I’d like to be able to chat from an Android phone without a SIM card.

Edit: Since several people have mentioned it, I’m including this note at the top. There are security issues with using a temporary number to register even if it is not needed to maintain the account. Anyone can gain access to the number and use it for account recovery, etc. I’m not an infosec person at all, but this seems pretty obviously bad. Some services will work fine with a landline or other permanent phone number, as long as you retain private access to the number.

Edit 2: SimpleX turned out to be a good fit for me. It was fast and easy to set up, and simple for my family to use. I also like that it is self hostable if I need to set that up in the future. There are some excellent suggestions and useful discussions below, and I appreciate the help. I’ll come back to this thread in the future if I need to switch

  • gedaliyah@lemmy.worldOP
    2·
    1 day ago

    Thanks for the heads up. This may still be the best option for me, but it is good to stay ahead of these things.

    There is something in the quoted Masto thread that suggests realtime video is inherently insecure? I have to be honest that I didn’t really follow it.

    The info from SimpleX reads as though they are using crypto donations rather than more traceable cash, which mostly makes sense to me. The NFT tech that they describe is not for trading purposes, but to anonymously verify payments. It would be used to connect an account to a payment through zero or minimal knowledge. I don’t really understand the tech, so please let me know if I even understand what they are suggesting.

    This is just for family chat, so total black box security is not a priority.

    • Kyrex@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz
      1·
      23 hours ago

      Thanks for the heads up

      You’re welcome

      There is something in the quoted Masto thread that suggests realtime video is inherently insecure?

      Well, to keep it simple: Voice/Video Calls on SimpleX are private. The point Sarah (from Cwtch, another private messaging platform) was making in that toot is that it is hard to be truly anonymous on a video call due to network level limitations on how the app route calls. But that is mostly about having privacy from a state-level adversary, I mean don’t even worry about this.

      The info from SimpleX reads as though they are using crypto donations rather than more traceable cash

      The criticism on the Privacy Guides forum is about the SimpleX team implementing a system based on crypto and NFTs to pay server operators, aiming to incentivize people to host more servers. But the catch here is that server operators get a 60% cut and the SimpleX team takes 40%, raising concerns about a possible enshittification, SimpleX will be more inclined to generate revenue instead of improving the app and bla bla bla.

      Also on the other thread that the highlighted comment linked, a developer I respect called ignoramous points out that because SimpleX is based in the UK, it could be subject to the IPA law and there are transparency concerns about the SimpleX team not even caring to warn about it (if you care about that stuff).

      And also SimpleX advertises as not having user identifiers but that’s a lie because by default if you don’t do anything about it the servers have your IP address (and your IP is a user identifier).

      It’s these little things that make me distrust the project. Personally I don’t like Web3/crypto stuff, so I tend to avoid services that implement it.

      This is just for family chat, so total black box security is not a priority.

      Yeah i mean, for your use case, using SimpleX is totally fine. I just wanted to share the criticisms that exist around SimpleX.