Unfortunately, in doing so, Signal became Yet Another Messaging App. It really damaged their value proposition in my eyes.

If I need a separate app for SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, Signal, etc, it just becomes a chore to find enough friends willing to move to it exclusively.

The IM ecosystem really needs to be harmonized on the user end. I remember Trillian was this great app back in the day that brokered all your MSM, Google Chat, etc IM accounts into a single app that let you just focus on messaging people and not worrying about what platform was being used. We badly need this again.

I understand what you're saying, but I feel it was pretty transparent the way they handled SMS vs. Signal Messages. I suppose it's a bit like the D.W. meme, though.

Yeah, I don't follow the details on this much and my first thought was "Signal had SMS support? WTF?"

I understand that they wanted stay true their philosophy but that decision is the reason we will never see Signal be relevant ever again. I hope they do a U turn

It's a valid point that it could potentially create some confusion when a user assumes that everything in Signal is secure. Unencrypted SMS threads could contain an open padlock icon and even an ominous red window border, but someone inevitably will not understand the difference.

However, my frustration has been how both convenience and security is reduced by removing SMS from Signal.

Many people will continue to use SMS for a variety of reasons, necessitating the use of an additional app. So now we have people continuing to communicate over this insecure protocol, but with the additional target vector of potential vulnerabilities in the supplemental app.