
Tories switch to messaging app Signal after WhatsApp leaks - utopian3
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/dec/17/tories-switch-to-messaging-app-signal-to-curb-whatsapp-leaks
======
n4r9
> Killock said: ... "I guess Priti Patel must be quite confused and alarmed as
> her party votes with its feet for secure messaging platforms, while she’s
> campaigning to stop them from protecting these very same users."

I'm sure Killock's tongue was firmly in his cheek when he said this, but of
course Patel is unlikely to experience either emotion. A lot of the UK
political establishment have an attitude of "one rule for us, another for the
hoi polloi". Patel is certainly not an exception.

------
deogeo
How does "option to make messages automatically disappear after a set period
of time" and "open source" fit together?

~~~
noman-land
This is a confusing question. The two seem to have nothing to do with each
other.

Open source means the source code is available to read.

Disappearing messages means you can delete things from your device and ask the
other side to delete them as well.

~~~
closeparen
A user who is in control of their client software can just comment out the
self destruct part.

~~~
geofft
Not necessarily - Signal can show a warning icon to people they're having
conversations with / only enable the feature if everyone in the group is on an
official client. Nothing about it being open source prevents this, and
conversely, making Signal closed source wouldn't prevent people exfiltrating
content via jailbroken phones etc. (Or via screenshots, as others have
mentioned.)

~~~
deogeo
A modified client could simply claim to be official.

~~~
geofft
Do the mobile platforms give you a way to authenticate an app as the official
app of a certain ID? I thought they did but now that I think harder I'm not
actually sure how to implement it.

If they do, it's "just" that plus jailbreak detection.

