Privacy-centric tool advice sites -- Credibility examined -- part 2: messaging services (Signal & Keybase)
Harmful endorsement: Signal
Why it's harmful:
- "Problem with Signal" by a PTIO critic
- "Goodbye Signal" by Resist.Berlin
- (unchecked) Will Signal keys be stored in the cloud? (ref)
site | Signal endorsement | site's position & mission are inconsistent | endorsement contains misinfo or withholds pitfalls |
---|---|---|---|
de-Google-ify | no (but suggests another poor choice: Telegram) | no | n/a w.r.t Signal, but Telegram imposes mobile phone svc. |
Frama | no | no | n/a |
PRISM-Break | yes | yes | site withholds OWS Signal wrongdoing |
PTIO | yes | yes | PTIO cautions about requiring ph#, but neglects to say non-mobile phone users are excluded and withholds most of OWS's wrongdoing & pitfalls. PTIO leads users to a page that hides the existence of an APK download. |
Security Checklist | yes | yes | site withholds OWS Signal wrongdoing |
Surveillance Self-Defense | yes | yes | misinfo: "Signal is a free and open source software" (proof) site withholds OWS Signal wrongdoing but ironically admits to the harm of mobile phones. |
Stallman | no | no | n/a |
Switching Software | yes | yes, if you consider Signal an unethical alternative | site withholds OWS Signal wrongdoing |
ThinkPrivacy | yes | yes, users give up control with Signal as a result of OWS's network protectionism & Signal's use of Google reCAPTCHA. OWS also pushes users into a mass surveillance trap (Google Playstore) | site withholds OWS Signal wrongdoing. |
Harmful endorsement: Keybase
Why it's harmful: article
(May 2020 update: Zoom acquired Keybase)
site | endorsement | site's position & mission are inconsistent | endorsement contains misinfo or withholds pitfalls |
---|---|---|---|
de-Google-ify | no | no | n/a |
Frama | no | no | n/a |
PRISM-Break | no | no | n/a |
PTIO | yes | yes | the warning is esoteric & insignificant compared to all the serious issues that PTIO has actually been told of and recklessly fails to warn users about. |
Security Checklist | no | no | n/a |
Surveillance Self-Defense | yes | yes | site withholds Keybase wrongdoing, and sets users up for leaky and lost communications. |
Stallman | no | no | n/a |
Switching Software | no | no | n/a |
ThinkPrivacy | yes | yes, users give up control with Keybase, which takes copious liberties once it's installed on your system. And if you don't install the server messages to you will be black-holed. This is the opposite of giving the user control over their data. | site withholds Keybase's most significant wrongdoing and merely flags the Zoom acquisition |
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