Technology @lemmy.ml celmit @lemmy.ca 1 yr. ago

Molly, Signal fork introduced multiple devices support tablets included, all linked to one single account

github.com Release v6.31.2-1 · mollyim/mollyim-android

Welcome to Molly v6.31.2-1 Introducing Multi-Device Support! Now, you can install Molly on multiple devices, including Android tablets, and link them to a single account, just like Signal Desktop. ...

48 comments

also looks like few days ago Louis Rossmann made a substantial donation to Mollyim.
- Rossman's embrace of FOSS is such an inspiration. Most people who claim to value freedom aren't ready to put their money where their mouth is, let alone change their behavior at all.
- Cool. I really respect his opinions, so I'll definitely be giving this a look. I still need to get my wife on board though, since that's what killed Signal for me last time I tried it (no point when the person I send the most sensitive info to doesn't use it).
- Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
  
  Louis Rossmann
  
  Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
  
  I'm open-source, check me out at GitHub.
the two can co-exist as well... you can keep your Signal install on your primary device and you can install Molly on a tablet, and have it linked to your Signal app as a linked device. this way there's no loss of data on your primary device
- Oh that's nice to know !
Does it have sms/mms function?
- It does not.
  
  Dang.
- No, but you still need to give them your phone number in order to sign up.
Is it interoperable with signal?
- I was curious, so I read the GitHub page:
  
  Molly connects to the Signal server, so you can chat with your Signal contacts seamlessly. Please remember to review the Signal Terms & Privacy Policy before signing up.
  
  Thanks!
Switched to Molly after this update.

How didn't we have that until now.
- How's it working? I was going to switch over today solely for linked tablet support.
- Signals history is just a laundry list of items you thought would be standard. Back when I tried it for comm brown my family, iOS had no backup option and Android could back up but the key was one-time-use so if you used your key to verify that the backup was valid, the backup was no longer accessible. Fun times.
  
  I dropped it the second time I had a message delayed, without notification, for more than an hour.
Can you simply use a signal backup to move to Molly ? And can you go easily back to Signal, if required in the future ?
- As long as the Molly version is greater than or equal to the Signal version, it will work. Molly updates usually trail behind signal updates, so you'll have to either time it right or pause updates on you Signal app.
- I want to know this, too. I have signal now, but don't mind moving over if I simply didn't lose anything.
  
  you create a backup on signal and then restore from backup in molly. Nothing's lost.
Apologies, but why would one prefer the fork over the original? Aren't they both FOSS anyways?
- No, the original depends on proprietary blobs. And so does molly, unless you use the FOSS version explicitly.
  
  What do they use proprietary blobs for?
How long till they cut off access?
- You will likely need to update every two weeks or it will stop working
  
  What do you base this assumption on? I wouldn't expect there to be breaking protocol changes anywhere near that often, if at all. Also, if that were the case, any two weeks old version of the official client would stop working as well.
- Why would they do that?
  
  Their terms and services forbid third party clients for security reasons, and they have enforced it before. They have a bit of a point in that they can't ensure that 3rd party applications aren't spying on you, or more importantly other users you chat with, but that point is mooted when they refuse to document the risk of other apps, like your phone keyboard or "AI" assistant doing the same (which is already happening in some countries).
- The second Signal works out that this exists.
Just installed the FOSS version, was greeted with a "you can encrypt your database with a passphrase" message, put a long password in both fields, and, well, app crashes. Not really trustworthy imo
- Shorter password and even just letters (yikes) doesn't work either
  
  So, encryption is just flat out broken then?
I find it absolutely hilarious that deleting contacts is listed as a feature. Like why is that so hard for Signal to do?
- Afaik they use your phones contacts. If you want to delete one, you need to delete the number from your phone.
  
  They import from your phone contacts but if you delete someone from your phone contacts, they stay in the app.
  
  You also can't delete group messages from the app.
Who tf calls his software "Molly"?
Does it support Stories?
- I completely forgot Signal added stories. People use that?
  
  Yeah it's pretty much the only form of private social media there is.
- Yes
  
  Nice, thanks!
- The question everyone’s dying to know
After switching from an iPad to an Android tablet recently this is exactly what I was looking for
My name ain’t molly…

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