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Comment by rconti | Hacker News Reader

If only Signal found a way to keep the desktop app linked for more than 30 days. There have been a series of FRs that constantly get ignored and "you're using it wrong" from the developers.

Thankfully the one friend that was using Signal finally gave up on it since everybody else was always missing his messages, so I no longer have to re-link every single computer every time I use the app. (with a 30 day expiry and 3 computers, it meant virtually 100% of the time I tried to use the desktop app I had to relink to my phone).

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> "you're using it wrong" from the developers

This kinda response is common with Signal. It won’t even allow backups on iOS and refuses to handle scenarios where one may have a broken device or a lost device (the only way to retain chats and change devices is through a device-to-device transfer when they’re in close proximity; there is no iOS<->Android chat transfer either). Signal seems like it’s meant for chats that don’t have much value, where losing messages isn’t a big deal. But the app, at least on iOS, will never stop pestering you often if you don’t give it access to contacts. Something is broken between the vision for the platform and the implementation.

IMHO, anonymity takes a certain amount of unavoidable effort. If you're just chatting with friends, maybe you really don't need Signal. If you are whistleblowing a large corporation or a government, then it makes more sense?

A significant value of implementing security as "normal" or by default is that you don't look suspicious for having it.

Agreed. Think of all the other things we have come to take as normal.

Carrying car keys (or a fob)

House keys.

Wallets.

IDs.

They all require some mental effort.

> IMHO, anonymity takes a certain amount of unavoidable effort.

If anonymity was a factor, and not ease of use, they’d never only allow phone numbers as login.

After reading this thread, it seems like a necessary paradox. Some quotes in here claim that to use some other number doesn't really allieviate that risk since it is effectively transferred to the signal servers. E.g., there's no way to get around that fact that you must be identified to communicate, it is a matter of who owns that ID ... Hence the paradox. (I may be misunderstanding here.)

Phone numbers are, in some countries including Germany, tied to your identity (as in you can’t even get a number without government issued ID), it doesn’t get much worse for an identifier if anonymity is the goal.

So ultimately this is a service-provider problem? E.g., signal with server issued ID?

It’s the law here, KYC for phone numbers. So even a pseudonym would be better.

If you want a backup just copy the sqlite database from the Desktop app. The encryption key is stored in a json in the same folder. Not as convenient as an iOS backup admittedly.

I've used Signal on Linux for several years and have never been unexpected unlinked.

Same here. I do sometimes click a link, and it crashes or restarts. But then my full history is there, and new messages come in. Only have to relink when I buy a new phone.

This only happens to me exclusively after I've updated the software. But never have to relink. Just the crash after a link click. OSX handles it better by presenting me a "restart signal" button after an update.

Do you let 30+ days elapse between opening Signal? It happens to me ALL the time on machines I rarely use.

No, I use it regularly. Seems like unlinking after an extended period of inactivity would be a good thing, though.

Are you talking about going 30 days without connecting or using the app? I've had the app on my machine for years and never once had to relink. I do use it almost every day though.

What OS? I've used the Signal desktop app on Windows paired to iOS for more than a year and have never once had to re-link.

It's quite common on a Windows machine in our house. Not sure which version.

I've had Signal on a Win11 machine for about 4 months now and haven't had this come up.

I, however, get this regularly.

I last used Signal desktop on Windows with Android a couple years ago for several months and never had to re-link.

Same setup but paired to an Android device. More than a year, no re-linking that I can remember.

Yeah same. On my last PC I went a good two years or so without ever having to re-link. For my current Windows laptop, it's been about a year and I've never had to re-link.

Same on macOS + iOS. Years, in fact. Not once I had to re-link.

It really depends on your usage patterns with Signal. Most of my Signal usage is on the iOS client. However, I occasionally use it on MacOS and rarely on Windows.

If I keep the MacOS client open and active every few days, it doesn't have to relink. If I don't open it for a while, I'll have to relink.

OS X. It's a feature of the app; if you don't use it for 30 days on that computer, it requires a re-link.

The annoying thing to me is that every few year or so they switch how they distribute the signal app and don't provide a tool to migrate the old data. Yes I could do it manually by finding and copying their config dir from the old destination to the new one, but that's annoying and their whole selling point is that it'll just work for the kind of user who wouldn't think about that.

(I can't remember the exact switches, but if I recall correctly I was notified I needed to switch from a Chrome app to a Snap, then to a Deb, and finally to a Flatpack.)

It’s trivial to get Signal messages from Desktops synced. If you have anything more than a casual observer threat model, syncing to Windows/MacOS means digital forensic types like me can get it and parse it. Phones are actually more secure for Signal in this regard.

That's fine, I don't even need a chat history. I just don't want to have to unlink, scan a QR code, and relink, every time my computer unlinks, which is nearly each time i use the app (since a given computer is usually over the 30 day mark).

Yeah I get this a lot too with Signal on macOS

I've never had this issue on macOS, and use it almost daily...

That's why you don't. I have to relink every time I try to use it because I use it so rarely. I forgot what the cut off is these days (30 days or 6 weeks).

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