I was unaware of this change, and it’s perfectly acceptable. No one has any ground to lambast Signal for requiring phone numbers to get an account. I think that’s a perfectly reasonable spam mitigation technique. The issue is having to shotgun your phone number to every Howard and Susan that you want to use Signal to communicate with.
This was honestly the only thing holding me back from actually using Signal. I’ll likely register for an account now.
So, you’re going to get two schools of thought on this, and one of them is wrong. Horrendously wrong. For perspective, I was a certified CEHv7, so take that for what its worth.
There’s a saying in security circles “security through obscurity isn’t security,” which is a saying from the 1850s and people continually attempt to apply the logic to today’s standards and it’s–frankly stupid–but just plain silly. It generally means that if you hide the key to your house under the floor mat, there’s no point to having the lock, because it doesn’t lend you any real security and that if you release the schematics to security protocols and/or devices (like locks), it makes them less secure. And in this specific context, it makes sense and is an accurate statement. Lots of people will make the argument that F/OSS is more secure because it’s openly available and many will make the argument that it’s less secure. But each argument is moot because it deals with software development and not your private data. lol.
When you apply the same logic to technology and private data it breaks down tremendously. This is the information age. With a persons phone number I can very likely find their home address or their general location. Registered cell phones will forever carry with them the city in which they were activated. So if I have your phone number, and know your name is John Smith, I can look up your number and see where it was activated. It’ll tell me “Dallas, Texas” and now I’m not just looking for John Smith, I’m looking for John Smith in Dallas, Texas. With successive breakdowns like this I will eventually find your home address or at the very least your neighborhood.
The supposition made by Signal (and anyone who defends this model) is that generally anyone with your private number is supposed to have it and even if they do, there’s not much they can do with it. But that’s so incredibly wrong it’s not even funny in 2025.
I’ve seen a great number of people in this thread post things like “privacy isn’t anonymity and anonymity isn’t security,” which frankly I find gobstopping hilarious from a community that will break their neck to suggest everyone run VPNs to protect their online identity as a way to protect yourself from fingerprinting and ad tracking.
It frankly amazes me. Protecting your data, including your phone number is the same as protecting your home address and your private data through redirection from a VPN. I don’t think many in this community would argue against using a VPN. But why they feel you should shotgun your phone number all over the internet is fucking stupid, IMO, or that you should only use a secure messaging protocol to speak to people you know, and not people you don’t know. It’s all just so…stupid.
They’ll then continue to say that you should only use Signal to talk to people you know because “that’s what its for!” as if protecting yourself via encryption from compete fucking strangers has no value all of a sudden. lol
You have to be very careful in this community because there are a significant number of armchair experts which simply parrot the things that they’ve read from others ad-nauseam without actually thinking about the basis of what they’re saying.
OK. That’s my rant. I’m ready for your downvote.
Google Play Services is at the very core of Android and it will only get worse from here, and a very significant portion of the Android ecosystem requires GPS to function. Auto updates, built-in Android security features, a significant portion of secure apps like banking and financial service applications, Find my Phone, Cloud Backups, etc. The list goes on. And it’s funny because each one of these removed features are generally replaced with a third party alternative, which means you’re still trusting a third party with your data… I could understand if you didn’t want any company to have your data. That makes sense. But you specifically curtail Google who authors the OS in favor of a third party who also might be doing the same things with your data anyways. It’s all just so incredibly stupid.
You may be completely happy with Graphene, but the overwhelming vast majority of people won’t be because it removes the specific advantages of using Android as an ecosystem.
If you want to be free of Google, then be free of Google and don’t use hardware and an OS that they designed and made. It’s like hating Nazi’s but wearing an SS jacket because “it’s warm.” It’s fuckin’ mind-blindingly crazy.
De-googled projects get none of the benefit of being android, while all of the downfall of being android. So either use it or don’t. It simply doesn’t make any sense.
It’s like buying a Tesla and then replacing all of the systems within it because you hate Tesla. Like, wtf. Why would you buy it then? End of the day its your money, do what you want, but still. What the fuck.
I’ve been looking for a calculator app for years now that fits what I need I need it for and have yet to find a good one. There was a good one a few years ago called function-something which allowed you to create your own mathematic expressions and it was super awesome, but it’s been discontinued… :(
EDIT: To those asking, I’ve essentially tried the first 50 that show up under “calculator” in Google Play. If you posted it, I’ve very likely tried it and found it lacking.
Is there any privacy advantage or security concern over them ?
This is more of a philosophical question than anything. If you trust that they’re not using your data for anything nefarious, I really advocate for RethinkDNS. It’s a really great service and truly fills a need between the clear-net and running your own DNS.
If you don’t trust RethinkDNS, etc, etc, to not do anything nefarious, then it’s time to setup your own.
I always use rethinkdns and block bypassed dns, so i think now every dns is routed through rethinkdns and its impossible to cause a leak. Is that a myth as no dns app can provide that much privacy or security ?
I wouldn’t say it’s a myth or anything, but to say you’re 100% secure from leak? Probably don’t trust that feeling. Keep it at 99% secure with 1% suspicion.
How effective is an application firewall than a network level firewall like nextdns ?
Like most security software, it depends on how you use them. If you use firewalls effectively, even software based firewalls can work exceptionally well.
may i use a application firewall or network level firewall ?
You can do both. Software based requires you to setup something on each device you want to firewall. Network is a blanket and will affect all of your devices with only one setup. But either works just fine–just depends on how much effort you want to put into it, I guess.
- Not open source doesn’t mean “non-safe”–that’s a pretty dangerous and completely incorrect characterization
- The apps you list are literally the most non-safe services you could have possibly listed
- That’s not what a wrapper is, I think you mean front-end
- Using the services at all means your data isn’t protected, no matter which front-end you use the service collects your data, not the application you use
If you want to take your privacy seriously, then stop using these services. It’s the service themselves that aren’t privacy respecting, not the application in which you use to interface with them…
Again, they’re not denying you entry permanently, but they absolutely can slow fuck you for weeks until your device is unlocked and checked. You people live in some little utopia that doesn’t exist.
We just deported a US citizen to Argentina without due process and its taking a federal court order for the US government to do anything about it. You really think they care about your “right” to reenter the country?
Pursuant to CBP’s border search authority explained above, when presenting their effects for inspection, all travelers are obligated to present their electronic devices and the information resident on the device in a condition that allows for the examination of the device and its contents. If the electronic device cannot be inspected because it is protected by a passcode or encryption or other security mechanism, that device may be subject to exclusion, detention, or other appropriate action or disposition. Additionally, the traveler may face longer processing times to allow for CBP to access the contents of the device.
Taken directly from CBP’s website; regardless of any citizenship, or nationality, they can refuse to let you reenter the country until your device is searched. Period. I don’t know where this idea that “I’m an American, they can’t refuse to let me back into my own country!” narrative came from, but it is entirely fictitious. There are dozens of reasons for you to be refused reentry.
Locking down your phone does nothing for you… If they see that you have a phone and they can’t access it they simply won’t let you in the country regardless of who you are.
The only solution to this is to simply not have an electronic device when going through customs.
Overnight your cell phone to yourself if you’re that worried about it. Any other solution is superfluous and outright stupid.
If you’re entering the US through Mexico and they demand you unlock your phone and you refuse or it’s “locked down” you don’t win that conflict. You’re just a permanent resident of Mexico now because you’re not getting into the United States regardless of your citizenship status.
There is no such mention by OP about the legal definition.
It’s contextual. It doesn’t have to be pointed out. If you’re talking about censorship, specifically censorship when dealing with your rights or government in general, then you’re speaking about the legal definition. Speaking about your job censoring you? The noun.
The discrepancy is because you looked up the noun, censorship. The censorship being referred to here is a legally defined term which is when the Government censors information;
The term censorship derives from the official duties of the Roman censor who, beginning in 443 b.c., conducted the census by counting, assessing, and evaluating the populace. Originally neutral in tone, the term has come to mean the suppression of ideas or images by the government or others with authority.
Look up censorship in a law dictionary and you’ll see the difference.
The only type of censorship that you have protection from is from the government. For example your employer can censor you completely legally. They can tell you that you’re not allowed to say certain things and if you do you can lose your job. All of that is perfectly legal. If the government does the same thing it’s illegal.
That’s the difference. Casual censorship versus Governmental censorship.
Thank you for being intelligent.
Censorship in most people’s contextual usage of it is Government censorship or protection from Government censorship–which is the only protection we have afforded to us by the Constitution.
For example you can be censored by your employer completely legally. They can tell you that you’re not allowed to say certain things and if you do you can be fired for those things completely legally. You still have the right to say them but you’re not free of consequence if you do.
The Government does not have the same right unless it deals with non-protected speech, like hate speech.
Decisions have consequences. Unfortunately some bad actors prefer certain TLDs because they’re easy to get and inexpensive. If you choose to also pursue one of those TLDs it’s lamentable but you’re kind of throwing your head into the same ring.
Censorship is blocking TLDs because you don’t like what they’re saying. Blocking TLDs because they’re mostly used by bad actors is just good threat assessment.
Does this key fob log every entry/exit?
Entirely depends on how the reader system is setup and configured. It’s likely, but not a guarantee.
He’s cautious with cell phones and leaves them at home, but wonders if the key fob could potentially cause problems.
They’re a passive, no power system. They require energy from the reader to function. They’re not exactly GPS trackers, but maybe someone somewhere has figured out a way to track them.
With democrats not wanting to stand up, and the judicial branch being silent, there’s nothing that can be done right this second. The best advice anyone not supposed to be here can have right now is to simply not be here. If you are, you might get caught and then sent to some inhumane bullshit camp they got popping up.
I’ve been using their service for years and I advocate it whenever I can. You link their service to a bank account and then generate throw away credit card numbers which one used deduct the balance directly from your checking account.
You can set spending limits on the virtual cards, you can make them one time use only, and you can make them lock themselves to a vendor so even if someone steals that credit card number they can’t use it.
I very highly recommend using their service to protect yourself using online payment systems.
As far as obfuscating your purchase history, that’s kind of part of the territory. That information will always be available to your banking institution and if so facto, the government…
Chrome shouldn’t be struggling with that amount of hosts to chug through.
You’re using software to do something it wasn’t designed to do. So this comment is beyond meaningless. There’s no value whatsoever in it.
My home network already uses unbound with proper blocklist configured
So then why would you even think to do something like this? Like…why?
5-10 second latency for every single request
I mean, yeah? This isn’t a bug, this is just the consequence of how you have it setup. You’re telling your browser to check this file with (likely) 100,000+ entries in it on each page load. If this is something you’d like to do, then you should be running AdGuard Home or PiHole. Using a hosts file directly is a really bad idea.
Well, first of all, using a computer network to do illegal shit is always illegal, no matter where you are in the world. Almost all sovereign countries have laws against this, offering reciprocity. So it really depends on what you’re doing with your VPN. No company out there is going to attempt to shelter you from the consequences of your own actions.
The difference is when the actions you’re doing aren’t considered illegal. The FBI has no right to go to a foreign company and demand your information over piracy in countries where that’s not a crime. But child porn? Participating in botnets/hacking/cyber-crimes? Yeah, they’re going to roll over you so quickly you won’t even know what happened. Doesn’t matter who you go with.
You should operate under the assumption that all VPN providers will eventually make that list. There’s no VPN provider out there that will function better than one you setup yourself on a VPS. Find one with a good and stable connection speed and you shouldn’t have any issues. Generally they’re really inexpensive, too.
VPN providers have a lot of customers, so when a service gets a connection hundreds of times a minute from a single IP, they either know they’re being attacked in some way or people are using a VPN to access their services. Generally its not a big deal until they start IP banning. If it’s just you and your devices on a single VPN, it’s much much more difficult to tell and likely won’t be blocked for arbitrary reasons.
https://github.com/Droid-ify/client
Can use any open-android store repository, including IzzyOnDroid and F-Droid. It’s the only real choice.