The second I went to sign up and learned a phone number was absolutely required, I knew that declaration was pure bullshit.
Comment on Telegram is exposing their users privacy.
Max_P@lemmy.max-p.me 2 days ago
Telegram was built to protect activists and ordinary people from corrupt governments and corporations – we do not allow criminals to abuse our platform to evade justice.
So who gets to pick what’s a lawful request and criminal activity? It’s criminal in some states to seek an abortion or help with an abortion, so would they hand out the IPs of those “criminals”? Because depending on who you ask some will tell you they’re basically murderers. And that’s just one example.
Good privacy apps have nothing to hand out to any government, like Signal.
Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
helenslunch@feddit.nl 2 days ago
Signal requires that as well. Their privacy is definitely not bullshit. As far as I can tell, it’s a spam mitigation method.
Ganbat@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 days ago
It’s bad for privacy no matter how you sell it. Unless you have a good amount of disposable income to buy up burner numbers all the time, a phone number tends to be incredibly identifying. So if a government agency comes along saying “Hey, we know this account sent this message and you have to give us everything you have about this account,” for the average person, it doesn’t end up being that different than having given them your full id.
calamityjanitor@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Another aspect is the social graph. It’s targeted for normies to easily switch to.
Very few people want to install a communication app, open the compose screen for the first time, and be met by an empty list of who they can communicate with.
signal.org/blog/private-contact-discovery/
By using phone numbers, you can message your friends without needing to have them all register usernames and tell them to you. It also means Signal doesn’t need to keep a copy of your contact list on their servers, everyone has their local contact list.
This means private messages for loads of people, their goal.
Hey, we know this account sent this message and you have to give us everything you have about this account
It’s a bit backwards, since your account is your phone number, the agency would be asking “give us everything you have from this number”. They’ve already IDed you at that point.
PapstJL4U@lemmy.world [bot] 1 day ago
Guys like you see privacy as a monolith, that it never is. Unusable privacy is meanigless as email had shown. Privacy of communications does not mean privacy of communicators and usable authentication can be more important then anonymity.
And all this has to be realised on real-world servers, that are always in reach of real world goverment.
helenslunch@feddit.nl 2 days ago
It’s bad for privacy no matter how you sell it.
I mean it’s not ideal but as long as it’s not tied to literally any other information, the way Signal does it, it’s “fine”, and certainly not “pure bullshit”.
So if a government agency comes along saying “Hey, we know this account sent this message and you have to give us everything you have about this account,” for the average person, it doesn’t end up being that different than having given them your full id.
They have done this several times, they get nothing
TotalFat@lemmy.world 1 day ago
In the US, agents must petition a judge for a search warrant. If granted, the agent may then compel an IT company to produce. If they are able, they must comply. It isn’t up to the CEO to decide what he feels US right.
Look for services that allow your data to be encrypted, but it must also clearly state the service provider does not have the encryption keys – you do. Apple does this, I believe.
helenslunch@feddit.nl 2 days ago
So who gets to pick what’s a lawful request and criminal activity?
The…law?
Arkouda@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
The…law?
In which country?
helenslunch@feddit.nl 2 days ago
The country in which the perpetrator lives or the crime was committed.
Arkouda@lemmy.ca 2 days ago
The country in which the perpetrator lives or the crime was committed. First time using the internet?
In your opinion, all companies must disclose the personal information of customers whenever a Government says “This person broke the law”?
woelkchen@lemmy.world 1 day ago
So who gets to pick what’s a lawful request and criminal activity?
Probably Telegram themselves. Durov was forced into exile by Putin.
shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Exactly. The strive for zero knowledge is the proper way to be going.
halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world 2 days ago
But then you can’t sell your customer’s data for profit. Even if you don’t now, you still have that option in the future.
shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
Exactly. Which is the entire reason you should do it. Since you can’t sell your customers for profit, that means you have to profit off of your customers. And another business could start up and compete with you. Also, your customers will trust you more.