korrents

What Moxie Marlinspike thinks about privacy

@moxie-marlinspike · 10 positions · 1 change of mind

Cryptographer who created the Signal Protocol and founded Signal, the encrypted messenger whose protocol now protects messages in WhatsApp and Google Messages as well. He stepped down as Signal’s CEO in 2022 and writes occasionally at moxie.org.

Moxie Marlinspike did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

7 dated positions, 2013 to 2022, in their own words. Our reading of what Moxie Marlinspike has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingweb3 is not on a path away from centralised platforms, and its privacy story is already below the internet’s low bar.

    Their wordsI don’t think it’s on a trajectory to deliver us from centralized platforms, I don’t think it will fundamentally change our relationship to technology, and I think the privacy story is already below par for the internet (which is a pretty low bar!), but I also understand why nerds like me are excited to build for it.

    ↗My first impressions of web3moxie.org 2nd of 2 in this piece

    Interesting
  2. 5 years earlier

  3. Our readingHandling a change of keys is not a backdoor; it is how public-key cryptography works, and interception stays detectable by the sender.

    Their wordsThe fact that WhatsApp handles key changes is not a “backdoor,” it is how cryptography works.

    ↗There is no WhatsApp 'backdoor'signal.org 1st of 2 in this piece

    cryptography

    Interesting

  5. Our readingShipping default end-to-end encryption to more than a billion people is to Facebook’s credit, whatever else it is criticised for.

    Their wordsThere are many things to criticize Facebook for; running a product that deployed end-to-end encryption by default for over a billion people is not one of them.

    ↗There is no WhatsApp 'backdoor'signal.org 2nd of 2 in this piece

    Interesting
  6. 8 months earlier

  7. Our readingSelf-hosted email will never be end-to-end encrypted, and federation is the reason.

    Their wordsSo while it’s nice that I’m able to host my own email, that’s also the reason why my email isn’t end-to-end encrypted, and probably never will be.

    ↗Reflections: The ecosystem is movingsignal.org 2nd of 3 in this piece

    Interesting

  9. Our readingEncryption people have to switch on protects almost nobody; what protects people is what a service turns on for everyone.

    Their wordsBy contrast, WhatsApp was able to introduce end-to-end encryption to over a billion users with a single software update.

    ↗Reflections: The ecosystem is movingsignal.org 3rd of 3 in this piece

    Interesting
  10. 14 months earlier

  11. Our reading · no longer heldGPG is a failed experiment and will not be the thing that brings end-to-end encryption to ordinary people.

    Recalls holdingIn the 1990s, I was excited about the future, and I dreamed of a world where everyone would install GPG. Now I’m still excited about the future, but I dream of a world where I can uninstall it.

    SaidGPG isn’t the thing that’s going to take us to ubiquitous end to end encryption, and if it were, it’d be kind of a shame to finally get there with 1990’s cryptography.

    ↗GPG And Memoxie.org

    Interesting
  12. 20 months earlier

  13. Our readingHaving nothing to hide is not a reason to accept surveillance.

    Their wordsYou probably do have something to hide, you just don’t know it yet.

    ↗We Should All Have Something To Hidemoxie.org 1st of 3 in this piece

    Interesting