
Ask HN: Why Signal Requires Google Services for Notifications? - kuba-orlik
Telegram notifications work GREAT without Google Services, so why Signal insists on using it?
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kuba-orlik
I guess some clarification is needed. Signal uses Google's notification
services. When installing Signal on a device without Google Services, it says
that the notifications might be unreliable because of the missing library.

But Telegram notifications work great, without relying on Google's servers, so
I can happily use it without being monitored by Google...

Why Signal, a privacy-focused messenger, insists on using google servers?

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java-man
From wikipedia:

Android specific

From February 2014[32] to February 2017,[65] Signal's official Android client
required the proprietary Google Play Services because the app was dependent on
Google's GCM push messaging framework.[66][65] In March 2015, Open Whisper
Systems moved to a model of handling Signal's message delivery themselves and
only using GCM for a wakeup event.[67] In February 2017, Open Whisper Systems
implemented WebSocket support into the client, making it possible for it to be
used without Google Play Services.[65]

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_(software)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_\(software\))

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java-man
more details please?

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kuba-orlik
I've just added a clarification in the comment above

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java-man
thank you.

