I've been seeing a few requests for Vanishing Message (or "self-destructing messages") for the fediverse. So I think it's important to make say this, as simply as clearly as possible...
Vanishing Messages are Privacy Theatre:
https://flameeyes.blog/2014/07/22/privacy-theatre/
Let's unpack this a bit...
#fediverse #privacy #PrivacyTheatre #VanishingMessages
First, let's talk a bit about end-to-encryption (E2EE).
The reason for using E2EE is that you don't trust the people operating the servers you're using. In a centralised service (eg WhatSapp, TellMeGram, Wire, Signal), you have the trust the operators to roll out the E2EE competently, and to *not* backdoor it. So unless there's some way to independently confirm that the server operators have done that, using E2EE on a centralised service is pure privacy theatre:
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The same things that's true of End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) on a centralised service is also true of Vanishing Messages. You have to trust the service operators to honour the promises made by the app. But if you trust the service operators , why do you need E2EE or Vanishing Messages? So again, adding these features to centralised services is just privacy theatre. Nothing more.
So what about decentralised networks?
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