Signal allows you to speak confidentially, therefore it is private. It is not, by default, anonymous. Yes, this plus the centralized server mean that potentially dangerous metadata, like relationship maps, can be collected. All indications are this isn't the case, but that's not something you can count on.

If you need anonymity, which you probably do at least a bit, use simplex. And yes, having more people using anonymous services like simplex is a good thing for the community as a whole. That said, I'm not going to try to convince all of my friends to use simplex. It's just too far from the mainstream, missing too many features. Signal is a sufficient compromise for most people, and it's sufficient for me for most purposes.

Here, go argue with this guy for a few weeks, and give us a break for a while.

Privacy and anonymity is different things

You can use whatever app you like, but I think this adds confusion.

Signal is private because no one can see your messages except the people you are messaging. The government can't, Signal themselves can't.

Signal is not anonymous only in the sense that the government can check if you use Signal. That's it. They can tell if you use Signal. They can't link messages to your number in any way through data requests, etc.

Not forcing anyone to use Signal, but if you choose to, you can know it is private.

(So this post is confusing privacy with anonimity basically)

This thread shows the success of Signal's PR campaigns, and how a shiny app can get people to overlook all the privacy concerns. They're just as successful as Apple at getting people to think that a US-based corporation hosted on Amazon's servers and subject to national security letters, whose privacy model is "just trust us with your phone number", is in any way secure.

Signal is private, what you should differentiate is being anonymous or not. Using your usual phone number is NOT Anonymous but is PRIVATE, as in the content of your messages being only available to you and the person you're talking to

The way you get a phone number depends on you too, so you can be very much be Anonymous even if signal requires a phone number.

Started to write a long paragraph to explain the difference between privacy and anonymity but I now believe this new user is (no idea why) collecting engagement via rage bait. I won't participate in their posts anymore.

It might even come from a good place, namely trying to always do "better" and be "more private" but in practice it's just lead to confusion.

So, late to the party. Me Skuzi. This comment is more targeted towards your responses to user comments, but I would extend that to your entire thesis. So I decided to make an entirely new comment.

Honest questions/comments to follow:

Yes, the US govt can 'compel' a organization such as Signal to allow them to monitor/intercept encrypted messages, The government can even 'compel' a citizen to disclose their encryption key. The cost of non compliance varies from contempt of court to short term incarceration. United States v. Fricosu et al.

However, Signal would only shrug and hand them metadata. Even Signal can't decipher your messages. There are other services unrelated to Signal that operate thusly, such as VPNs, that absolutely do not keep logs and run in RAM only. Some of those VPNs have been raided and servers confiscated by multiple governments with nothing to show for their efforts. If I recall correctly mega.nz and other storage facilities operate along the same lines.

As to the requirement for a phone number, yes they do require a phone number. However, unless they've changed something recently, you can use a free or paid for, burner phone number for verification. The caveat is that if you ever have to recover your account or future verification, you may or may not have access to that number if you used a free service. So, that might be a consideration.

Also, some free services might not work while others will. If signing up for a paid account, burnerapp.com for instance, will allow you to sign up via their website, however you can't use a VPN. WiFi can be acquired at any coffee shop. If you prefer more private methods of payment for these services, there are those that accept crypto.

So, there are 'options.' You just might have to jump through a few hoops to get there.

Secondly, Signal is open source, no? The whole shebang including the protocol is open source. Where might 'they' be putting the backdoor to intercept encrypted messages? I can tell you this, the day the world finds out that the US govt has successfully cracked strong encryption ciphers, is the day you are going to see a lot of movement on this planet. From billion dollar corporations, private entities, governments, and even ne'er-do-wells on Signal.

I'm no 'fanboy', tho there is a lot to be a fan of. I'm not getting any kickbacks, compensation, or monetary advancements. If I need to be schooled, please do share.

Signal does plan to add a paid for service as well as their free service.