this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2026
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Privacy
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Generally couldn't agree more, but
For a widely used chat app with calling and video calling, servers.
A self-inflicted burden because they refuse to liberate the server side code. Besides, they can't be burning through that reserve as they need to pay it back and how on earth are they going to do that?
You're talking about that?
https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Server
They refuse to federate, and the code does not include any federation mechanism. But it sure looks liberated enough to me.
Actually yes. I did not know they released this. I still think my point stands: it's a self imposed burden that is not relieved by spending loaned capital. That only has increased their burdens, because not only do they have to continuously pay for a large quantity of computer resources they have to repay debts and find a way of financing all of it sustainably.
I don't know a lot about signal. My understanding was open-source clients existed, but the server's software was proprietary. I've since read the Wikipedia page and Signal's servers were once federated: "Signal's server architecture was federated between December 2013 and February 2016." That later date is when they ceased federation, claiming it held back the project.
I don't like Signal. The people behind it are the benefactors of looters that reside in Silicon Valley. The project purports to be a non-profit, but burns capital that was accrued in and by Silicon Valley. It could not exist without surveillance-capitalism. Though that's a critique of, perhaps, the entire software economy. Its members are too closely related to its major players though, being ex-employees.
For encrypted communications I would like to direct readers to GNUnet. The entire internet is incompatible with the ideals of privacy and security. You can mount applications on top of it, but the underlying framework is not appropriate. GNUnet is an attempt at creating a secure, decentralized internet. It's a worthwhile project.