Mixed Signals

Well, this is a bit of a bummer. Recently, Signal added a blog post announcing that it would close off one of it’s server-side components in order to “protect us” from spam.

As a Signal user and a open-source supporter, I feel let down by this change. Signal already has some things to be criticized for: making it hard to self-host the backend, positioning their servers under US companies - AWS and Microsoft, that could potentially shut down the whole service if given the order from the US government, and not publishing the client on F-Droid are the largest that I can think of. The platform did not need an image problem as well.

I mean, I get it - spam on Signal is an issue and something should be done about it. But handling the issue this way ruins the face that Signal is trying to build over the years. Closing off parts of the software while boasting about being open, especially with the reasoning that it’s “for our protection”, gives off really mixed signals (hehe, get it?) over whether Signal should be trusted on keeping their promise to remain open. Too often have we seen a precedent become the norm.

Maybe I am overreacting, maybe I am too paranoid, maybe the change is for good and it will really reduce spam on Signal, but one thing is certain for me - Signal will be watched more carefully after this and more privacy-cautious people will certainly back off. For the time being, I will continue using it as it is the only privacy-friendly IM tool that is also user-friendly enough for my family to use. That being said, I will also start keeping an eye out and start considering a switch if similar (or worse) changes happen.