Either way, encryption apps have yet to collect the same mass market audience enjoyed by insecure alternatives like Facebook Messenger, and even its “secret conversations” function, or iMessage. Yes, there have been anecdotal spikes in downloads of more-secure chat services, but we have no idea if that’s due to a temporary Trump scare or if those numbers will evolve into a healthier daily active user count. What the Internet Would Look Like Under President TrumpĮven if a group of journalists is willing to waste a half-hour wading through a less-convenient messaging app that, ahem, doesn’t even have custom emoji options, the average user has more immediate things to worry about. If he reportedly listened in on his guests’ phone calls with staff at Mar-a-Lago, who’s to say he wouldn’t go a step further to keep tabs on the American people? Theoretically, your Trump-related rant on Hangouts could be tracked by the government. Online-privacy activists have argued that Trump’s distaste for dissidents - paired with his impending control of the NSA’s considerable surveillance capabilities - could result in spying efforts that target political, journalist, or citizen opponents. Still, we were willing to give those things up for a good reason. Compared to our other messaging systems, the whole environment lacked the pillowy extras we had been afforded by nearly every other mainstream chat app. “Hiding from the government is a lot of work,” another quipped. “Is there a way to change the Signal sound? I hate the default,” one member asked. Everyone was disappointed to learn that we could no longer “heart” a person’s message. Then there was the task of installing the app’s desktop version. A few people were temporarily flagged because we hadn’t verified their “safety numbers” - part of the process of ensuring you are who you say you are on the app. When we arrived on Signal, it took a moment until we could warm to our new digital digs.
Giving up the memories encapsulated in a thread that had lasted for about three years was, admittedly, an emotional moment for everyone. I lovingly skimmed a lengthy conversation we had had about Star Wars: The Force Awakens one last time before deleting my account. Before jumping ship, one member tenderly downloaded the chat’s photo history, sharing her favorites. In the interest of protecting my personal privacy under the imminent Trump administration, I recently convinced the five members of my oldest group chat to switch from GroupMe to encrypted-messaging app Signal.
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