733712, "item_id": 46108357, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46108357", "by": "zenoprax", "date": "2025-12-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Signal is a perfect direct replacement for WhatsApp but it still requires a phone number.", "excerpt": "This feels like a distraction from what is really needed: a return to open standards/protocols. I love the idea of Matrix but the complexity of key management and federation for the average person is far too high. Signal is a perfect direct replacement for WhatsApp but it still requires a phone number. RCS is good enough... as a fallback protocol. I don't want a dependency on a phone number or a single physical devic", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "WhatsApp will become interoperable with other messaging apps in Europe"}, {"id": 737357456, "item_id": 46084841, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46084841", "by": "SigUp91", "date": "2025-11-28", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Signal blocks not only the specific app from working if it's not updated, but disables your whole account if you can't update the mobile app.", "excerpt": "Signal blocks not only the specific app from working if it's not updated, but disables your whole account if you can't update the mobile app. I had to live without a phone for about a year. First my phone broke and I couldn't repair it or buy a new one, then I lost my phone number due to unpaid fees. I kept using the Linux Electron app, updating it as often as possible. I saw this message on the Linux app after a whi", "context": "lived a year without a phone", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Molly: An Improved Signal App"}, {"id": 782802832, "item_id": 48925177, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48925177", "by": "geek_at", "date": "2026-07-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use a signal api on a daily basis for all my agentic chatting and notifications", "excerpt": "I use a signal api on a daily basis for all my agentic chatting and notifications about energy prices and server downtime notification. Setup was quick enough but it needs a real phone number once during setup which is kind of a hassle. still better than using telegram which has no encryption for the bot backend so the devs can read everything you write", "context": "", "use_case": "agent chat and notifications", "switched_from": "", "story": "Telegram Serverless"}]}, {"label": "Multi-device limits", "summary": "Linking devices depends on a primary phone with a camera, and keys are hard to move between devices or systems.", "quotes": [{"id": 740036097, "item_id": 46252256, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46252256", "by": "laserbeam", "date": "2025-12-12", "stance": "warn", "quote": "The fact that whatsapp, signal and other platforms tend to have a primary device for keys is bonkers to me.", "excerpt": "Someone needs to design a super dumb and robust system where I can safely store all my keys on all devices I use an account. The fact that whatsapp, signal and other platforms tend to have a primary device for keys is bonkers to me. A primary device that can randomly die, get stolen or fall in a lake. I have lost chat histories more times than I can remember, and I have to be extra diligent about this these days. I d", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Poor Johnny still won't encrypt"}, {"id": 737401809, "item_id": 46087613, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46087613", "by": "Zambyte", "date": "2025-11-29", "stance": "warn", "quote": "There is no way to use the Signal app on a device without a camera (USB cameras are even explicitly blocked!)", "excerpt": "There is no way to use the Signal app on a device without a camera (USB cameras are even explicitly blocked!), and sync it with another computer. I use a Daylight computer as my primary mobile machine, which does not have a camera. The Molly app is the only way I am able to use Signal on multiple devices.", "context": "uses a Daylight computer without a camera", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Molly: An Improved Signal App"}, {"id": 777225074, "item_id": 48576567, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48576567", "by": "em-bee", "date": "2026-06-17", "stance": "warn", "quote": "signal ties its keys to that wallet and does not allow me to switch. that's frankly very bad.", "excerpt": "i switched from GNOME to KDE just a few weeks ago. the main reason was that i thought GNOME had become unstable on fedora 42 because my session started crashing rather frequently. since i was already using some KDE applications i thought i'd give it a try. the switch cost me a week of productivity until i had it configured the way i liked it. (which was mostly to make it similar to GNOME/Mac with a main bar at the to", "context": "Fedora user", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "KDE Plasma 6.7 Released"}]}, {"label": "History and backups", "summary": "Users report losing chat history when changing phones and dislike limits such as 45 days of media and a maximum of 5 devices.", "quotes": [{"id": 742916658, "item_id": 46432291, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46432291", "by": "Foorack", "date": "2025-12-30", "stance": "warn", "quote": "FB Messenger, X Chat, WhatsApp, Signal, etc... NO. Just LET ME CHAT.", "excerpt": "Am I the only one who doesn't care about E2E encryption, and just want an EU alternative? I DON'T WANT my chats to be \"full E2E encrypted\" with a 6-digit pin, only for me to loose them when I get a new phone. I DON'T WANT having to use a special gateway instead of normal IMAP to access my Proton mail. It really feels like server-side encryption is being forced down my throat and I don't consent. FB Messenger, X Chat,", "context": "", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Bye Bye Big Tech: How I Migrated to an Almost All-EU Stack (and Saved 500\u20ac/Year)"}, {"id": 787629584, "item_id": 49226849, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49226849", "by": "rkagerer", "date": "2026-08-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Why has chat regressed?", "excerpt": "Why the limitations? - only 45 days of media - link lost if inactive for 30 / 45 days - max 5 devices Is it because of reliance on the network to provide these features? I used ICQ decades ago and I could back up everything and move it to a different computer, I can still search the message archives to this day, and there weren't these silly artificial limits. Why has chat regressed?", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging across devices", "switched_from": "", "story": "Signal can easily work across multiple Android devices and iPhones now"}, {"id": 735738977, "item_id": 45983686, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45983686", "by": "joecool1029", "date": "2025-11-19", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I really soured on Signal early", "excerpt": "> Telegram, for all its faults, has an excellent desktop app. Their developers are also very responsive to PR's, I have a couple GCC build fixes in it. I really soured on Signal early with when running BB10, they would not let us fork and use/distribute websocket builds to get around not having google play services on available on that platform: https://github.com/libresignal/libresignal/issues/37#issuecomment-217211", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "I just want working RCS messaging"}]}, {"label": "Trust concerns", "summary": "Some commenters distrust Signal because of its past US government funding or unclear finances.", "quotes": [{"id": 743951440, "item_id": 46496965, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46496965", "by": "nunobrito", "date": "2026-01-05", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Signal should NOT be trusted.", "excerpt": "The author criticizes messaging apps sponsored from dubious sources while keeping Signal as highly recommended. The origin of Signal is dubious in itself, the US government itself has funded Signal development and hosting with tens of million USD since years and years until recently. This is public information. Signal should NOT be trusted.", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Signal Contingency Plan (DeltaChat)"}, {"id": 794816032, "item_id": 49676002, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49676002", "by": "stavros", "date": "2026-09-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Signal and it's still my preferred messenger", "excerpt": "I'm also worried about that these days. They posted an article a while back that Signal costs $50m per year to run, and that they make that money from \"things\". Together with how low a profile they keep, I'm not convinced they aren't a honeypot. I love Signal and it's still my preferred messenger, but if it came out that they're backed by some government agency, I wouldn't be extremely surprised.", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Trail of Bits helps verify the integrity of Signal chats"}, {"id": 795540224, "item_id": 49721264, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49721264", "by": "3stacks", "date": "2026-09-16", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Signal too, but I don't trust that either.", "excerpt": "Maybe so, but I just assume anything I write is being read by multiple different parties anyway. I use Signal too, but I don't trust that either. Face-to-face communication (inside my portable lead chamber) is the way to go", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Leaving Proton Mail"}]}, {"label": "SMS handling", "summary": "Signal removed SMS support, and one user says it would not let him type in the SMS registration code by hand.", "quotes": [{"id": 795349857, "item_id": 49709366, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49709366", "by": "Markoff", "date": "2026-09-15", "stance": "warn", "quote": "in their wisdom they removed SMS feature, so Signal was removed from phones of my whole extended family", "excerpt": "implement SMS into your whatever Android app I am using Whatsapp and I MUST have some SMS app in phone, if your app will support SMS and on top of that will provide Jabber/XMPP messages over data I will be more than happy to replace my SMS app with your app. Sadly seems there is pretty much NONE apps where dev would bother to implement support for simple SMS. And if your app doesn't support SMS I am not going to inst", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging with SMS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Jabber/XMPP: How Do We Gain Traction?"}, {"id": 805047824, "item_id": 50315489, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50315489", "by": "dist-epoch", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "warn", "quote": "This was possible in WhatsApp, but was not possible in Signal. It won't allow you.", "excerpt": "2 years ago when I got a new phone, I had to re-register in both WhatsApp and Signal. Both send you a code over SMS. I hate giving apps SMS access, so I refuse SMS intercept permission when an app asks for it, and instead I manually enter the received code in the app. This was possible in WhatsApp, but was not possible in Signal. It won't allow you. You must give it SMS access to read the code. So much for privacy/se", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Molly (Signal fork) has not been updated since 3 months and is vulnerable"}]}, {"label": "Flaky delivery", "summary": "One commenter says Signal has been slow and flaky recently.", "quotes": [{"id": 752546818, "item_id": 47034176, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47034176", "by": "antonyh", "date": "2026-02-16", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Signal has been slow/flaky recently for us", "excerpt": "I don't think the world needs another protocol, we need to leverage the ones we have. This space (text-based real-time messaging with media attachments) is feature complete, there's nothing left to add. The remaining value-adds are exactly that; optional extensions for productivities suites and integrating SaaS tools. Pricing and Privacy are another two concerns, and personally for the latter I'd like human chat to b", "context": "", "use_case": "team messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "OpenAI Should Build Slack"}]}], "who": [{"by": "TFNA", "context": "travels mountains and deserts half the year", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50317173", "date": "2026-10-31"}, {"by": "walrus01", "context": "ISP/telecom network engineer", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49595131", "date": "2026-09-07"}, {"by": "Cider9986", "context": "moved from iOS to GrapheneOS", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49373801", "date": "2026-08-20"}, {"by": "Hackbraten", "context": "Librem 5 user in Germany", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49200060", "date": "2026-08-06"}, {"by": "fossman", "context": "Librem 5 user traveling internationally", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49193384", "date": "2026-08-05"}, {"by": "jandrewrogers", "context": "has spent a lot of time overseas", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48889176", "date": "2026-07-13"}, {"by": "palata", "context": "prefers native apps for security", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47664103", "date": "2026-04-06"}, {"by": "jszymborski", "context": "looking for Discord alternative for friend group", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46945791", "date": "2026-02-09"}, {"by": "piou", "context": "MP02 user for a year", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46469680", "date": "2026-01-02"}, {"by": "godelski", "context": "Arch user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46323995", "date": "2025-12-19"}, {"by": "jack_tripper", "context": "Windows user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45913686", "date": "2025-11-13"}], "tags": ["for sensitive communication", "for family and friend groups", "for GrapheneOS users", "for notification bots", "WhatsApp alternative"], "use_cases": ["messaging", "private messaging", "messaging while traveling", "encrypted messaging", "chat", "group messaging"], "compared": [{"slug": "whatsapp", "name": "WhatsApp", "co": 19, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "matrix", "name": "Matrix", "co": 10, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "telegram", "name": "Telegram", "co": 9, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "discord", "name": "Discord", "co": 7, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "grapheneos", "name": "GrapheneOS", "co": 8, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "molly", "name": "Molly", "co": 8, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "proton", "name": "Proton", "co": 6, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "zulip", "name": "Zulip", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50314666", "title": "Molly (Signal fork) has not been updated since 3 months and is vulnerable", "mentions": 4}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46945663", "title": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49689048", "title": "Registration without a phone number on Signal will use zero-knowledge proofs", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49188022", "title": "I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46466364", "title": "Punkt. Unveils MC03 Smartphone", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46080916", "title": "Molly: An Improved Signal App", "mentions": 2}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"neutral": 3, "recommend": 1, "warn": 2}, "2025-12": {"recommend": 3, "warn": 2}, "2026-01": {"neutral": 1, "recommend": 3, "warn": 1}, "2026-02": {"neutral": 3, "recommend": 4, "warn": 1}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 1, "recommend": 1}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1, "warn": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 6, "neutral": 1}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 9, "neutral": 2, "warn": 1}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 6, "warn": 1}, "2026-10": {"neutral": 5, "recommend": 3, "compare": 1, "warn": 2}}, "quotes": [{"id": 805097584, "item_id": 50318599, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50318599", "by": "ktosobcy", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "warn", "quote": "this was my reason not to use Signal at all", "excerpt": "TBH this was my reason not to use Signal at all... same with WhatsApp super annoying linking between mobile and desktop :/ Why can't we use XMPP where you can have multiple device and accounts without required mobile phone? Oh I know - because dumb walled gardens and BigTech not liking it... it's a mirracle we got away with e-mail before they came to power :/", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Molly (Signal fork) has not been updated since 3 months and is vulnerable"}, {"id": 805074768, "item_id": 50317173, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50317173", "by": "TFNA", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Signal more than any other messenger app, and I have never had the deliverability issues you complain about", "excerpt": "I spend about half of every year traveling the mountains and deserts of the world, often ones with poor infrastructure. I use Signal more than any other messenger app, and I have never had the deliverability issues you complain about; messages do all get through eventually.", "context": "travels mountains and deserts half the year", "use_case": "messaging while traveling", "switched_from": "", "story": "Molly (Signal fork) has not been updated since 3 months and is vulnerable"}, {"id": 805047824, "item_id": 50315489, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50315489", "by": "dist-epoch", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "warn", "quote": "This was possible in WhatsApp, but was not possible in Signal. It won't allow you.", "excerpt": "2 years ago when I got a new phone, I had to re-register in both WhatsApp and Signal. Both send you a code over SMS. I hate giving apps SMS access, so I refuse SMS intercept permission when an app asks for it, and instead I manually enter the received code in the app. This was possible in WhatsApp, but was not possible in Signal. It won't allow you. You must give it SMS access to read the code. So much for privacy/se", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Molly (Signal fork) has not been updated since 3 months and is vulnerable"}, {"id": 805042688, "item_id": 50315168, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50315168", "by": "_heimdall", "date": "2026-10-31", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use signal on my primary phone and Molly on a secondary phone.", "excerpt": "Well that's timely, and a bummer. I was just wondering about this yesterday, I use signal on my primary phone and Molly on a secondary phone. Signal got an update yesterday and when I saw the notification I couldn't remember the last time Molly was updated...", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging on primary phone", "switched_from": "", "story": "Molly (Signal fork) has not been updated since 3 months and is vulnerable"}, {"id": 804849713, "item_id": 50303107, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50303107", "by": "JeremyNT", "date": "2026-10-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "use Signal for anything you care about.", "excerpt": "I use Fastmail which has been a very boring and high quality product. The company is not American, it is Australian, but any country with close ties to the US probably offers little in the way of surveillance avoidance. It's best to think of email as fully public information anyway, use Signal for anything you care about.", "context": "", "use_case": "private messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Manifestos, Fear, and 'Loser Thinking': Inside Proton's AI Reckoning"}, {"id": 802917056, "item_id": 50182316, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50182316", "by": "MisterTea", "date": "2026-10-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use signal, whatsapp, discord, irc, google chat, email and messenger without complaint.", "excerpt": "I don't understand why having more than one chat app is too much for some people. I use signal, whatsapp, discord, irc, google chat, email and messenger without complaint. I can't force people to use my platform of choice so I have to compromise and use what they do with little to no notice on my end. Sure, I am not happy with this situation but I accept it and move on while keeping an eye out for alternatives.", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "The No Kings Takedown Is Why You Shouldn't Rent Your Megaphone from Zuck"}, {"id": 800858256, "item_id": 50053641, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50053641", "by": "palata", "date": "2026-10-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Signal has been fine", "excerpt": "I use sandboxed Google Play Services, Signal has been fine... I cannot say it's always immediate (I'm not always on my phone :-) ), but I have never been frustrated for \"missing\" a notification. Like when I check my phone, the Signal messages are there, they don't appear 3 days later.", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Will Linux phones become a viable alternative to the Android/iOS duopoly?"}, {"id": 800562465, "item_id": 50035154, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50035154", "by": "boltzmann64", "date": "2026-10-10", "stance": "compare", "quote": "if I should switch to Signal or something", "excerpt": "Can you please tell me what settings get auto re-enabled? I use Telegram as my primary messenger app. I just want to make a more informed decision if I should switch to Signal or something.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Telegram Desktop vulnerability allowed any user's file to be stolen"}, {"id": 800523841, "item_id": 50032740, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50032740", "by": "bugas", "date": "2026-10-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Signal is excellent.", "excerpt": "Hey guys, I built as title says E2EE chat platform chat.markero.eu and its public source sits at https://git.markero.eu/main/markero-chat - feel free to fork it, clone it, break it, send PRs. - Project took 4 months to mature with breaks. It includes android AAB project files if you wish to submit it to Play store. Firebase is integrated. - Not going to lie - On AI: I used it as coding assistant. Every change was rev", "context": "", "use_case": "encrypted messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Built end-to-end encrypted messenger \u2013 public source"}, {"id": 800284721, "item_id": 50017795, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50017795", "by": "alexfortin", "date": "2026-10-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "in the same way I have contacts who use Signal and some who don't", "excerpt": "It's really interesting to hear other experiences, I see this really goes deep for you... I guess I'm much less overthinking the whole issue than you are All my switching feels organic in retrospective and creating a Proton mail account + GMail forward didn't seem like a big deal at the time, it's not like you have to self host your SMTP server or similar effort after all. I agree the \"e2e-encrypted email\" bit is mos", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Stop complaining about enshittification. Use the alternatives"}, {"id": 799036770, "item_id": 49939798, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49939798", "by": "orwin", "date": "2026-10-02", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "often on discord, sometimes on whatsapp/signal", "excerpt": "Yeah, i think it's not only social media platform. I used to read a lot of bad fiction on internet (sometimes it was _really_ good, but most of the time, not), and it took a large part of my time (easily 2 hours a day, plus one hour of reading paper book to help me fall asleep). Nowadays i have the impression almost everything is AI-enhanced. Shorter sentences, quips for no reason, lack of details. It makes dialogs a", "context": "", "use_case": "small communities", "switched_from": "", "story": "Everyone's Packing Up"}, {"id": 798047745, "item_id": 49877984, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49877984", "by": "bugas", "date": "2026-09-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Signal is excellent.", "excerpt": "Hey guys, I built as title says E2EE chat platform chat.markero.eu and its public source sits at https://git.markero.eu/main/markero-chat - feel free to fork it, clone it, break it, send PRs. - Project took 4 months to mature with breaks. It includes android AAB project files if you wish to submit it to Play store. Firebase is integrated. - Not going to lie - On AI: I used it as coding assistant. Every change was rev", "context": "", "use_case": "encrypted messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Built end-to-end encrypted messenger \u2013 public source"}, {"id": 797319938, "item_id": 49832496, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49832496", "by": "QuantumNomad_", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I also have Signal on it", "excerpt": "I have a slow, crappy tablet I bought on Temu. It is not my main device, nor even my secondary device. It\u2019s basically just a device I bought for cheap hoping that maybe I was lucky and it was actually pretty snappy. It\u2019s not snappy :( I occasionally watch a couple of YouTube videos on it and read a couple of HN posts on it, when my phone is out of battery or when I\u2019m doing a backup of my phone and have left the phone", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "F-Droid 2.0"}, {"id": 797304146, "item_id": 49831509, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49831509", "by": "mac3n", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I've got Slack and Signal in one", "excerpt": "This talks about the \"desktop\" experience. My desktop is a laptop. I don't have a desk or a large external monitor. Tiling window managers don't work for me. I try to keep windows stacked in different virtual desktops, but they're getting pretty crowded. I've got Slack and Signal in one, editor and terminals in another, etc. I work mostly with remote cloud services or headless servers via VPNs. For the cloud I rely o", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ideas on modernizing the open-source desktop"}, {"id": 795540224, "item_id": 49721264, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49721264", "by": "3stacks", "date": "2026-09-16", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Signal too, but I don't trust that either.", "excerpt": "Maybe so, but I just assume anything I write is being read by multiple different parties anyway. I use Signal too, but I don't trust that either. Face-to-face communication (inside my portable lead chamber) is the way to go", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Leaving Proton Mail"}, {"id": 795349857, "item_id": 49709366, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49709366", "by": "Markoff", "date": "2026-09-15", "stance": "warn", "quote": "in their wisdom they removed SMS feature, so Signal was removed from phones of my whole extended family", "excerpt": "implement SMS into your whatever Android app I am using Whatsapp and I MUST have some SMS app in phone, if your app will support SMS and on top of that will provide Jabber/XMPP messages over data I will be more than happy to replace my SMS app with your app. Sadly seems there is pretty much NONE apps where dev would bother to implement support for simple SMS. And if your app doesn't support SMS I am not going to inst", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging with SMS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Jabber/XMPP: How Do We Gain Traction?"}, {"id": 795079072, "item_id": 49692442, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49692442", "by": "dakolli", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use signal, I have nothing to hide but it is useful in that nobody can spoof me (easily).", "excerpt": "Nobody is arguing the e2ee isn't valid, its useful as a metadata collection platform, which is all they care about. Former NSA and CIA Director Michael Hayden famously stated: \u201cWe kill people based on metadata.\" and then he tried to hold back a smile and said \"but not with this metadata\". It's usefulness as a metadata collection platform becomes much less useful if people don't trust it, so of course it's secure. If ", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging, including with family", "switched_from": "", "story": "Registration without a phone number on Signal will use zero-knowledge proofs"}, {"id": 795077824, "item_id": 49692364, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49692364", "by": "monocasa", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "To be clear, I use signal pretty heavily, but that's because my threat model doesn't really include competent .us.gov actors.", "excerpt": "If I was the NSA, I would be using the fact that signal uses AWS for their backend combined with the cudgel that .us.gov has with the AWS govcloud contract to mandate that all traffic to and from signal's backend also gets routed to NSA traffic analysis servers, which could then be correlated with other sources like ISP data to get a pretty complete record of all Signal message metadata. To be clear, I use signal pre", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Registration without a phone number on Signal will use zero-knowledge proofs"}, {"id": 794816032, "item_id": 49676002, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49676002", "by": "stavros", "date": "2026-09-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Signal and it's still my preferred messenger", "excerpt": "I'm also worried about that these days. They posted an article a while back that Signal costs $50m per year to run, and that they make that money from \"things\". Together with how low a profile they keep, I'm not convinced they aren't a honeypot. I love Signal and it's still my preferred messenger, but if it came out that they're backed by some government agency, I wouldn't be extremely surprised.", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "How Trail of Bits helps verify the integrity of Signal chats"}, {"id": 794304129, "item_id": 49644008, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49644008", "by": "beej71", "date": "2026-09-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Mastodon, Signal group chats", "excerpt": "I still find the old Internet in a few ways. Mastodon, Signal group chats, quiet local (geographically) or private Discord servers, RSS, email, XMPP or IRC if I feel like it. Definitely use uBO. I sometimes even surf Neocities. Stay away from \"algorithmic\" social media and all 24-hour news\u2014if something important happens, it'll show up on the HN RSS feed. If you want to stay politically active and informed, subscribe ", "context": "", "use_case": "group chats", "switched_from": "", "story": "I think I hate the internet"}, {"id": 793522096, "item_id": 49595131, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49595131", "by": "walrus01", "date": "2026-09-07", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "within a Signal group of 150 people adjacent to the neteng teams", "excerpt": "Within this context it's specifically people in the ISP and telecom business, most of whom have been in the business 15, 20 or 25 years now. Some of us started out as junior NOC techs, junior sysadmin/Linux/BSD guys in the late 1990s at different dotcom 1.0 startups. At a certain scale you know who the people are that have super-admin privileges at very specific ASNs and they are well known in the industry. Basically", "context": "ISP/telecom network engineer", "use_case": "industry group chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "I'm a seeing-eye dog for a computer"}, {"id": 792383554, "item_id": 49523972, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49523972", "by": "toomuchtodo", "date": "2026-09-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "whether higher risk comms should instead be in something like Signal", "excerpt": "\"What is your threat model?\" If you want to stay entirely outside of the reach of the US gov, stick with Proton and eat the outages. If you are willing to take on some more risk, try Fastmail. Consider the subject comms and whether higher risk comms should instead be in something like Signal.", "context": "", "use_case": "high-risk communications", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Alternative to Proton Mail?"}, {"id": 792155536, "item_id": 49509721, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49509721", "by": "zecg", "date": "2026-08-31", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use only Signal for chat", "excerpt": "As if it's mandated now to have social networks on your smartphone. I uninstalled anything owned by Zuckerberg or fucking Spez, I use only Signal for chat and Openstreetmap with offline vector maps for navigation. I have no tiktok or forever-scrolling apps.", "context": "", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Early 2000s were peak of humanity"}, {"id": 790294514, "item_id": 49393407, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49393407", "by": "__MatrixMan__", "date": "2026-08-21", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Signal, GrapheneOS, Tor... this is a battle with many fronts", "excerpt": "I wish there was some kind of EFF-curated \"privacy/internet freedom\" pass that I could buy. Kagi is great, but it's not everything. Brave is great, but it's not everything. Signal, GrapheneOS, Tor... this is a battle with many fronts and it's kind of labor intensive to manage a whole bunch of subscriptions/recurring donations. I'd love to just buy the pass and rest assured that if one of the recipients of that money ", "context": "", "use_case": "private messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Kagi added a setting for removing paywalled links from search results"}, {"id": 789980819, "item_id": 49373801, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49373801", "by": "Cider9986", "date": "2026-08-20", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Signal (I use Molly but it's only on Android)", "excerpt": "To get you started on switching the ecosystem, which is a pain. Here's some of what I landed on while moving from iOS to GrapheneOS. Ente Photos NotesNook Signal (I use Molly but it's only on Android) Bitwarden Proton", "context": "moved from iOS to GrapheneOS", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "GrapheneOS in 2027 available on high-end Motorola phones"}, {"id": 788581121, "item_id": 49286320, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49286320", "by": "pseudohadamard", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "my entire social circle by a kind of unspoken consensus switched to Signal.", "excerpt": "Used it when it first came out, but it was a bug-riddled disaster. Messages would take hours to arrive on someone's phone a few hundred meters away, or report successful delivery and the other side never received them, and a million other things that I can't remember right now. It was so bad that eventually my entire social circle by a kind of unspoken consensus switched to Signal.", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "Wickr", "story": "Does anyone still use Wickr?"}, {"id": 788373056, "item_id": 49273316, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49273316", "by": "beej71", "date": "2026-08-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "we've managed to get our families into Signal groups that largely accomplish the same things at the scale we need.", "excerpt": "Meta is easier for that stuff, I won't deny. Nevertheless, we've managed to get our families into Signal groups that largely accomplish the same things at the scale we need. And the benefits of not needing to wade through slop make up for the losses. It's so peaceful! Hopefully more people give it a try.", "context": "", "use_case": "family communication", "switched_from": "Facebook", "story": "Facebook is paying controversial creators to produce rage-bait content"}, {"id": 787973329, "item_id": 49248333, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49248333", "by": "fwn", "date": "2026-08-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You do not need Google Play Store to download or update Signal.", "excerpt": "> [Signal is] obsessed with [...] user tracking, via app store stats. Not sure about that. You do not need Google Play Store to download or update Signal. I use Obtainium to update directly via signal.org for a very long time now. JSON: https://updates.signal.org/android/latest.json", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Signal is working on a paid option to create an account without a phone number"}, {"id": 787629584, "item_id": 49226849, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49226849", "by": "rkagerer", "date": "2026-08-08", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Why has chat regressed?", "excerpt": "Why the limitations? - only 45 days of media - link lost if inactive for 30 / 45 days - max 5 devices Is it because of reliance on the network to provide these features? I used ICQ decades ago and I could back up everything and move it to a different computer, I can still search the message archives to this day, and there weren't these silly artificial limits. Why has chat regressed?", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging across devices", "switched_from": "", "story": "Signal can easily work across multiple Android devices and iPhones now"}, {"id": 787396864, "item_id": 49212304, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49212304", "by": "rvz", "date": "2026-08-07", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Buy a Signal Login (or declare an existing one) in order to register without a phone number.", "excerpt": "The source code doesn't lie: [0] Have a read for yourself in one of the source code comments: \"Buy a Signal Login (or declare an existing one) in order to register without a phone number.\" [0] https://github.com/search?q=repo%3Asignalapp%2FSignal-Android+%22signal+login%22&type=code", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Signal planning one-time payment for optional sign up without a phone number"}, {"id": 787200960, "item_id": 49200060, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49200060", "by": "Hackbraten", "date": "2026-08-06", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "Signal barely works via the Electron app (and signal-cli), so that\u2019s what I use for messaging.", "excerpt": "Taking photos is one of the things I got accustomed to not having. The picture quality on my Librem 5 is just too disappointing [0]. In the past I used Bluetooth for keyboard and mouse when I connected the phone to a monitor. (I no longer do because the USB port on my L5 has broken down so badly that it can no longer maintain a DisplayPort Alt mode connection.) I\u2019ve never used Bluetooth for music or similar, it keeps", "context": "Librem 5 user in Germany", "use_case": "messaging on Linux phone", "switched_from": "", "story": "I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux"}, {"id": 787094144, "item_id": 49193384, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49193384", "by": "fossman", "date": "2026-08-05", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Signal and Delta Chat work fine.", "excerpt": "I don't have to imagine. I've already traveled internationally with the Librem 5 and it can do what I need it to do. Esim is supported with an adapter like those from JMP, but I use a local SIM card from that country. Whatsapp I never use, Signal and Delta Chat work fine.", "context": "Librem 5 user traveling internationally", "use_case": "messaging while traveling", "switched_from": "", "story": "I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux"}, {"id": 786922672, "item_id": 49182667, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49182667", "by": "nxtbl", "date": "2026-08-05", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "You really, really should use Signal instead.", "excerpt": "> We use a WhatsApp group for co-ordination. The time and location of the meetup is announced there. That's a hard no. You really, really should use Signal instead.", "context": "", "use_case": "group coordination", "switched_from": "", "story": "Helsinki Hacker News Meetup"}, {"id": 786222692, "item_id": 49138918, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49138918", "by": "ElemenoPicuares", "date": "2026-08-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Yet most people that use signal probably don\u2019t even know what open source means.", "excerpt": "I think there\u2019s a (fixable, if difficult) reason the FOSS world contributes such a small percentage of heavily-used end-user facing tools to our software landscape. We\u2019ve got the commercial provided spanked on a lot of things, like web servers. Competitors almost stopped trying. Marketing is a way smaller reason than many people imagine\u2014it\u2019s mostly usability. See the nearly immediate mastodon mass-exodus after gettin", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Google News is just Forrest Gump's shrimp boat now"}, {"id": 782831617, "item_id": 48926976, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48926976", "by": "Krasnol", "date": "2026-07-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Privately, I prefer Signal. Works also great.", "excerpt": "I agree on all the content related things but your argument was about speed. I use whatsapp web every day at work. The page. In my Firefox browser. It's almost constantly open. Never had any issues with that. The phone app just does what it's supposed to do and even on my Pixel6, it's just fast. I mean there is always faster but it's not even a second. I use Whatsapp only because I have to. Privately, I prefer Signal", "context": "", "use_case": "private messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Mysteries of Telegram Data Centers"}, {"id": 782802832, "item_id": 48925177, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48925177", "by": "geek_at", "date": "2026-07-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use a signal api on a daily basis for all my agentic chatting and notifications", "excerpt": "I use a signal api on a daily basis for all my agentic chatting and notifications about energy prices and server downtime notification. Setup was quick enough but it needs a real phone number once during setup which is kind of a hassle. still better than using telegram which has no encryption for the bot backend so the devs can read everything you write", "context": "", "use_case": "agent chat and notifications", "switched_from": "", "story": "Telegram Serverless"}, {"id": 782761824, "item_id": 48922614, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48922614", "by": "ozyschmozy", "date": "2026-07-15", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "notifications are extremely finicky no matter what battery optimization settings I tweak", "excerpt": "I use signal a lot (probably has 30-60 minutes screen time per day), and still notifications are extremely finicky no matter what battery optimization settings I tweak. So I'm leaning towards some apps being blessed", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Briar Is in Maintenance Mode"}, {"id": 782383937, "item_id": 48898996, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48898996", "by": "kaladin-jasnah", "date": "2026-07-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "adoption-wise I was able to get way more people on Signal.", "excerpt": "Not the original commenter, but Matrix is awful. I used it on and off, and self-hosted it too. It's slow, bloated (I'm pretty sure I tried other homeservers). The app UI/UX is not great either. The E2EE stuff got better by the end but adoption-wise I was able to get way more people on Signal.", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "Matrix", "story": "Telegram's t.me domain has been suspended"}, {"id": 782226816, "item_id": 48889176, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48889176", "by": "jandrewrogers", "date": "2026-07-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Signal with some groups but that is a minority.", "excerpt": "This is empirically false. I am on many groups that have (at least) several dozen people over SMS/RCS/iMessage. It isn\u2019t ideal but it definitely works adequately. I use Signal with some groups but that is a minority. I use WhatsApp daily but only people overseas use it. Many Americans have no idea what WhatsApp is. The practical reality is that iMessage is a legitimately superior experience to other messaging apps, a", "context": "has spent a lot of time overseas", "use_case": "group messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Death of the Status Update: Why 55% of Americans Stopped Posting on Social Media"}, {"id": 781743344, "item_id": 48858959, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48858959", "by": "fnord123", "date": "2026-07-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the European Commission strongly recommends that staff use Signal", "excerpt": "This is really strange since the European Commission strongly recommends that staff use Signal[1]. [1]: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26073615-c-2025-5430-2-en-annexe-acte-autonome-nlw-part1-v1/", "context": "", "use_case": "secure messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "EU Parliament greenlights Chat Control 1.0 \u2013 Breyer: \"Our children lose out\""}, {"id": 777225074, "item_id": 48576567, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48576567", "by": "em-bee", "date": "2026-06-17", "stance": "warn", "quote": "signal ties its keys to that wallet and does not allow me to switch. that's frankly very bad.", "excerpt": "i switched from GNOME to KDE just a few weeks ago. the main reason was that i thought GNOME had become unstable on fedora 42 because my session started crashing rather frequently. since i was already using some KDE applications i thought i'd give it a try. the switch cost me a week of productivity until i had it configured the way i liked it. (which was mostly to make it similar to GNOME/Mac with a main bar at the to", "context": "Fedora user", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "KDE Plasma 6.7 Released"}, {"id": 754277793, "item_id": 47142362, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47142362", "by": "brendanmc6", "date": "2026-02-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I put them in an exclusive S-Tier with, surprisingly, Chase Mobile (in recent years), Signal, Google Sheets", "excerpt": "1password is by far my most recommended subscription to friends and family. In a world where almost every single app or service I use has thrown me into a rage from enshittification or show-stopping bugs or both, where I can hardly even type this message because even iOS keyboards have regressed\u2026 1password is actually a great service that makes my life objectively better. I put them in an exclusive S-Tier with, surpr", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "1Password Raising Prices ~33%"}, {"id": 751368689, "item_id": 46960543, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46960543", "by": "eigenspace", "date": "2026-02-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "my friends and I mostly just use Signal for group chats", "excerpt": "I used Zulip every day for the julia programming language (https://julialang.zulipchat.com). I really like Zulip, and I'd like to migrate my friend-group onto it, but it probably won't happen. I think Zulip is just a bit too heavy-duty for a friend group chatting, and also lacks the visual polish that a lot of people want. For now, my friends and I mostly just use Signal for group chats, which leaves a lot to be desi", "context": "", "use_case": "friend group chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month"}, {"id": 742916658, "item_id": 46432291, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46432291", "by": "Foorack", "date": "2025-12-30", "stance": "warn", "quote": "FB Messenger, X Chat, WhatsApp, Signal, etc... NO. Just LET ME CHAT.", "excerpt": "Am I the only one who doesn't care about E2E encryption, and just want an EU alternative? I DON'T WANT my chats to be \"full E2E encrypted\" with a 6-digit pin, only for me to loose them when I get a new phone. I DON'T WANT having to use a special gateway instead of normal IMAP to access my Proton mail. It really feels like server-side encryption is being forced down my throat and I don't consent. FB Messenger, X Chat,", "context": "", "use_case": "chat", "switched_from": "", "story": "Bye Bye Big Tech: How I Migrated to an Almost All-EU Stack (and Saved 500\u20ac/Year)"}, {"id": 740036097, "item_id": 46252256, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46252256", "by": "laserbeam", "date": "2025-12-12", "stance": "warn", "quote": "The fact that whatsapp, signal and other platforms tend to have a primary device for keys is bonkers to me.", "excerpt": "Someone needs to design a super dumb and robust system where I can safely store all my keys on all devices I use an account. The fact that whatsapp, signal and other platforms tend to have a primary device for keys is bonkers to me. A primary device that can randomly die, get stolen or fall in a lake. I have lost chat histories more times than I can remember, and I have to be extra diligent about this these days. I d", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Poor Johnny still won't encrypt"}, {"id": 737733712, "item_id": 46108357, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46108357", "by": "zenoprax", "date": "2025-12-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Signal is a perfect direct replacement for WhatsApp but it still requires a phone number.", "excerpt": "This feels like a distraction from what is really needed: a return to open standards/protocols. I love the idea of Matrix but the complexity of key management and federation for the average person is far too high. Signal is a perfect direct replacement for WhatsApp but it still requires a phone number. RCS is good enough... as a fallback protocol. I don't want a dependency on a phone number or a single physical devic", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "WhatsApp will become interoperable with other messaging apps in Europe"}, {"id": 737401809, "item_id": 46087613, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46087613", "by": "Zambyte", "date": "2025-11-29", "stance": "warn", "quote": "There is no way to use the Signal app on a device without a camera (USB cameras are even explicitly blocked!)", "excerpt": "There is no way to use the Signal app on a device without a camera (USB cameras are even explicitly blocked!), and sync it with another computer. I use a Daylight computer as my primary mobile machine, which does not have a camera. The Molly app is the only way I am able to use Signal on multiple devices.", "context": "uses a Daylight computer without a camera", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Molly: An Improved Signal App"}, {"id": 737357456, "item_id": 46084841, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46084841", "by": "SigUp91", "date": "2025-11-28", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Signal blocks not only the specific app from working if it's not updated, but disables your whole account if you can't update the mobile app.", "excerpt": "Signal blocks not only the specific app from working if it's not updated, but disables your whole account if you can't update the mobile app. I had to live without a phone for about a year. First my phone broke and I couldn't repair it or buy a new one, then I lost my phone number due to unpaid fees. I kept using the Linux Electron app, updating it as often as possible. I saw this message on the Linux app after a whi", "context": "lived a year without a phone", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "Molly: An Improved Signal App"}, {"id": 735738977, "item_id": 45983686, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45983686", "by": "joecool1029", "date": "2025-11-19", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I really soured on Signal early", "excerpt": "> Telegram, for all its faults, has an excellent desktop app. Their developers are also very responsive to PR's, I have a couple GCC build fixes in it. I really soured on Signal early with when running BB10, they would not let us fork and use/distribute websocket builds to get around not having google play services on available on that platform: https://github.com/libresignal/libresignal/issues/37#issuecomment-217211", "context": "", "use_case": "messaging", "switched_from": "", "story": "I just want working RCS messaging"}, {"id": 734800848, "item_id": 45925053, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45925053", "by": "thaumaturgy", "date": "2025-11-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The most engaging online interaction I've had recently has been some local community groups on Signal", "excerpt": "You're not alone. I've been on the web since around 1997, something like that. I remember it as a fun distraction, but also as a place that had recognizable handles, behind which sat a real person somewhere else in the world. Unrestrained SEO and the failure of search engines (or, in Google's case, complicity veering towards enthusiastic support) to do anything about that was the first thing that, for me, took a lot ", "context": "", "use_case": "local community groups", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Is building for the web even worth it now?"}]}