A few days ago I ran a very biased and informal survey to get an +idea about what options are being used to communicate with end to end +encryption with friends and family. I explicitly asked people not to +list options only used in a work setting. The background is the +uneasy feeling I get when using Signal, a feeling shared by others as +a blog post from Sander Venima about +why +he do not recommend Signal anymore (with +feedback from +the Signal author available from ycombinator). I wanted an +overview of the options being used, and hope to include those options +in a less biased survey later on. So far I have not taken the time to +look into the individual proposed systems. They range from text +sharing web pages, via file sharing and email to instant messaging, +VOIP and video conferencing. For those considering which system to +use, it is also useful to have a look at +the EFF Secure +messaging scorecard which is slightly out of date but still +provide valuable information.
+ +So, on to the list. There were some used by many, some used by a +few, some rarely used ones and a few mentioned but without anyone +claiming to use them. Notice the grouping is in realty quite random +given the biased self selected set of participants. First the ones +used by many:
+ + + +Then the ones used by a few.
+ +-
+
+
- Mumble +
- iMessage (included in iOS from Apple) +
- Telegram +
- Jitsi +
- Keybase file + +
Then the ones used by even fewer people
+ +-
+
+
- Ring +
- Bitmessage +
- Wire +
- VoIP w/ZRTP or controlled SRTP (e.g using CSipSimple, Linphone) +
- Matrix +
- Kontalk +
- 0bin (encrypted pastebin) +
- Appear.in +
- riot +
- Wickr Me + +
And finally the ones mentioned by not marked as used by +anyone. This might be a mistake, perhaps the person adding the entry +forgot to flag it as used?
+ + + +Given the network effect it seem obvious to me that we as a society +have been divided and conquered by those interested in keeping +encrypted and secure communication away from the masses. The +finishing remarks from Aral Balkan +in his talk "Free is a lie" about the usability of free software +really come into effect when you want to communicate in private with +your friends and family. We can not expect them to allow the +usability of communication tool to block their ability to talk to +their loved ones.
+ +Note for example the option IRC w/OTR. Most IRC clients do not +have OTR support, so in most cases OTR would not be an option, even if +you wanted to. In my personal experience, about 1 in 20 I talk to +have a IRC client with OTR. For private communication to really be +available, most people to talk to must have the option in their +currently used client. I can not simply ask my family to install an +IRC client. I need to guide them through a technical multi-step +process of adding extensions to the client to get them going. This is +a non-starter for most.
+ +I would like to be able to do video phone calls, audio phone calls, +exchange instant messages and share files with my loved ones, without +being forced to share with people I do not know. I do not want to +share the content of the conversations, and I do not want to share who +I communicate with or the fact that I communicate with someone. +Without all these factors in place, my private life is being more or +less invaded.
+ +