I finally started using Molly to send and receive messages via Signal. Molly is a hardened fork of Signal for Android, offering features such as an encrypted message database, automatic locking, shredding no longer needed secrets from RAM, notifications via UnifiedPush, and Tor / SOCKS proxy support. This is by no means an alternative to Signal itself, but rather an alternative (and hardened) Android client for Signal.
While these extra security features are great, my main motivation to use Molly was battery saving, actually. I’m on GrapheneOS, which does offer sandboxed Google Play (opt-in), yet I’ve chosen not to use it. This means I’m not using Google’s Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) for notifications either, which Signal by default heavily relies on. However, it continues to make me very glad I can still use a secure and open source mobile operating system (GrapheneOS) in 2025, without needing to rely on proprietary and privacy-impairing functionality.
Right, but Molly saying they can be installed on the same device alongside Signal is kind of confusing because it implies they can be USED simultaneously, kind of like Telegram and Telegram X. But this is not the case as far as I understand.
If Molly is set as a linked device, they can be used on the same phone at the same time.
I tried every way I could find but every path I took in the setup process of Molly told me to scan a QR code, but how tf do I scan a QR code with my phone, that is shown on my phone’s screen. So I gave up. I really tried to make Molly a linked device. 🤷♂️ If anybody has the exact process for this, please hit me with a reply. Would love to try Molly on the side of Signal proper, without losing Signal as the main app/device.
Take a picture of the code with a webcam or another phone, worked for me.
Really though? 😆 I guess that’s what I gotta do. (I won’t btw.) But what if I didn’t have another camera lol. This whole setup would fail miserably. Just let me have a link I can click as well. 💀
You can use scrcpy or similar to mirror your phone screen, and/or take a screenshot
I won’t do any of this stuff, mostly because I don’t care enough to test it, and I soft-refuse to get this to work unless it’s in a way the app developers intended. I don’t know why I have this principle. The shit needs to work without workarounds, otherwise it’s bad design. Kind of?
But I really appreciate the help, regardless. ❤️
I agree with you in spirit but would also like to shill for scrcpy in general if you aren’t already using it. Mirroring phone screen to my laptop is fucking amazing.
What do you use it for? I have my phone sitting on a small holder/stand next to my screen both at home and at work. What’s your use case, if you don’t mind sharing?