• BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
      41·
      1 year ago

      If I recall correctly, SimpleX came out of the development of a file-transfer protocol, similar to torrenting.

      It’s been probably a year since I read up on what they were doing, and I’ve been running it on a couple devices.

      I keep it around as a backup chat tool. Sadly I can’t get people away from SMS, but I also use Signal and Telegram. Each has its pros and cons.

  • fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.comEnglish
    10·
    1 year ago

    Oof, bad timing for that name selection. Especially with payment processing.

    The invitation method is interesting, but will likely be its limiting factor vs its draw. Regular Jane/Joe wants to share their username, just not their number or email. Not being able to share verbally is tough.

    • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
      41·
      1 year ago

      Simplex has been out for a year or so.

      It’s tough getting people used to systems that respect privacy, since Out-of-band ID sharing is part of that.

  • einfach_orangensaft@feddit.de
    51·
    1 year ago

    i like the whole concept but it seamed to good to be true and not some type of backdoored honeypot, ill guess ill check it out when enough people reviewed the sourcecode

    • Cheradenine@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      6·
      1 year ago

      Well, since it was audited quite awhile ago you could probably check it out now.

      simplex.chat/blog/20221108-simplex-chat-v4.2-security-audit-new-website.html

    • noodlejetski@lemm.ee
      4·
      1 year ago

      back when I was using reddit, whenever it would be posted in /r/privacy or /r/privacyguides it would get like 30 or 40 upvotes in a matter of minutes. for a service that came seemingly out of nowhere, it really felt suspicious to me.

        • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
          31·
          1 year ago

          I thought you could run your own relay?

          It’s been probably a year since I chatted with the devs (did some testing with a few devices I have sitting around). Biggest issue I had was it required a current version of Android, as I thought it would great to be able to run it on older devices.

      • moreeni@lemm.ee
        3·
        1 year ago

        I think that’s because it’s the content for privacy subs. Now that it had been audited and privacyguides recommends it I put my trust into SimpleX

  • jet@hackertalks.comEnglish
    63·
    1 year ago

    TLDR via notegpt

    • 🚀 Simplex Chat: A private and secure messaging platform without user identifiers.
    • 💡 Founder’s story: The startup was founded in 2021, with ideas dating back to late 2019.
    • 🌐 Join the group: Interested viewers can join the conference group to ask questions and try out the platform.
    • 💰 Privacy and cost: Lack of privacy in messaging platforms can cost users real money.
    • 🔒 Designing for privacy: Simplex Chat’s design removes the need for user identities, providing a high level of application-level anonymity.
    • ⚙️ Usability and future plans: Simplex Chat aims to be as usable as popular messengers while addressing the challenges of establishing connections and transfer anonymity.
    • 🌐 Future evolution: The network is evolving into a two-hop mix network to further protect IP addresses and enhance session isolation.
  • Gargari@lemmy.mlEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    Is it a simple chat app or something like Telegram with channels and groups support?

    • moreeni@lemm.ee
      61·
      1 year ago

      It doesn’t have channels, only groups. It’s more like Signal with no phone number req but with worse UX as a trade off

        • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
          3·
          1 year ago

          I think they serve different (though related or overlapping) purposes.

          Briar started (IIRC) as a Bluetooth-only comm tool, and they’ve done a great job expanding what it can do (think it does Tor now?). Briar is not battery friendly, and the devs will tell you so. I don’t consider it a daily driver, but rather for specific circumstances. I keep it around just-in-case.

          SimpleX is more of a daily driver since it’s a more conventional IP networking app, though it’s a little battery hungry too.

          • EngineerGaming@feddit.nl
            1·
            1 year ago

            My main concern wit Briar is that it would be of not much use without a smartphone (I meant the internet-less features in particular). I would not trust sensitive things to a smartphone. I wonder if soemthing like that could be doable with an Android VM or Waydroid with a laptop’s bluetooth…

            • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
              1·
              1 year ago

              Maybe. Check out Android Subsystem for Windows. It’s essentially an Android VM though you don’t have a launcher/home screen. You just see the apps in your task bar like any windows app. I run it on an older laptop, it’s a touch slow but works well enough.

              https://github.com/MustardChef/WSABuilds

              • EngineerGaming@feddit.nl
                1·
                1 year ago

                Windows is as much of a spyware as an average smartphone though, so not much of a point.

                Edit: I should try it in Waydroid then.

                • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
                  1·
                  1 year ago

                  Lol, true. I just assume most people are using it.

                  I’m working on getting away from it, been stuck on fining a OneNote replacement.

            • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
              3·
              1 year ago

              Yea, it’s a different tool. And it’s still early days.

              I don’t use SimpleX as a daily driver, yet. But it has a lot potential. Just glad to see another tool out there, and the devs seem really earnest (I worked with them a year ago while testing the app).

                • BearOfaTime@lemm.ee
                  2·
                  1 year ago

                  Lol, welcome to the club!

                  God how I despise SMS, and I can’t get anyone off it, even if other options are easier to use than SMS, much more robust, faster, more flexible, etc.

                  There are a couple messaging apps that are self-hostable (like I believe SimpleX is). Litewire is one. At some point I plan on hosting one myself, and preconfigure accounts for friends/family to make it even easier for them. Maybe that will get them on board.

      • auth@lemmy.ml
        11·
        1 year ago

        Signal only ask for a phone number to verify your identity… its far from private

    • jelloeater - Ops Mgr@lemmy.worldEnglish
      21·
      1 year ago

      It’s more or less truly anonymous chat. Like you meet someone on the street and need to chat with them, but don’t want to give them any personally identifiable info. It’s really cool in concert, but good luck getting anyone to use it. Signal is good enough if you’re paranoid. TBH Telegram secret chats are just as good for sensitive stuff and way easier to get folks to use.