> 4) Dependency struggle. AFAICS no other projects can piggy-back off WhatsApp because it's proprietary and closed. So the user base can't scratch their own itches. OK, so what about Signal? Sounds like the dependency on Google Cloud Messages and Play Services can be hacked around with great difficulty.
There is a pull request that got some quite thorough code review by moxie recently that gives users the option of _not_ using GCM, but it won't be merged until call/video support is implemented with webrtc (because it can't support calls over websockets, and just not being able to call some users isn't an option.)
And GPG is too hard for people to use. I have helped journalists with GPG, and even intelligent somewhat tech-litterate people struggle with the concepts of it. Look no further than Glen Greenwald, who almost wasn't able to communicate with Snowden.
There is a pull request that got some quite thorough code review by moxie recently that gives users the option of _not_ using GCM, but it won't be merged until call/video support is implemented with webrtc (because it can't support calls over websockets, and just not being able to call some users isn't an option.)
And GPG is too hard for people to use. I have helped journalists with GPG, and even intelligent somewhat tech-litterate people struggle with the concepts of it. Look no further than Glen Greenwald, who almost wasn't able to communicate with Snowden.