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this post was submitted on 23 Sep 2024
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Privacy
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I see it a lot when ppl complain about signal, but just can't understand why you would save 10+ years in old msgs. Almost all my signal conversations even GRP chats are set to 1 week auto delete. If something important Is said that I need to save, I copy/paste it into my note app where I can organize it. Its sounds so impractical to dig through 10+ years of data everytime you need something. Plus it would be awful to know there is a log of all the dumb things I said 10 years ago lol.
Completely agree! The ephemerality of Signal is a feature, not a bug.
I didn't always see it this way, but then a thought occurred to me. None of the conversations we have in person are recorded. Those communications are just as meaningful if not more so than text conversations, and yet somehow we get by just fine without them being stored indefinitely on some personal device, let alone in someone else's datacenter.
This is a case of technology controlling us when we should be controlling it.
I agree that we are fine even without it. But that does not mean it's better than not having that history.
An easy example that comes to mind are all arguments wherr someone remembers one thing while someone else remembers another thing.
Decent counter-example. In turn I'd say that's an edge case where we could still survive just fine without knowing the relevant fact for sure. And certainly not worth the cost in privacy terms of recording and storing everything.
There are a lot of things you can survive without :)) They are still nice to have though.
But I understand the privacy concerns, I struggle with the tradeoffs myself. But to me it's worth it it this case since the database is supposed to be encrypted with a passphrase and stored locally, not sent over a network.
Other examples would include searching through history to check if you've talked to someone about something. Or check their answer. Unless you are someone with perfect memory I would think these are common situations.
I agree with you about saving the things you need. Especially images and videos since they are not worth the storage size.
But a history of your conversations with people is pretty nice to have if you didn't think about saving some info or it only becomes relevant later on. And as long it's only kept on your own device, I'm fine with it. (But I guess, on the devices of people you speak to)
Plus if you only save text, even 10 years worth of data is not much at all. A few videos probably weighs more.
E: typo