Can you run Signal with basically no iOS or Android devices right now and still do the (mandatory) prove-your-phone-id steps?
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@cwebber I do use a Linux phone right now
You basically have to use something like Waydroid to run the Android Signal app (desktop only works if you link it to a mobile app) but you can verify the number through a simple SMS code, so it doesn’t even need to be the same device.@cwebber@social.coop Right now I have Waydroid on my phone for that (which uses half my RAM each time I start it). I kinda wish I had put it on my laptop instead (I probably can still move the data though) as the phone doesn’t yet have a camera driver and linking a desktop or alternative client (like this one that I haven’t tested) requires you to scan a limited-time QR code (I assume Waydroid can use my laptop’s webcam but I haven’t tested that).
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Can you run Signal with basically no iOS or Android devices right now and still do the (mandatory) prove-your-phone-id steps?
It feels like very near future I, and everyone else who cares about computing autotonomy, we're all gonna have to start runnin' the Linux phones, no matter how non-ideal that user experience is right now
@cwebber I once talked with someone who had set up a Signal account while trying not to use any Android or iOS devices. I believe part of what they did was use some emulation, including the Android SDK. There's a step where one has to scan a QR code. To get around that: the SDK includes a sandbox for testing camera functionality, and lets the user "walk" around a little "room" -- and you can put specific images on the "wallpaper".
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@cwebber@social.coop I think it's possible with signal-cli, but I haven't tried it.
@cwebber@social.coop and molly-im on Android is Signal patched to support running as a linked device, among other things.
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Can you run Signal with basically no iOS or Android devices right now and still do the (mandatory) prove-your-phone-id steps?
It feels like very near future I, and everyone else who cares about computing autotonomy, we're all gonna have to start runnin' the Linux phones, no matter how non-ideal that user experience is right now
@cwebber for sure you can run Molly in Waydroid (as a linked device). I have been meening to try Signal proper.. but haven't had time.
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Can you run Signal with basically no iOS or Android devices right now and still do the (mandatory) prove-your-phone-id steps?
It feels like very near future I, and everyone else who cares about computing autotonomy, we're all gonna have to start runnin' the Linux phones, no matter how non-ideal that user experience is right now
I've been able to do this by downloading the Android SDK and launching a VM 'phone' to install signal, then linking it to the desktop app by pointing the computer's webcam at its own screen. Every so often I have to launch the VM and run the app or the desktop client whines and stops working. It sucks pretty bad. Being tied to phones is the dumbest part of Signal.
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Can you run Signal with basically no iOS or Android devices right now and still do the (mandatory) prove-your-phone-id steps?
It feels like very near future I, and everyone else who cares about computing autotonomy, we're all gonna have to start runnin' the Linux phones, no matter how non-ideal that user experience is right now
@cwebber the prove-your-phone-id and ios/android requirement is precisely why i don't use signal
i really hate how certain parts of society require a phone number at all. i have a google voice number from like 17 or 18 years ago at this point that i got before i even had a phone. i would prefer not to use it, but unfortunately my medical provider requires sms 2fa and only supports sms 2fa. banks are also notorious for this.
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@cwebber@social.coop I think it's possible with signal-cli, but I haven't tried it.
@Seirdy @cwebber signal-cli does indeed advertise supporting registration.
https://github.com/AsamK/signal-clialso i do want to ask, don't most Mobile Linux projects support running android apps in one way or another? it should be possible then (if not easy, though maybe there's some reservations i'm not aware of) to run the mobile version of Signal on a Linux phone.
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@cwebber question, aren't there degooled Android versions that would also work? That's been my backup plan since I have a pixel and I think that's the line that they do the most work on... or am I missing something obvious?
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@cwebber the prove-your-phone-id and ios/android requirement is precisely why i don't use signal
i really hate how certain parts of society require a phone number at all. i have a google voice number from like 17 or 18 years ago at this point that i got before i even had a phone. i would prefer not to use it, but unfortunately my medical provider requires sms 2fa and only supports sms 2fa. banks are also notorious for this.
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Can you run Signal with basically no iOS or Android devices right now and still do the (mandatory) prove-your-phone-id steps?
It feels like very near future I, and everyone else who cares about computing autotonomy, we're all gonna have to start runnin' the Linux phones, no matter how non-ideal that user experience is right now
@cwebber not that it would be anywhere near a normienormie-friendly solution (or the prove-your-phone issue wouldn't be an actual issue unless there were explicit Signal upstream support) but this made me wonder what happened to Bunnie's Precursor and... apparently it just quietly died two years ago?
https://www.crowdsupply.com/sutajio-kosagi/precursor -
Can you run Signal with basically no iOS or Android devices right now and still do the (mandatory) prove-your-phone-id steps?
It feels like very near future I, and everyone else who cares about computing autotonomy, we're all gonna have to start runnin' the Linux phones, no matter how non-ideal that user experience is right now
@cwebber Google isn't going to listen to petitions for "Keep Android Open", and we're trending towards a world where your device has to be locked down and untampered with before you can access any services or communication networks. Oh and it'll be your form of ID too, so no more anonymity on the internet.
At that point even good functioning Linux phones will not save us.
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Can you run Signal with basically no iOS or Android devices right now and still do the (mandatory) prove-your-phone-id steps?
It feels like very near future I, and everyone else who cares about computing autotonomy, we're all gonna have to start runnin' the Linux phones, no matter how non-ideal that user experience is right now
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Can you run Signal with basically no iOS or Android devices right now and still do the (mandatory) prove-your-phone-id steps?
It feels like very near future I, and everyone else who cares about computing autotonomy, we're all gonna have to start runnin' the Linux phones, no matter how non-ideal that user experience is right now
@cwebber Here's Signal Android running on that Linux phone I got at FOSDEM (FuriPhone FLX1s) and signed in with my usual phone number
I wasn't able to get local message transfer working from another one of my devices (their cloud backup would probably work?) but the sign-in at least worked okay
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Can you run Signal with basically no iOS or Android devices right now and still do the (mandatory) prove-your-phone-id steps?
It feels like very near future I, and everyone else who cares about computing autotonomy, we're all gonna have to start runnin' the Linux phones, no matter how non-ideal that user experience is right now
@cwebber I'm hoping VeilidChat is ready to use with my family by the time I stop being able to use my Pixel 8 with GrapheneOS.
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Can you run Signal with basically no iOS or Android devices right now and still do the (mandatory) prove-your-phone-id steps?
It feels like very near future I, and everyone else who cares about computing autotonomy, we're all gonna have to start runnin' the Linux phones, no matter how non-ideal that user experience is right now
@cwebber You need a number that can receive an SMS. You can use signal-cli as your "primary" device. It's a bit cumbersome, you need to take a screenshot of a QR code that keeps changing (or patch Signal Desktop to show an URL?) and feed that into signal-cli, but it works.
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@cwebber@social.coop I think it's possible with signal-cli, but I haven't tried it.
@Seirdy@pleroma.envs.net I managed to do it like a week ago, even "re-registering" a phone number, which is likely harder than the initial registration. I used this gist as a guide. And since I'm mentioning it, thanks @domi@donotsta.re for pointing me that way. <img class="not-responsive emoji" src="https://social.wuatek.is/emoji/blobfox/blobfoxheart.png" title=":blobfoxheart:" /> @cwebber@social.coop
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Can you run Signal with basically no iOS or Android devices right now and still do the (mandatory) prove-your-phone-id steps?
It feels like very near future I, and everyone else who cares about computing autotonomy, we're all gonna have to start runnin' the Linux phones, no matter how non-ideal that user experience is right now
@cwebber yes (https://github.com/AsamK/signal-cli ) - but I haven’t tried. This can be combined with SignalUT (https://github.com/pparent76/SignalUT) - which I am using.
Another alternative is to set up a Matrix bridge and use the CinnyUT client, which provides a better experience.
The experience with Linux phones isn’t that bad (a bit rough around the edges), but security is an issue (at least for the OSs based on old Android kernels, like Ubuntu Touch).
