SMS/MMS on Signal Desktop, via piping the message over an encrypted tunnel to phone?

tromlet commented 5 years ago

[X] I have searched open and closed issues for duplicates

Bug Description

Would it be at all possible to turn Signal Desktop into the best desktop texting application of all desktop texting applications? I realize SMS/MMS sucks, but plenty of people still haven't moved to Signal because of their walled gardens, such as the Apple platform with iMessage and such. It'd be awesome if, with desktop Signal, I could just pipe my SMS/MMS messages over a secure pipe to my phone (which would send a receipt notification upon receiving the complete piece of data), which would then pipe those out to the appropriate phone number/contact using the phone's connection to the SMS/MMS network.

Most of the carrier-brand desktop texting applications are hot garbage (Verizon's Message+ app has 1.5 out of 5 stars on the Mac App Store), so you might get some adoption with the introduction of this feature, and MAN it'd be super nice.

Steps to Reproduce

There aren't any steps to reproduce. This is a feature request.

Screenshots

There are no screenshots, as this feature does not exist in Signal yet. This is a feature request.

Platform Info

Signal Version: Signal Desktop 1.22.0

Operating System: Mac OS X 10.14.3 Mojave (64-bit)

Linked Device Version: Motorola G5 Plus - Android 8.1.0

Link to Debug Log

There is no debug log, as this feature does not exist yet. This is a feature request.

Campano commented 5 years ago

I realize the decision was made in the past not to implement this feature, but I can only concur that it would drive the adoption of Signal as the main messaging app, which is beneficial to the community.

This is a key feature for any Desktop messaging client, nobody wants to manage two different apps for sending messages and having to remember which app to use for which contact, it's confusing for the user not to have 100% of the app's functionality on the Desktop Client.

Last but not least: I'd rather trust an open-source Signal Foundation app with handling my unencrypted messages than a commercial product like AirDroid.

History: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop/issues/496#issuecomment-163721319

wesleyboar-fka-iosulfur commented 5 years ago

I provide extra information regarding using Signal (for Signal users) and another messaging app (for SMS).

nobody wants to manage two different apps for sending messages and having to remember which app to use for which contact

Even this option may be unavailable, if a user sets Signal to the default messages app, because Google's Messages app (or is the Android 9 OS in control of this) does not allow one to use Signal and Messages, when Signal is the default messenger. Messages must be default app, or it is not available for use (the app reports that it must be default app for it to be available for use).

When I mention Google's Messages app, this includes the Android app and the web app (https://messages.google.com/).

schultzter commented 5 years ago

Lack of SMS from the desktop is what keeps me from adopting Signal and sticking with SMS (i.e.: PulseSMS, previously MightyText and PushBullet - all of which enable sending SMS via your phone from the desktop/web client).

Grosskopf commented 5 years ago

Why not use KDEConnect for implementing this? it has some commandline sms features over wifi, is wonderfull foss and runs on almost all platforms except IOS so far :)

curiousdan commented 4 years ago

Gonna bump this, since it's been quiet for a few months. I was excited to switch over to Signal from Google products, but the lack of SMS forwarding to desktop clients makes this difficult. Google's messaging client has a web-interface that can be used to send and receive texts.

jmlivingston commented 4 years ago

Agreed! This is one of the things I really like about Google Messages for Desktop. It is also cross platform and I can use on a Mac or PC unlike assuming I'm using an Android phone. I imagine this won't be possible with an iPhone as they have SMS locked down, but at least Android support would be nice.

mdeguzis commented 4 years ago

I also suggest others track the subreddit on this, as there is plenty of discussion on why this isn't a thing (at least right now): https://www.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/a68dee/sending_sms_from_desktop/

schultzter commented 4 years ago

@mdeguzis unfortunately that thread is locked and so there isn't much reason to track it. You can just search desktop sms in the subreddit and see there's quite a bit of active discussion (same for the Signal Community forum). They all end the same way though: one side proposing everyone should just use Signal and the other side abandoning Signal because few contacts use it.

It would be great if everyone used Signal and SMS/MMS was the exception and we had one unified messenger (rant ON like iMessage is and Hangouts should have been rant OFF).

I guess my point is that if Google won't step-up and make a viable iMessage competitor then I wish someone else would - and my first choice would be Signal. There are quite a few desktop SMS solutions for Android so it's hard to sympathize with Signal's resistance.

designsimply commented 4 years ago

Because not everyone in the world will be able or willing to adopt Signal, being able to do SMS via Signal Desktop would be the one feature that would make me switch to using Signal as my sole messaging app.

Campano commented 4 years ago

Btw there's another duplicate: #1645

whtevn commented 4 years ago

echoing here. I just switched my default sms to signal, sent a test message over desktop, searched this out, and then switched it back to google messages.

Cory-Watson commented 4 years ago

echoing here. I just switched my default sms to signal, sent a test message over desktop, searched this out, and then switched it back to google messages.

I know the Signal devs have decided not to implement this feature, but I honestly feel like they underestimate how much this would increase the Signal user base. This is the one and only reason I don't use Signal anymore. I suspect that there are many others like us that don't use Signal for this very reason.

DerDings commented 4 years ago

This would create so much more consistency between mobile and Desktop apps. Users shouldn't be accustomed to a feature on mobile and later be forced conceding it because it is not fully supported throughout the ecosystem.

janderson2k commented 4 years ago

THIS FEATURE not existing is why I DONT use signal.

marcusrugger commented 4 years ago

I must say that it is disappointing to discover this issue.

I would like to replace Google Messages with Signal but being able to send SMS messages from my PC has become an integral part of my messaging needs.

nick-benoit14 commented 4 years ago

Ditto, if this feature existed, I would never use google messages again

Marc2112 commented 4 years ago

Same here. Lack of SMS support in Signal for Desktop makes me switch back the standard SMS app on my phone because otherwise that setting breaks functionality of my third-party SMS desktop client. It's a pity. I wish Signal for Desktop would provide full SMS support and I would not have to use other messaging tools anymore.

soliver8 commented 4 years ago

I discovered signal today. Started using it, saw it had a desktop app, loved it, was getting ready to try to get all my friends and family to try it as their SMS/messaging app. Had a pitch written out and everything.

Realized I couldn't send them this message in the app for some reason. Googled it, found this page. Now I'm very sad. If only Signal had this feature I could completely embrace it as my main messaging app. But now I will have to dump it and go back to android messages because being able to text from my desktop is too important to give up.

Please please please reconsider this feature.

logger24 commented 4 years ago

Cool. I was just checking new apps out today and guess I'm uninstalling this and going back to looking around. Not only is the Desktop Client all but useless... the app seems half baked as a whole; it struggles to even import sms/mms messages into it and I get large gaps of missing messages. It doesn't even have a feature to try and sync again.

aagha commented 4 years ago

It's a big bummer that SMS is unsupported in the Signal desktop app.

Now, by making Signal my primary SMS app, Google Messenger no longer allows me to access it and so I have no desktop mechanism to interact w/ SMS messages.

My plan had been to use one Signal to rule them all and I could convince 30-ish odd family members to use it as well, but I can't do so if it means having to jump to just one more separate app for another message. Bummer.

jasek5 commented 4 years ago

well same here - it is sad that there is no sms support (at least on local network) for pc client

directrix1 commented 3 years ago

A group of my friends and myself were looking for an app to migrate to since the whole Hangouts, Messages, Allo crap is being so badly fumbled. It was almost Signal until we realized we couldn't do SMS/MMS from the desktop. Oh well. Like so many others above we realize the lack of this feature alone will ensure many people will not move to this.

1ubuntuuser commented 3 years ago

Would be a really nice feature. How about: When a phone is contactable over the internet or on the same wifi: SMS threads are visible When phone is offline: SMS threads readable but greyed out.

1ubuntuuser commented 3 years ago

As a work around I am currently using airdroid.com. Wonderful for sending SMS from your desktop even when the default app is signal.

Campano commented 3 years ago

Having contacted @scottnonnenberg-signal on the issue on February 20th I got the following call for patience:

Signal has a policy not to talk about future plans unless it is already under way and definitely going to happen. It's about setting the right expectations.

It's been a few months, so I will repeat & add to what others have already said: many friends are not adopting because the functionality difference between mobile & desktop is perceived as a bug, and I have stopped recommending Signal because of this.

As governments around the world seem to take the route of legislating against encryption (us earn it act, recent eu drafts, etc..), it seems more important then ever to get our surroundings to understand and adopt encryption, and I feel that we computer literates have a moral duty to help create & improve the necessary tools out there.

I totally get that setting the right expectations is important. Communicating is part of it.

I feel frustrated that the roadmap and the ways for the user base to influence it is not more transparent. Could the Signal foundation give us some hints on what would prioritize a feature request, and consider being more transparent, more public about its policies? And if it's some sort of problem we could help with (funding?) we might be able to get organized and launch initiatives.

schultzter commented 3 years ago

There's a huge thread at Android Police about Google's RCS roll-out and what it boils down to is the rest of the world uses Whatsapp but only North America cares about SMS/MMS/RCS.

So I suspect Signal's developers are more focused on the Whatsapp crowd rather than the SMS crowd. SMS was a nice feature to have on the mobile but now that RCS is taking over, and it's a closed ecosystem (there's no API to build your own RCS client), there's little incentive to spend any effort on SMS features.

RCS will be a competitor to Signal (and other messengers), especially since it will come pre-installed as the default messenger on new phones and probably get more and more advertising from the carriers, OEM's, and Google.

Whatsapp (Facebook) is already getting businesses and payment systems on-board to be ready to compete with carrier's RCS efforts. Signal is going to have to find it's reasons to exist and I doubt being a desktop SMS client will be one of them.

1ubuntuuser commented 3 years ago

boils down to is the rest of the world uses Whatsapp

SMS is still all the rage in Australia btw :)

blackjackshellac commented 3 years ago

without desktop access to my remaining sms contacts signal is really not usable as an sms messaging app on android.

I really don't like the idea of using google messages, but it's probably better than what's happened to Pulse-sms now that it's been acquired by maple media. Really too bad, because I loved using sms on signal my mobile.

ron-wolf commented 3 years ago

This is literally the only reason I still use iMessage, which we are told is end-to-end encrypted but is also closed-source and uses a proprietary protocol.

thekingofravens commented 3 years ago

I know it gets obnoxious how many times this issue comes back, but on android, signal encrypts incoming sms/mms messages, denying other apps access to them. So in order to use signal as the main app (allowing for the passive discovery of other signal users) without losing functionality, it would need to either provide this feature request or use the android message store for normal sms/mms (which they have decent reasons to not want to do).

schultzter commented 3 years ago

Wait! So an app like SMS Backup+ wouldn't work if I used Signal as my SMS client?

On Tue, Dec 29, 2020 at 11:15 AM Raven King notifications@github.com wrote:

I know it gets obnoxious how many times this issue comes back, but on android, signal encrypts incoming sms/mms messages, denying other apps access to them. So in order to use signal as the main app (allowing for the passive discovery of other signal users) without losing functionality, it would need to either provide this feature request or use the android message store for normal sms/mms (which they have decent reasons to not want to do).

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thekingofravens commented 3 years ago

Wait! So an app like SMS Backup+ wouldn't work if I used Signal as my SMS client?

Yeah, as shown in this issue, signal doesn't use the standard message store so most other apps can't get to the messages if you use signal as your sms client. This matters, as using signal as the sms allows for passive discovery of other signal users. I have actually found several random signal users, coworkers and the like, this way.

LenAnderson commented 3 years ago

Just adding another voice.

Installed Signal. Set as default SMS app and imported SMS. Installed Signal Desktop. No SMS. Received SMS don't show up in Windows 10's You Phone anymore since they are locked within Signal. Uninstalled Signal Desktop and set Android Messages as the default SMS app again.

I don't think Signal will see much use on my phone now.

jeremyjackson89 commented 3 years ago

I get the explained reasoning for not having SMS on Desktop -- encouraging people to move away from insecure forms of communication.

If that's the goal, then why not allow SMS as an option on Desktop?

Doing so would only help to

onboard people to the platform
increase your DAU exponentially
ultimately have that many more people on signal not relying solely on SMS

I only see upsides to doing this and it's obviously a highly requested feature. There also seems to be a not insignificant number of people turning away from it because of the lack of this feature.

Are there any downsides programmatically/theoretically/or via execution that I'm missing?

Campano commented 3 years ago

encouraging people to move away from insecure forms of communication

This is not the explained reasoning, and an option makes it unnecessarily complicated.

We the people want the desktop app to behave and offer the same functionalities as the mobile app. Period.

As this issue continues to be blatantly ignored and will soon be celebrating its 2-year anniversary without any official communication from the Signal team, maybe we should find a dev with the right skills outside the Signal Foundation to write the pull request...

Joke appart, at this point I'd be willing to chip in for this feature if there was a specific crowd-funding campaign.

andykais commented 3 years ago

throwing my 2 cents in here, I too really like Signal, but I cant force my entire list of contacts to download a new messaging client just for me. I prefer the gradual adoption approach. I can afford E2E encryption with friends who also use the Signal app, but otherwise I should be able to seamlessly drop into SMS messaging. The android/IOS client already supports SMS, which is not as secure as the signal protocol, so this isn't an issue of ideals, but of engineering time and protocol complexity. As it stands, I cant really convince myself that using Signal is a better user experience than the Google Messenger app which includes a web app that communicates back & forth with my android app (https://messages.google.com/web/). I would love to switch to signal, but for the time being it is an inferior experience. I hope the devs put some serious thought into this feature. Signal makes a fantastic effort for user privacy, but no app has truly taken a significant chunk out of any market without first reaching feature parity with existing apps

leichelkraut1 commented 3 years ago

I also had to give up on using Signal, because of this. I wanted to replace my SMS app "pulse", but now have switched to Google messages for now. Hopefully they will make the SMS work on the desktop as it works on my phone. I don't see any reason everyone else can do it, but signal can.

jeremyjackson89 commented 3 years ago

I also had to give up on using Signal, because of this. I wanted to replace my SMS app "pulse"

Same here actually. I love Pulse, but I'd like to use something more secure. I like everything about Signal, it's just a pain in the ass to get everyone else on it if it's outside of their day-to-day communication.

Trapulo commented 3 years ago

Signal breaks Microsoft's "your phone" that allows me to read SMS from Windows. This is important because I receive a lot of OTP via SMS.

I think that a simple feature on the Android app to "forward" SMS as Signal messages to myself will be great. It will not break any security and it will allow users to receive SMS on all connected clients (if the Android app is up and running, of course). I think it will be quite easy to develop.

Ptmc518 commented 3 years ago

I also really love SIgnal. I only have 3-4 contacts that use it and the rest are sms since I'm in the U.S. The desktop app being able to use send sms or the ability to use Signal with AirDroid/Join, etc. would make Signal more appealing by far.

dansleboby commented 3 years ago

+1 for me, that missing on desktop force me to keep Google Messages

williamkorb commented 3 years ago

Not to overstate this, but I discovered Signal just a few days ago because of Elon Musk tweeting about it (probably me and a million other people). I immediately installed it on my Android phone, made it my default SMS app, and was overjoyed when I discovered that you also had a Linux desktop app, which I promptly installed. Then I discovered the same complaint that everyone else on this bug has - none of my contacts use Signal, so I cannot use the desktop app. I have used both WhatsApp & Google Messages via their web interfaces, and it has become a critical part of being able to use those apps. I would like to switch to Signal because I am a huge advocate of FOSS, but I cannot do so if I can't use it with my hundreds of existing contacts without them first installing your app. :-(

Tacklebait commented 3 years ago

Writing this in hopes this feature gains traction.
I can't convince others to adopt if the PC version only allows friends to chat with the very few ppl that have signal working.

While it would be nice for everyone to adopt.
There will be transition.

daya commented 3 years ago

but I cannot do so if I can't use it with my hundreds of existing contacts without them first installing your app. :-(

@williamkorb Let us be clear. Your friends do not need to install Signal in order to SMS you. However just like WhatsApp if you want to securely communicate with your friends they will need to install Signal app as SMS itself in insecure.

daya commented 3 years ago

Even though I miss this feature on Signal Desktop I completely understand why Signal team is not implementing it. Basically it boils down to Security concerns and generally increased Security means decreased convenience. And Privacy can only be guaranteed if Security can be guaranteed.

jeremyjackson89 commented 3 years ago

Basically it boils down to Security concerns and generally increased Security means decreased convenience. And Privacy can only be guaranteed if Security can be guaranteed.

You're completely right and we're all on the same side here. It's just easier to guarantee that security if it's easier to onboard more people.

Right now it's not as easy because you have to convince others to drop a super convenient feature that they love so much that they aren't willing to give Signal a real chance.

leichelkraut1 commented 3 years ago

Even though I miss this feature on Signal Desktop I completely understand why Signal team is not implementing it. Basically it boils down to Security concerns and generally increased Security means decreased convenience. And Privacy can only be guaranteed if Security can be guaranteed.

I don't expect, (and other's shouldn't), that signal will magically make SMS secure. But I want the same environment on my phone and my desktop. Other apps have accomplished this well, such as pulse and google messenger. I also understand that this means handling sms and signal messages in two completely different ways on the desktop, but I suspect its already that way on my phone.

benjaminc commented 3 years ago

Even though I miss this feature on Signal Desktop I completely understand why Signal team is not implementing it. Basically it boils down to Security concerns and generally increased Security means decreased convenience. And Privacy can only be guaranteed if Security can be guaranteed.

This isn't a security concern though, it is a headache concern, as was mentioned above, and can be seen here. There are technical solutions that would be just as secure as what is happening on the Android app right now, but they are error prone and unreliable. Signal has bet that not implementing this feature and dealing with those of us that really want it will be less onerous than implementing the feature and dealing with all the people complaining that it doesn't work right because of the reliability problems inherent to any such technical solution. I don't agree with their decision, but its their call to make.

Personally I would love to have a desktop solution that integrated with my phone for SMS/MMS. I recently switched from Google Messenger and really miss having the desktop client be able to see and send messages to all of my contacts. I like that I can still do this in the mobile app, but it would just be even nicer if I could do it through the desktop as well.

soliver8 commented 3 years ago

Even though I miss this feature on Signal Desktop I completely understand why Signal team is not implementing it. Basically it boils down to Security concerns and generally increased Security means decreased convenience. And Privacy can only be guaranteed if Security can be guaranteed.

This isn't a security concern though, it is a headache concern, as was mentioned above, and can be seen here. There are technical solutions that would be just as secure as what is happening on the Android app right now, but they are error prone and unreliable. Signal has bet that not implementing this feature and dealing with those of us that really want it will be less onerous than implementing the feature and dealing with all the people complaining that it doesn't work right because of the reliability problems inherent to any such technical solution. I don't agree with their decision, but its their call to make.

Personally I would love to have a desktop solution that integrated with my phone for SMS/MMS. I recently switched from Google Messenger and really miss having the desktop client be able to see and send messages to all of my contacts. I like that I can still do this in the mobile app, but it would just be even nicer if I could do it through the desktop as well.

I agree with your assessment, they've decided it is not worth doing. But I haven't really had any issues with google's implementation of this feature so I wonder why it is considered unreliable?

PotatoPlank commented 3 years ago

I just wanted to add myself to the list of people that would like to adopt Signal as my default messaging app, but simply can't because desktop SMS integration is critical for my use case.

I'll keep an eye out, but I really don't see myself using Signal at all until this becomes possible.

signalapp / Signal-Desktop