And that UX makes it a hard sell to non-tech/privacy folks.
I had a few converts, then they pulled SMS. My converts left.
Telegram has its problems, I completely agree the encryption issue is problematic. But how do you get non-tech people to use a tool like this when to have a new device get the history, or signing into multiple devices simultaneously, requires transmitting an encryption key? I really don’t know.
I know SimpleX is working on this very issue - their current approach requires switching between active devices by scanning a QR code (or sharing code between devices out-of-band). So currently only one device can be active with your credsntials/ID. It has an ok UI, I’d say slightly better than Signal. But it’s security and privacy are just about the best I’ve seen.
This seems to be the big hurdle - people want a simple login, most don’t care if their convos are stored in servers iut means they can just login.
I’m using telegram with a few people for just this reason, since it gets us off SMS. They like that they can use whatever device is in front of them.
Getting people to switch to Telegram is far easier than anything else, since it’s UI is much better than Signal, Wire, XMPP clients (which can be some of the best).
We know exactly how bad Whatsapp is from a privacy standpoint - I’d choose telegram over it any day.
Simplex - requires nothing, just install. But you connect with other people by sending a code outside of SimpleX. Though they’ve added a directory service for groups.
XMPP
Wire (not Wiremin), though it requires an email account, which is easily addressed with a disposable email.
Signal is very secure from what I’ve read, despite the phone number identifier.
Well if Apple doesn’t fix it, like they haven’t fixed the iMessage flaws) they’ve known about for years, then it’s still useful.
And most people won’t even know of this issue, and they’d still use Airdrop anyway, saying “I’m not interesting enough to spy on”.
iMessage lacks forward secrecy, so if I get your RSA key which never changes, I can read all your old messages and any new ones too. And that’s just one issue with iMessage. And people don’t know about it, and still use it, thinking it’s secure. (it’s pretty good in my opinion, just wish Apple would fix the issues linked article).
I use a combo of OneNote (it’s pretty easy to put entire pages in OneNote, even from a mobile device) and Joplin. Obsidian works well too.
What’s nice is all of them can take the full page, so it looks nearly identical to the website.
Alternatively you can use reader mode in the browser, and send that to OneNote/Joplin, or send the link to archive.ph and save the archived version.
Saving the full page enables search to work.
Edit: forgot about your pocket url issue. Well both Joplin and OneNote save the url with the page info. Not sure how well Pocket utilizes pages archived on archive.ph. May need some testing.
I’d start with a second router added to the current network, use it to segment a “lab” network. Then, when it breaks you break it, it breaks the lab stuff and not your house stuff.
On the flip side, direct open ports to your home network isn’t really a great idea anyway.
At one time it wasn’t as bad, but today I’d be hesitant because of the number and capability of bad actors and I’m not a network security expert (though I have a lot of training in networks, just shy of that kind of expertise).
In a way, these restrictions have promoted the use of even more secure approaches, like using Cloudflare tunnels, VPS’s with VPN connections to your network, or things like Wireguard/Tailscale, which provide a virtual (encrypted) network layered on top of the public (untrusted) network.
All of these can provide an externally controlled (secured and encrypted) access to specific resources within your own network. As mentioned, VPS with VPN, Cloudflare tunnels, or Tailscale Funnel or Share.
I don’t see it turning around otherwise at this point.
The last 20 years have made clear these people can’t can get away with literal murder, have it in the news, and nothing happens. From JFK, to Ruby Ridge, the “suicides” of Jeffrey Epstein, et al.
Blatant violation of law by those in office without repercussions.
I’m not saying it happening tomorrow, but we only have to look at things like the French Revolution to recognize a line has been crossed, and these criminals have no fear of the law, as it’s been captured right along with so many regulatory agencies.