Consider using the normal debian repositories to distribute signal desktop

[oliviercailloux]

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Bug Description

Please consider letting users install signal-desktop using a single apt install, without having to add a dedicated key and software repository.

More info

I like (and I suspect I am not alone) to install new softwares simply using apt install, and be able to manage them easily. I also like to trust the debian community to have reviewed what goes in the main repository, ensure that it is free software, that the source indeed comes from the advertsed repository, that the license is compatible with debian’s view of free software, …

Imagine every software distributor would ask its users to add its own repository before install. Managing the repositories would become a nightmare.

I understand that for any multi-platform application, the fragmentation of oses, and even of linux variants, makes it difficult to care for every repository management system out there, but I tend to consider that making some effort to use the community process for integration into the main repository is acting as a good citizen of a complex (but fair in the case of Debian) ecosystem.

[nro-bot]

Hi, I usually install on Ubuntu with sudo snap install signal-desktop which feels just as easy as apt install now, I wonder if that would work better for you?

[oliviercailloux]

Well, apt is still the standard and well recognized package management in Debian, AFAIK. I don’t know what are snap’s “politics” (in any) concerning DFSG, for example; or whether there is anything behind snap that checks the authenticity of the code that gets installed on my system (nor should I know, I think).

(I certainly don’t want to start a flame war about which package management system is best; I just want to point out that using snap may be a practical workaround, but does not answer my concerns.)

[oliviercailloux]

To support my claims with an example, see here. We see here that the debian maintainer decided to disable some extensions to chromium that seem to create a privacy concern. (Whether this analysis is ultimately well-grounded, I do not claim – the poster admits that it’s not a thorough analysis; what I claim is that I feel comforted to use software that is analyzed by reasonably prudent people who tend to protect my interests in case of doubt.)

[TheJeje20]

Same for F-Droid repository instead of Google Play only

[kenpowers-signal]

@TheJeje20 that would be a feature request for Android. This is the repository for Signal Desktop.

[eike-fokken]

I second this request.

[stale]

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. It will be closed if no further activity occurs. Thank you for your contributions.

[oliviercailloux]

Dear bot,

I’d be very happy if this bug received a little bit of activity, mind you.

[hiqua]

Any volunteer can package it for Debian for the official repositories, just like Arch Linux has: https://archlinux.org/packages/community/x86_64/signal-desktop/

It's unlikely to come from the upstream team.