Molly
Security-hardened fork of the Signal messenger for Android.
HN commenters use it to run Signal on Android tablets and secondary devices,1234 and for background WebSocket notifications that do not depend on Google push.56 The most common caveats are that it is Android-only78 and that its updates have at times lagged behind Signal's.910
Why people recommend it
Multi-device support · 3
Lets Signal run on Android tablets, secondary phones and camera-less devices that the official Android app won't link.
“It has been reliable for me in that role since the Pixel Tab came out”
“The Molly app is the only way I am able to use Signal on multiple devices.”
Show 1 more
“Maybe it's because I use Molly as a secondary device (my tablet) but I never had an issue where it didn't work for weeks.”
Push options · 2
Offers Google Play Services, WebSocket and UnifiedPush notifications, with one user reporting under 1% battery use on WebSocket.
“Molly is a security-hardened Signal client only on Android”
“it does receive notifications over the websocket it keeps open in the background”
Privacy-focused setups · 3
Commenters list it as their Signal client when moving to GrapheneOS or other de-Googled Android setups.
“Signal (I use Molly but it's only on Android)”
“Molly/Signal for messaging”
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“Molly, a fork of signal messenger”
Security hardening · 1
Described as a security-hardened Signal client.
“Molly is a security-hardened Signal client only on Android”
Caveats and dissent
Update lag · 2
Molly went through a period without updates or security updates, and users noticed releases falling behind Signal's.
“Molly is a security-hardened Signal client only on Android”
“I use signal on my primary phone and Molly on a secondary phone.”
Android only · 2
It is only available on Android.
“Molly is a security-hardened Signal client only on Android”
“Signal (I use Molly but it's only on Android)”
Supply-chain trust · 1
One user questions whether adding a second entity that signs the APKs is worth the supply-chain risk.
“it does receive notifications over the websocket it keeps open in the background”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- Molly: An Improved Signal App 3 mentions
- Molly (Signal fork) has not been updated since 3 months and is vulnerable 2 mentions
- Registration without a phone number on Signal will use zero-knowledge proofs 2 mentions
- GrapheneOS in 2027 available on high-end Motorola phones 1 mention
- GrapheneOS will remain usable by anyone without requiring personal information 1 mention
- Ask HN: What is your opinion on non-mainstream mobile OS options (e.g. /e/OS)? 1 mention
Data: molly.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 10
“I just released a stopgap with the fixes”
“I use signal on my primary phone and Molly on a secondary phone.”
“Maybe it's because I use Molly as a secondary device (my tablet) but I never had an issue where it didn't work for weeks.”
“Molly is a security-hardened Signal client only on Android”
“Signal (I use Molly but it's only on Android)”
“Molly/Signal for messaging”
“Molly, a fork of signal messenger”
“The Molly app is the only way I am able to use Signal on multiple devices.”
“It has been reliable for me in that role since the Pixel Tab came out”
“it does receive notifications over the websocket it keeps open in the background”