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When you finally convinced the family to use a decentralized message app (lemmus.org)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/android@lemmy.world
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Since the family didn’t want to turn off RCS, I completely changed the app instead😂😂😂

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[–] 8 points 2 months ago (10 children)

RCS: google and apple can spy on your messages and control it

SMS/MMS: everyone, google, apple, the government, your cell provider, their mother, and their 5th cousin twice removed can intercept and view your messages in plaintext and they are stored in plaintext forever at ISPs for anyone that wants them. I remember as a teen when my mother would get emails with documents containing every text that me or my sister had ever sent, from the SMS provider.

Not to mention all the technical limitations. Nobody at all should be using SMS in 2026.

Any encrypted message service (signal, delta chat, simplex, matrix, XMPP, etc...) Is a huge improvement to SMS in every way.

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  • [–] -3 points 2 months ago (9 children)

    everyone, google, apple, the government, your cell provider, their mother, and their 5th cousin twice removed can intercept and view your messages

    Uhhhh nope, just the carrier(s) (and the government)

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (8 children)

    SMS/MMS is famously possible to intercept, by anyone, what are you talking about?

    Otherwise it would be sufficient 2FA and we wouldn't have to bother devising other methods.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 months ago (7 children)

    Intercept how? SMS is overwhelmingly the default 2FA. So much so that many banks and companies won't let you not use it.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (4 children)
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  • [–] -3 points 2 months ago* (3 children)
    1. This is not "anyone", and definitely not Google or Apple. This is malicious actors doing illegal shit.
    2. You would know if they were doing this as your phone would stop working

    Sakari responded to Ars with a statement saying, “We’ve now closed this industry loophole at Sakari

    Is SMS insecure? Absolutely. Is Apple, Google, et all maliciously SIM swapping users? Absolutely not. What are you talking about?

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    That was an example, the point is it is possible to intercept it. It's been done in the wild - again that's why there's such need for other methods of 2FA.

    Re: Apple or Google That's even easier for them, because, you know, they've got access to the phone. Heck, famously Apple had a bug/feature where it stored text of notifications which affected Signal, too. In that case it was law enforcement who took advantage of that, though.

    I wouldn't go around sounding the alarm about SMS, because I don't think many people send stuff that shouldn't be plaintext via SMS. I like using SMS, actually, because how simple it is and you don't need 4G for that.

    But the fact is messages can be read one way or another. If you want to conspire, definitely use something else.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago (1 child)

    Re: Apple or Google. That's even easier for them, because, you know, they've got access to the phone.

    Okay, so no mobile chat apps are safe?

    The point here is that Apple and (especially) Google are most certainly collecting your data when using RCS. And only the carriers and the govt are collecting your data in SMS, not Google or Apple.

    In that way, I don't think any RCS is superior in any way outside of functionality.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago*

    Okay, one last time. Those are two different issues.

    The whole point of this thread was that it was possible to intercept the messages. That's all. I doubt the OP needs to worry about that. But it's possible as was stated by the other poster.

    It's like claiming that mail can't be intercepted. Of course it can, but generally speaking you don't have to worry about that. Though it would be foolish to claim otherwise (especially when one quick web search can show you cases when someone successfully pulled it off)

    Good day.

    Edit: typos

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  • [–] 1 point 2 months ago* (1 child)

    the default in america

    Developed countries use literally anything else. TOTP apps, encrypted apps, Card reader code generation, identity providers, 3rd party verification programs, etc...

    America uses it because it is cheap and easy and it pushes the infrastructure cost to someone else, not because it is secure. My american bank I keep only had SMS from american numbers to start, now they have TOTP app support, passkey support, and are going to phase out their SMS because of security.

    Also, SIM phishing is pretty common... There doesn't have to be any physical access to the phone. It is a standard phishing attack and they get all your SIM details and spoof it in an automated system.

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