• NicoCharrua@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    If you go to the View Safety Number page of a chat, you’ll see that they’re changing the safety numbers. Here’s the explanation they gave.

    Image: Why are safety numbers being updated? //
The legacy safety number format depended on phone numbers. The new safety number format does not. //
In order to support upcoming features like usernames, where you will be able to start a conversation using someone's Signal username without necessarily knowing their phone number, the way that safety numbers are generated needs to be updated too. //
On a technical level, the legacy safety number format is a numeric hash of the associated phone numbers and public keys. Instead of using phone numbers, the new safety number format is a numeric hash of the associated account IDs and public keys. //
The set of public keys that are verified during the comparison process is exactly the same.

    I’m glad to see progress is being made! I wonder if after usernames are added people will use it to message people on the internet, like discord is used.