Telegram chat program - and so much more
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Phone numbers are not security. Phone numbers as identity is like social security numbers for identity. They weren't built to be ID fields and using something that doesn't ID someone to ID them is... reckless.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
it's not actually tied to a device - you just have to use a phone number to get thing started.
That's tied to a device. If I have no phone, let me know how I get started. If you don't have a means of doing it without a phone number, it's 100% tied to a device. And does someone who gets my phone number down the road get access to my identity?
That's a pretty good question... I agree they need a different logon/authentication system.
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@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
it's not actually tied to a device - you just have to use a phone number to get thing started.
That's tied to a device. If I have no phone, let me know how I get started. If you don't have a means of doing it without a phone number, it's 100% tied to a device. And does someone who gets my phone number down the road get access to my identity?
That's a pretty good question... I agree they need a different logon/authentication system.
Problem is is that they are just going after the WhatsApp / SMS market. Not the high end IM market. Not sure why they didn't just do both.
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For those MLers lucky enough to have phones that accept SMS, we have a MangoLassi group on Telegram now.
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@scottalanmiller said:
For those MLers lucky enough to have phones that accept SMS, we have a MangoLassi group on Telegram now.
You don't have to accept SMS - they will call a phone number you provide - hell that could be a phone booth - though that brings about your security with regards to that number though.
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@Dashrender said:
You don't have to accept SMS - they will call a phone number you provide - hell that could be a phone booth - though that brings about your security with regards to that number though.
What if someone already used that phone booth?
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
You don't have to accept SMS - they will call a phone number you provide - hell that could be a phone booth - though that brings about your security with regards to that number though.
What if someone already used that phone booth?
that was my point of your previous point.
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@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
You don't have to accept SMS - they will call a phone number you provide - hell that could be a phone booth - though that brings about your security with regards to that number though.
What if someone already used that phone booth?
that was my point of your previous point.
Well there are two points. One is security, the other is that it wouldn't work. In the one case I might break into your communications by getting access to the phone number. The other is that I might not be allowed an account because the number was already used.
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Which makes me wonder - what happens when kids today get cell phones for the first time. The phone numbers are not new, just recycled. How many things don't work for them and/or give them access to things they might be surprised to find because the security is randomly assigned to devices?
A lot of the world uses "throwaway" devices. One time numbers, pay ahead phones, etc. This security model is just ridiculous in that world.
And being from a poor region of NY, I know lots and lots of people too poor to maintain cell contracts and they lose their phone numbers. All of these systems become useless in that world.
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But you can get a Google voice number and use it from essentially any device. And the number won't change or disconnect.
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@johnhooks said:
But you can get a Google voice number and use it from essentially any device. And the number won't change or disconnect.
That's not "bad", but also means we just reverted to a Google central system.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@johnhooks said:
But you can get a Google voice number and use it from essentially any device. And the number won't change or disconnect.
That's not "bad", but also means we just reverted to a Google central system.
Not if you just use it for a one off phone number for things like this. You could even just create a junk Gmail account with a phone number that you never use.
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Don't get me wrong, I don't think the phone number is the best way to do it but it's not like if you don't have a cell phone you can't use it.
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@johnhooks said:
But you can get a Google voice number and use it from essentially any device. And the number won't change or disconnect.
Does that even still exist? Maybe it is US only. Going to the site I've never been offered a means of getting a number. I gave up years ago, I thought that it was a grandfathered service only. Look at their website, they don't seem to offer any way to get a number and if I look at Wikipedia it appears that it is a US only service. Is there a link to this? It appears to just be the underpinnings of Google Hangouts, now.
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@johnhooks said:
Don't get me wrong, I don't think the phone number is the best way to do it but it's not like if you don't have a cell phone you can't use it.
But if you don't have a phone, you can't use it. But more importantly, if you don't have a consistent phone number that you will own forever it is fundamentally insecure and problematic without reason, must like why WhatsApp and SMS suck already. It's just carrying on a bad legacy without fixing the issues.
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Confirmed, only Americans may use Google Voice and only while they are physically in the US. The rest of us don't have access to it. It's not a universal service whereas WhatsApp was specifically designed for the non-US market.
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@scottalanmiller said:
But if you don't have a phone, you can't use it.
Just open Gmail and the text messages show up in there.
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It's at google.com/voice. Sign in and click get a voice number.
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@johnhooks said:
It's at google.com/voice. Sign in and click get a voice number.
Yes, that's the page that tells me I can't get it.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@johnhooks said:
It's at google.com/voice. Sign in and click get a voice number.
Yes, that's the page that tells me I can't get it.
Ya since you aren't in the US. But I was saying if you are that's how you get it.
One other way to look at it is, the phone number is the only piece of info they have on you.
Email is just as throw away as a phone number. If I don't pay for my domain, someome else can buy it and use the same address I've been using.
