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signalapp
Signal-Desktop
TypeScript2014–2025
signalapp / Signal-Desktop

Signal-Desktop

A private messenger for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Systems & InfrastructureSecurity & PrivacyMobile & DesktopCommunication & Social
Explore on GitHubRead Hacker News discussions
91Distinct people
110Mentions
0Explicit recommenders
16.7KGitHub stars
REPOSITORY AT A GLANCE

What to know before exploring

What it is

A private messenger for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

GitHub

Where it is used

No documented product use was verified in the last source check.

What people are saying

No recommendation phrase was found in the indexed comments.

No classified warning is attached to this page. Read the discussions before treating silence as approval.

Also in these discussions

Mentioned in the same Hacker News threads. That is not proof they are substitutes.

This week on Hacker News

Nov 7–Nov 14 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/14/2026, 5:04:57 PM UTC.

No direct repository links were found in the indexed HN discussions over the past seven days. Older discussions are available below.

Mentions over time

HN mentions by year110 dated mentions

Observed mentions: 2014-07-21 20:03:41 UTC to 2025-11-29 07:17:05 UTC.

051015202014-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 3 mentions; 0 submissions, 3 comments20142015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 12 mentions; 1 submissions, 11 comments2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 5 mentions; 0 submissions, 5 comments2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 13 mentions; 1 submissions, 12 comments2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 14 mentions; 0 submissions, 14 comments2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 2 mentions; 0 submissions, 2 comments20192020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 10 mentions; 1 submissions, 9 comments2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 21 mentions; 8 submissions, 13 comments2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 12 mentions; 2 submissions, 10 comments2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 5 mentions; 0 submissions, 5 comments2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 5 mentions; 2 submissions, 3 comments2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 8 mentions; 0 submissions, 8 comments2025

Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.

View mention counts and date ranges
UTC ranges include their start and exclude their end. Select a period to filter the source evidence.
PeriodStart (UTC)End (exclusive, UTC)MentionsSubmissionsComments
20142014-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC303
20152015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC12111
20162016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC505
20172017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC13112
20182018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC14014
20192019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC202
20202020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC1019
20212021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC21813
20222022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC12210
20232023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC505
20242024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC523
20252025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC808

What Hacker News says

110 sources
godelski·Nov 29, 2025
> It sounds good in theory but signal updates are beyond excessive Those are two different arguments. Updating too frequently is not equivalent to "doesn't need to be updated." I can agree that they update a bit too frequently but that's nowhere near the argument about never updating. A program cannot be secure if it does not update. Full stop. > Most of the time there is zero explanation for the update There's always a changelog. If you, unlike most people, are interested it is all open source https://github.com/signalapp https://github.com/signalapp/libsignal/releases https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/releases https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-iOS/releases https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop/releases I would suggest looking at the actual commits and not just the release notes. Libsignal usually has mor
Read the rest
e info about the security > legitimately can't think of another app or program that updates more frequently Probably because they do so silently.
In Molly: An Improved Signal App
anonym29·Sep 3, 2025
Apple is very explicitly and deliberately building their systems to forcibly collect massive amounts of user data that they can and do provide to the federal government. While it is true that close to all companies will comply with lawful orders (but not EVERY company, FWIW: Lavabit famously shut down instead of handing over SSL keys to feds), it is possible to design systems in such a way as to protect FAR more user data privacy than Apple does. Case in point: review the contents of Signal's subpoena response a few years ago: - https://signal.org/bigbrother/cd-california-grand-jury/ This isn't a sham privacy claim like the kind made by Apple that requires you to trust the provider, either. Signal's clients are famously open source - something Apple does not do for pretty much any part of iOS or Mac OS: - https://github.com/signalapp/Sign
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al-Android - https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-iOS - https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop Additionally, most of the Signal server's source code (nix the anti-spam components) is open source, as well as the libsignal library used across the clients and server alike: - https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop - https://github.com/signalapp/libsignal Apple could be this transparent if they wanted to. They choose not to be, because the truth is, they do not actually care about user privacy, they are constantly collecting massive amounts of telemetry, user data, and user metadata from every single device they make, and they have been proven to share this data extensively with the federal government via the Snowden leaks, even in spite of the few actions they take publicly to maintain the marketing illusion of being a company that cares about user privacy, such as in the wake of the San Bernardino shooting.
In Apple pulls iPhone torrent app from AltStore PAL in Europe
reconnecting·Jun 21, 2025
I tried to install Signal once. First, it checks and matches your phone number. Strange, but acceptable. Then, it shows a Google Captcha [0], which sends my data to Google. I checked Signal's Privacy Policy and there are no details data sharing [1]. Signal might be good at message encryption, but let's not forget that it handles user privacy unacceptably poorly. [0] https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop/issues/6002 [1] https://signal.org/legal/
In Signal – An Ethical Replacement for WhatsApp
ementally·May 13, 2024
>Given how the posted described the optional `--no-sandbox` flag as "no sandbox on Linux", it's clear that they don't understand anything they're sharing, and they just want to spread FUD. Could you elaborate as you seem to be more "knowledgeable". This flag is clear at what it does and shouldn't be shipped into production. https://no-sandbox.io/ You can have a look where they specifically chose to force it https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop/commit/1ca0d8210...
In Telegram has launched a pretty intense campaign to malign Signal as insecure
astrostl·Nov 17, 2023
They announced the feature coming to desktop "shortly" seven (7) years ago [1]. It has been implemented on mobile for ages, and is generally one of the most-popular features of any modern messaging service. In the years since, things like in-app cryptocurrency were implemented. Issues on GitHub dating back to 2017 were unceremoniously locked [2]. A community feature request has been open since 2018 [3]. When more issues on GitHub were created, they were told to discuss it in the one that was already locked, and didn't respond further once that was noted to be impossible [4]. When the PR was thoughtfully created long after it was clear that they wouldn't be honoring their own announcement, they said (approximately a year ago) that they would review and implement it with credit. After 6 months of darkness and petitioning, it was dismissed a
Read the rest
s being harder to review than to implement while disingenuously counting things like SVGs and license text as LOC. When some specific concerns were finally provided, the author responded point-by-point in how they were already researched and addressed, with a polite request for evidence so that they could correct any misunderstandings. The subsequent response ignored everything in that but the suggestion to update the contribution guide to align with their previously-unstated intent. Serially mishandled. I'm not moving off of that position. 1: https://signal.org/blog/giphy-experiment/ 2: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop/issues/1862 3: https://community.signalusers.org/t/add-gif-search-giphy-to-... 4: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop/issues/4841
In Privacy is priceless, but Signal is expensive

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