Signal adds a payments feature with a privacy-focused cryptocurrency

Long-time Signal user here, with a number of technical and non-technical friends, colleagues and acquaintances who also use it. I don't know who was asking for this. And I think it really dilutes Signal's message.

I believe that everyone has a fundamental right to secure, private communication. Some people may hold the same belief for the right to transfer funds. I don't agree and I suspect many others feel the same. That tension alone makes this look like a bad decision to me.

I'm curious: why did you choose Signal when you care about privacy?

Probably because all conversations (1-to-1 and group chats) are E2EE.

> Probably because all conversations (1-to-1 and group chats) are E2EE.

They are in WhatsApp, too. At least Facebook still claims that after the Snowden leaks :) And: Did you verify this? Did you check the source code at signal's android/ios client repo? Did you also verify that no untrusted third party receives your backed up private keys?

Why do you trust Google more than Facebook? [1]

[1] https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/blob/d74e9f74103...

I'm not trying to troll here. I'm trying to point out that babbling about crypto is easy. Verifying it, and actually caring about it is another thing. Most users are probably also the wrong audience for early adoption of TOX.