so THAT'S why they are clamping down on installing apps from outside the play store.
this post was submitted on 16 May 2026
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Privacy
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I still dream of a keyboard that encrypts all messages regardless of the application being used. Like you type and then select the message, a pop up menu lets you encrypt the message using the code that you have chosen with somebody.
The other person receives the message directly unscrambled otherwise this implementation is DOA
Look up oversec.io
It basically uses android accessibility features to both encrypt and decrypt messages.
It is a bit tedious but works: https://fdroid.gitlab.io/jekyll-fdroid/packages/com.amnesica.kryptey/
Edit: Just saw that the last update was 3 years ago, just keep that in mind. I think for some situations it is still useful and can be used, as the encryption and key-exchange seems to be solid.
OpenKeychain has an implementation like this (not 100%) maybe that fits your use case?
Pretty sure I read stories in the past of Google or someone like them banning people who were sending pre encrypted messages over one of their chat services.
They still ban you now and then, if you encrypyt to their drive.
wow so they were reading every single message, amazing
A computer was anyway. These services arent necessarily reading our messages personally, but the algorithms parse them for ad placements or whatever, and it probably got flagged as being unreadable.
Edit: Some services that arent intending to be secure chat might not like the idea of encrypted content on their system either. What is it? What are they now harboring which wasn't their intent at all? Like if you made a lemmy community and only had encrypted messages on it, a mod from the server might have something to say about it.
Oversec is like that, but IIRC it doesn't work correctly on the latest versions of android
If they left the Canadian market, what’s preventing Canadians from still using it?
The Canada-region app stores like Apple or Android would be unwilling to let you download the app if the law passes. So without sideloading, it just wouldn’t be accessible.
It's not sideloading.
Any reason Signal couldn't offer a web app client?
cuz they dont store msgs on a server. feature, not a bug
Web browsers have a local storage API.
And by side loading you mean installing software on a device you own, like PCs have been forever. Side loading is a 100% bullshit term created by Apple and Google to try and make sure you don't think you actually own your devices
That’s factually not true though. Side loading was a term used before Google was even a company and before devices had internet access or peripherals/accessories to directly connect media other than plugging into your computer. Before devices had internet and you had to plug them into your computer to transfer files and install non-stock software. They would just say unauthorized or unofficial software if side loading wasn’t a term. It’s not like they need that term to exist for their shit behavior.
Ok, I'm on board. So like what do we call installing an app outside of a store?
Installing a downloaded application.
Installing for short
Installing an apk, installing directly, ...
As opposed to installing from Fdroid, from gplay, ...
You can also go by source, like with the stores. For example Signal android can be installed from their website (by downloading an apk).
Am I the only one who has app store accounts for multiple regions?
But actually, if this happens (and it won’t, at least this time), the next bill to go through would have to be for the right to sideload. Because all of the politicians use Signal and would need a way to install it.
I think they can use the VPN to get access to it. It’s a way to make sure governments doesn’t exert too much pressure to give up data!
True, until VPNs are also banned (like some US states are doing). One anti-privacy law passed will bring up another, then another, then another.