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imhoguy 3 hours ago

Briar will thrive once EU Chat Control 2.0 passes, P2P E2E encryption is the only way to bypass bullshit laws.

joecot 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Briar is dead because it doesn't work on iPhones. It doesn't work on iPhones because iOS will only allow waking the app from background when there's a push notification. Push notifications have to go through Apple's servers, which defeats the purpose of a decentralized app where your messages (and metadata) can't be traced.

lou1306 2 hours ago | parent [-]

What about a "fake push" that does not leak message contents, sender etc.? Fuzz the time the push notification is sent by a random amount of time and you have something plausibly private given the constraints?

_heimdall 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

You're still dependent on Apple continuing to allow such a use.

If the goal is messaging that avoids government spying or censorship its a lost cause - the government would simply compel Apple to pull the app in their jurisdiction.

joecot 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Briar is designed to work over 1) tor, 2) ad-hoc wifi, 3) bluetooth. None of those are going to be conducive to sending push notifications through Apple's servers.

thayne 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

That still exposes some metadata. Depending on your threat model, leaking the timing may or may not be a problem.

Also, how do you avoid leaking the sender? You can avoid giving Apple that information by routing the notification through a server, but then that server would know the sender and recipient.

zelphirkalt 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Only, if they manage to improve it, so that regular photos and voice messages can be sent. I am mostly fine with texting only, but such things are an instant no-go for most people.

dewey 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

No, because most people (not on HN) value convenience much higher than privacy.

tensegrist 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

only insofar as it is 1. not illegal to do so or 2. the cost-benefit of violating such laws makes sense for the majority of users, who are not doing things that are actually illegal

because without such a critical mass of normal users you get something like tor or grapheneos that the state begins to associate with people engaging in unsavoury activity