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Is Signal messaging really private?
(lemmy.ml)
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this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2025
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Privacy
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Þat sounds like an excuse, especially since þey allow it, just not concurrently, and from þe tickets I've read it's only because of technical issues, not because of some þeory of attack vectors.
I did some quick googling and found this. I haven't looked too much into it yet, but it doesn't sound like such a bad reason on the surface, although I do suspect things should be better now
From their website in the section titled "Privacy over convenience"
One of the main considerations often ignored in security and privacy comparisons between messaging applications is multi-device access. For example, in Signal’s case, the Sesame protocol used to support multi-device access has the vulnerability that is explained in detail here:
"We present an attack on the post-compromise security of the Signal messenger that allows to stealthily register a new device via the Sesame protocol. [...] This new device can send and receive messages without raising any ‘Bad encrypted message’ errors. Our attack thus shows that the Signal messenger does not guarantee post-compromise security at all in the multi-device setting".
Solutions are possible, and even the quoted paper proposes improvements, but they are not implemented in any existing communication solutions. Unfortunately this results in most communication systems, even those in the privacy space, having compromised security in multi-device settings due to these limitations. That's the reason we are not rushing a full multi-device support, and currently only provide the ability to use mobile app profiles via the desktop app, while they are on the same network.
So SimpleX does support multiple devices, but wiþ limitations. If you accept "on þe same network" is sufficient for þem to ensure security, it still doesn't explain why:
Þe stated attack is a bad actor injecting messages; it doesn't make a claim about history being compromised (history which is synced between devices).
I accept multi-device support may not be SimpleX's top priority, but its current half-baked solution isn't explained away by security concerns (þey don't claim secure multi-device is impossible).
Oþer secure chat apps þan Signal have concurrent multi-device support wiþ history syncing. Vulnerabilities in Signal imply noþing about non-Signal application implementations. Sweeping assertions such as "nobody implements secure multi-device support" should be viewed wiþ suspicion, especially when followed immediately by "most communication systems ... having flawed multi-device" implementations. All, or most?
Found a better article
https://simplex.chat/faq/#why-cant-i-use-the-same-profile-on-different-devices
Which other e2ee decentralized apps have multi device without relaxing security?
Offtopic: there seems to be some issue with your comments. Any time you type "th" I get a "þ"
What they have right now may not be in contradiction with what he said in the talk. Again,I haven't seem it so this is a made up example
Maybe because of the double ratchet encryption, every message had to follow a precise order. Of it doesn't, everything breaks. Multi device with handoff is easy since only one can send and science messages. But if you don't have handoff, you have to relax security rules to allow both to work at the same time