Signal isn't federated ^[1][2][3.1]^; it's decentralized ^[1][2][3.2]^. Though, for all practical purposes, I would generally argue that it's centralized.

References

Signal-Server. signalapp. Github. Published: 2025-01-31T15:34:14.000Z. Accessed: 2025-02-01T09:24Z. https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Server.
- This is the source code for the server that Signal uses.
"Signal (software)". Wikipedia. Published: 2025-01-06T09:34Z. Accessed: 2025-02-1T09:30Z. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_(software).
- ¶"Architecture". ¶"Servers".
  
  Signal relies on centralized servers that are maintained by Signal Messenger. In addition to routing Signal's messages, the servers also facilitate the discovery of contacts who are also registered Signal users and the automatic exchange of users' public keys. […]
"Reflections: The ecosystem is moving". moxie0. Signal Blog. Published: 2016-05-10. Accessed: 2025-02-01T09:40Z. https://signal.org/blog/the-ecosystem-is-moving/.
1. ¶5. to ¶"Stuck in time". ¶3-6
  
  One of the controversial things we did with Signal early on was to build it as an unfederated service. Nothing about any of the protocols we’ve developed requires centralization; it’s entirely possible to build a federated Signal Protocol-based messenger, but I no longer believe that it is possible to build a competitive federated messenger at all. […] [interoperable protocols] [have] taken us pretty far, but it’s undeniable that once you federate your protocol, it becomes very difficult to make changes. And right now, at the application level, things that stand still don’t fare very well in a world where the ecosystem is moving. […] Early on, I thought we’d federate Signal once its velocity had subsided. Now I realize that things will probably never slow down, and if anything the velocity of the entire landscape seems to be steadily increasing.
2. ¶"Stuck in time". "Federation and control". ¶6.
  
  An open source infrastructure for a centralized network now provides almost the same level of control as federated protocols, without giving up the ability to adapt. If a centralized provider with an open source infrastructure ever makes horrible changes, those that disagree have the software they need to run their own alternative instead. It may not be as beautiful as federation, but at this point it seems that it will have to do.

[–] Lazycog@sopuli.xyz 90 points 1 month ago (12 children)

Yeah. I love Signal but it doesn't belong in that list. Dansup (creator of loops and pixelfed) is apparently working on "Sup" that will be a decentralized alternative to whatsapp.

[–] punkisundead@slrpnk.net 63 points 1 month ago (1 children)

To me this person sounds like they have too many big projects at once. I wish them success tho

[–] Lazycog@sopuli.xyz 32 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Yeah.. I'm bit afraid of "kbin Ernest Effect" (not sure what a proper term is) where personal issues pile up and the sole head developer just disappears.

Haven't followed dansup much but from what I understand he is much more open to pull requests and listening to the community, but time will tell. Right now I appreciate and love his effort, giving, and the impact on fediverse he is brining.

The kickstarter was a good idea.

load more comments (2 replies)

load more comments (11 replies)

[–] Evotech@lemmy.world 37 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Don't let perfect be the enemy of good

[–] Kalcifer@sh.itjust.works 46 points 1 month ago

My comment wasn't protesting the use of Signal; it was rather clarifying the misinformation in OP's post — ie misinformation that Signal is a federated service.

[–] OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 24 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Signal is hostile to third party clients like Molly.im as well

load more comments (1 replies)

[–] qwerty@discuss.tchncs.de 23 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Bro put citations in his lemmy comment 💀

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 39 points 1 month ago (5 children)

I wish more people did that ngl 💀

load more comments (5 replies)

load more comments (3 replies)

load more comments (11 replies)

[–] ZeroCool@slrpnk.net 114 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (7 children)

For the avid readers out there, bookwyrm is a fantastic alternative to goodreads.

https://joinbookwyrm.com/

[–] FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 46 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yes it’s excellent! Also noting for those that aren’t aware: Goodreads is owned by Amazon.

load more comments (6 replies)

[–] Matombo@feddit.org 99 points 1 month ago (21 children)

Signal is not Fediverse! Element/Matrix is!

[–] ubergeek@lemmy.today 43 points 1 month ago (14 children)

Element/matrix aren't part of the fediverse, either. It doesn't speak AP.

[–] cmhe@lemmy.world 33 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Matrix is federated, Signal is not.

[–] biggerbogboy@sh.itjust.works 20 points 1 month ago (2 children)

although it is federated, it isn't apart of the fediverse, as it doesn't use activitypub.

[–] pennomi@lemmy.world 31 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I’d argue it’s part of “the fediverse” but not “The Fediverse”.

load more comments (1 replies)

load more comments (13 replies)

[–] davidagain@lemmy.world 17 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Absolutely, signal isn't federated, but I don't want my messaging app to be federated. I want my social media to be federated. Lemmy is good because it's open. Signal is good because it's shut.

load more comments (1 replies)

load more comments (19 replies)

[–] Undaunted@discuss.tchncs.de 96 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Unfortunately, the switch from YouTube to PeerTube has not worked for me so far. I can't find a decent instance (not full of right-wing/conspiracy content) with interesting stuff that also allows me to make an account.

[–] FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 57 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yes finding the right instance on peertube is a nightmare — and also the general lack of quality content, or subtitling, which makes it as good as useless for deaf people like me.

load more comments (1 replies)

[–] ekZepp@lemmy.world 66 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Ah. I see...

Screenshot_20250201_132521_Photo Editor

[–] NickwithaC@lemmy.world 19 points 1 month ago

Don't worry, your successor isn't offering anything big. You'll still be around for many more days to come.

load more comments (1 replies)

[–] IDKWhatUsernametoPutHereLolol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 61 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (9 children)

Youtube is probably the one that you can't "Just Switch To Fediverse"

Youtube content is mainly by creators. If they won't leave, there will be no transition. And unlike reddit posts, you can't just reupload. Because they will copyright strike you and take it down. Also, videos take up a lot more space than just text and some low-res memes like reddit-type sites.

reddit is essentially a bunch of strangers talking to people, moving froms stranger Group A to stranger Group B is very easy to do. The reddit > Lemmy transition is probably one of the easiest. You're just joining a new group of strangers.

For everything else, your contacts will also need to switch.

For Mastodon, the people you follow will also need to switch. This is even harder than getting your friends to switch.

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 25 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Hear me out.

Creators should be hosting peer tubes. And they should host exclusively their own content. Fans of their can subscribe to whatever systems they want to pay and support.

For creators, it's a backup for when YouTube the project inevitably fails. For fans as well. But it's also a backup of their content.

[–] Statick@programming.dev 17 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Tech-savvy content creators, sure...

Your average content creator that wants to make Minecraft videos? Unrealistic.

I hate the monopoly Youtube has, but all of the federated alternatives have a learning curve the general public isn't willing to deal with.

load more comments (1 replies)

load more comments (8 replies)

[–] csm10495@sh.itjust.works 60 points 1 month ago (4 children)

How is signal considered part of the fediverse?

load more comments (4 replies)

[–] potentiallynotfelix@lemmy.fish 47 points 1 month ago (14 children)

Signal is centralized, loops is closed source and not accepting new users.

[–] Esmoreit@lemmings.world 17 points 1 month ago (9 children)

Loops will be open sourced later they say.

Is Loops open source? It will be! We plan on open sourcing the platform after it reaches a stable and easy to maintain state.

[–] tempest@lemmy.ca 21 points 1 month ago (3 children)

That really is not a satisfying answer. It is incredibly nebulous and even if it did have a nice definition I guarantee most software developers will tell you a lot of software rarely reaches that state.

I can see why they might want to avoid 1000 GitHub issues bike shedding things but they could open source the code and just not have open contribution

load more comments (3 replies)

load more comments (8 replies)

load more comments (13 replies)

[–] hmmm@sh.itjust.works 47 points 1 month ago (7 children)

Unpopular Opinion Lemmy and PeerTube logo look ugly.

[–] Padit@feddit.org 37 points 1 month ago

Unpopular opinion: your opinion is not unpopular at all.

[–] blackn1ght@feddit.uk 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I think it's just the colours for the peertube one. I like that it's three individual play icons to signify the federation aspect, but the colours are just dull.

load more comments (1 replies)

load more comments (5 replies)

[–] Jake_Farm@sopuli.xyz 46 points 1 month ago (9 children)

What does signal have to do with anything?

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 45 points 1 month ago

The post is really about abandoning the tech oligarchy more than specifically using federated technology.

load more comments (8 replies)

[–] teri@discuss.tchncs.de 39 points 1 month ago (13 children)

I support the cause in general but: Signal is not federated at all. It may seem like a decent alternative to WhatsApp but is it really? It still falls under the same US jurisdiction. Let's say the US gov starts agressively prosecuting dissidents and certain minorities (they already do): can and should we still use signal in this case? I don't think so. Sadly i can't name a much better alternative. Maybe matrix. But it has other issues.

[–] Bazoogle@lemmy.world 28 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Signal is open source. They absolutely do always comply with US warrants. They have never provided any information to US law enforcement, because they can't access it. They literally have no way of accessing the information contained inside the texts. The most they could provide is metadata, but they currently aren't collecting that. I also think if they started, it would not work well for their user base. You can see all their requests for information, and the responses they gave, here: https://signal.org/bigbrother/

load more comments (1 replies)

load more comments (12 replies)

[–] pineapple_pizza@lemmy.dexlit.xyz 37 points 1 month ago

A federated social fitness app(like Strava) would be cool

[–] chanteoma@lemmy.ml 36 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Hi, I think too many people are focusing too much on the type of software included in this chart. I don't think the goal of the person that created the chart was to create the ultimate guide to move to the Fediverse or FOSS apps with all the options available for them. I believe it prioritizes simplicity, and it's clearly directed towards people unaware that these alternatives exist.

Most people I know don't even know what the Fediverse is, and I think this initiative is for them.

I know that debating which FOSS/Fedi apps are the best is a big matter of concern for people that are already aware of the problems some platform have. But focusing too much on this debate not only creates more division among supporters of FOSS/Fedi, but it is also drawing attention from the main point: Bringing more people to the Fediverse.

load more comments (1 replies)

[–] DicJacobus@lemmy.world 36 points 1 month ago (7 children)

instead of switching ive mostly just been ditching entirely. I need less time interacting with internet people.

literally the only thing on this list im still using is facebook messenger, for my work colleagues. and youtube. everything else ive migrated (reddit-lemmy), or abandoned and torched

load more comments (7 replies)

[–] tisktisk@piefed.social 31 points 1 month ago (7 children)

Loops.video isn't accepting new users atm. Even if it was, I got in on early signup and I have next to zero functionality out of it rn. Just informing the curious masses

load more comments (7 replies)

[–] pineapplelover@lemm.ee 28 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I find youtube to be the hardest one on this list

load more comments (2 replies)

[–] RedSnt@feddit.dk 24 points 1 month ago (2 children)

I was already on Mastodon by just having a Vivaldi (the chromium browser) account, and it's just lovely I've spent most of the day setting up lemmy, even though I joined feddit.dk 2 years ago, it's only just now I'm taking it seriously.
And, while not related to the fediverse per se, I switched to linux a year ago.
The only service that's hard to drop/switch away from is Youtube imo.

load more comments (2 replies)

[–] breadcat@sh.itjust.works 22 points 1 month ago (12 children)

I keep seeing this type stuff but neither peertube or friendica are genuine replacements at this point, mastodon is weaksauce compared to akkoma or a misskey fork, and loops is alpha software. also yes signal is centralized but it just works and has contact discovery so it owns matrix and xmpp when compared to whatsapp. basically none of this stuff is truly ready

load more comments (12 replies)

[–] Opinionhaver@feddit.uk 19 points 1 month ago (34 children)

Switching from WhatsApp to any other messaging service isn't a realistic option for quite many places. I'd be more than willing to switch but of all the people in my contacts (including my entire customer base) there's like 3 people using Signal but every single one of them has WhatsApp. Even the 60+ year olds.

load more comments (34 replies)

[–] malcriada_lala@lemmy.world 18 points 1 month ago (15 children)

I like this. I hope it starts conversations. Does anyone know if there are good alternatives to Discord?

load more comments (15 replies)

[–] JackbyDev@programming.dev 17 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Why didn't I hear about this until the day of?

[–] Temperche@discuss.tchncs.de 16 points 1 month ago (3 children)

FB Marketplace --> Flohmarkt is missing!

load more comments (3 replies)

load more comments