Post #1491429

2026-04-09 16:37 UTC

Notifications go through FireBase Cloud Messaging (FCM) on Android. They bounce off a Google server. Even from local, on-device apps. Same with iOS. They can read and store every one of them, and you don’t control the encryption keys.

Replies (5)

@MrSoup@lemmy.zip 2026-04-09 16:40

By not having Google Play Services, isn’t this prevented?

Open ##1491428
@bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 2026-04-09 16:55

But they only instruct Signal to wake up and download whatever is waiting. They don't contain the message contents.

Open ##2489442
@CorrectAlias@piefed.blahaj.zone 2026-04-09 20:07

Signal only sends a "new message, retrieve the rest from Signal" ping to your phone through Firebase. It doesn't contain message details, just that you have a new message.

Open ##2489443
@dev_null@lemmy.ml 2026-04-10 10:27

Local, on-device apps don't need to go through FCM or any other servers to show notifications, apps generate notifications offline. Same goes for Signal, it doesn't ask FCM to deliver a notification, it asks to deliver a wakeup ping, and then the Signal app gets the message and generates a notification locally.

Open ##2489444
@MalMen@masto.pt 2026-04-09 16:45

[@4am](https://lemmy.zip/u/4am) [@MrSoup](https://lemmy.zip/u/MrSoup) wtf

Open ##2489445