Not just sucks, but is limited. Like, you can’t even register there! To use Signal without a smartphone, you’d need workarounds that are unfriendly to an average person! All while a computer is far easier to make private than a phone.

I’ve used it because it actually allowed me to register, while the registration in the official app broke (my best guess is due to lack of Google services, because that’s the popup the app got stuck on). And if I knew about it earlier, I could’ve used it to register in an Android VM and then tie a desktop client - because unlike the original, it did not force you to use your camera, you could just use a link. Another important quality for me is the ability to use arbitrary Socks rather than Signal’s own - when every protocol has a chance to be blocked, flexibility is important, and having a standalone proxy may be more convenient than a whole-device VPN (that you’d have to keep on all the time to receive notifications).

From what I understand, in my country OpenVPN and Wireguard work fine within the borders, but the protocols are blocked to foreign servers.

Brought to you by Kape Technologies lobby.

How is it privacy if it locks you into using an OS that reports on you?

I am saying this because I saw this happen. Whenever I accidentally peek into a random’s phone on a bus, chances are the homescreen has a VPN app. The blocked social media did have a bit of a decline, but remain very popular, especially Youtube, which was likely the biggest drive for people to bypass the blocks. The lack of credit is more about them often choosing shady VPN services.

I meant because of sanctions they don’t receive anything from Youtube itself. Yet they go on.

I wonder if Tiktok would respond by making their mobile webapp better in this case.

By the way, if the traffic is throttled and not outright blocked - that would mean things like GoodbyeDPI would be likely possible instead of VPNs!

We have a similar situation on Youtube - the site itself doesn’t pay the creators anymore. But everyone who had Youtube as a profession is still there. Some depend on a Patreon-like service, some on their own sponsorships.

Meanwhile the mainstream would probably just download whatever VPNs they can.

I know some people who don’t like their glasses, but dislike how contacts feel more. As for me - I don’t wear contacts that much because they’re a recurring expense.

Haven’t tried Snikket, but tried the software it is based on (Prosody). Works very well and is easy to set up, and heard good things about Snikket! If you go through - good luck with it)

Passive data collection is an issue for me even though I am also not important. I do use Signal, but only with my true identity and with a few people I know from real life. When it comes to purely online communities, I compartmentalize my identities.

If it’s a personal server, XMPP actually pretty botherless) Matrix did randomly break for me, though.

The clients I tried for Matrix had similar trouble with multiacc, yeah. However, my XMPP clients do have a tab with accounts you can toggle on and off.

Yeah! One of my issues with Signal is how clunky it is to have several profiles - something I cannot imagine living without. Not only would you need separate phone numbers, but you’d also need separate clients (or separate profiles with the same app on mobile, or different users on desktop).

The people in the echo chamber seem to actually enjoy yelling at people outside of it, though. So it’s not as enjoyable for them either.

And where I am at, Telegram is just the main social network nowadays. VKontakte became unusable garbage even for an average person, Facebook never gained traction in the first place, Instagram and Tiktok are not that suitable for communities, Whatsapp is purely a messenger - and Telegram appeals to everyone, being a hybrid of a social media and messenger. So, while I was able to avoid Whatsapp, Telegram is actually hard to leave. Unuversity, art meetups, education channels - all there. I did get a few people to use encrypted messaging with me, but most don’t care about privacy because Telegram is convenient and everyone is on there.

I doubt this cloud infrastructure would be able to disobey the main organization’s orders or go on without it if said organization is told to shit down.

I don’t pay for my media now because I’m poor by Western standards, but I did pay for some games unavailable on GOG - bought them on Steam, then downloaded a corresponding DRMless version. Wouldn’t want to buy physical media just to rip, because I don’t want it to occupy space, so I’d have to throw them out or resell. There are some exceptions, though - wouldn’t mind certain CDs as memorabilia.