D09 · Deep dive
Signal vs SimpleX vs Molly: Trust Models Matched to the Relationship
Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. The video then plays in YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode.
A deep dive into the messaging design behind the Communication Suite. Signal, SimpleX and Molly all encrypt end to end; what separates them is who can find you, how you verify each other, and what happens when you lose your phone. It covers the two requirements (separate identities and independent channels), each app's trust model, why Signal plus Molly isn't infrastructure independence, how to match the verification model to the relationship, and the tie-breaker's side effects.
What you’ll learn
- Know each app's trust model
- Match verification model to contact pattern
- Understand the tie-breaker's side effects
Chapters
The honest limits
Protocol details are as the suite's Design Rationale describes them; check vendor documentation before going deeper. Signal plus Molly is account separation, not infrastructure independence. SimpleX rests on the link exchange and has no number-based recovery. The channel that holds the Cape number carries the payer link.
Check before you rely on it
These details change. Confirm them against the vendor’s current pages.
- Protocol details as documented by Signal, SimpleX and Molly.