this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2023
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[โ€“] [email protected] 18 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

From their GitHub:

Molly has unique features compared to Signal:

  • Data encryption at rest - Protect the database with passphrase encryption
  • Secure RAM wiper - Securely shred sensitive data from device memory
  • Automatic lock - Lock the app automatically under certain conditions
  • Multi-device support -- Link multiple devices, including Android tablets, to a single account
  • Block unknown contacts - Block messages and calls from unknown senders for security and anti-spam
  • Contact deletion - Allows you to delete contacts and stop sharing your profile
  • Disappearing call history - Clear call notifications together with expiring messages
  • Debug logs are optional - Android logging can be disabled
  • Custom backup scheduling - Choose between a daily or weekly interval and the number of backups to retain
  • SOCKS proxy and Tor support - Tunnel app network traffic via proxy and Orbot

Besides that, you will find all the features of Signal plus some minor tweaks and improvements. As with Signal, SMS is not supported.


Molly is open-source just like Signal. But Signal uses Google's proprietary software to provide some key features.

To support a 100% free and auditable app, Molly comes in two flavors: one with proprietary blobs like Signal and one without. They are called Molly and Molly-FOSS, respectively.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Contact deletion - Allows you to delete contacts

Wow, what a groundbreaking feature! ๐Ÿคฃ

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)
  • Data encryption at rest - Protect the database with passphrase encryption

I tried Molly once, and doing that meant I wasn't getting notifications. Is that how it's supposed to be?

[โ€“] [email protected] 6 points 11 months ago

Idk, when I tried it, I just kept hugging people and grinding my teeth

[โ€“] [email protected] 5 points 11 months ago (2 children)

It is pretty common when starting to use apps that don't depend on Google services to not get notifications. Many struggle with inconsistent and sub-optimal notification strategies such as background sync via polling or a custom notifications service and need battery optimizations turned off. UnifiedPush allows for push notifications from a server or your choosing so those other methods don't need to be used.

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

The app was generally able to send notifications just fine, through whatever way they used back when I tried it. Probably a websocket, since UnifiedPush is only now being introduced.

Just when I used the database encryption specifically, the app was fully locked down, and wouldn't send notifications out, then.

I'm just wondering if that is by design, or if I maybe just missed a crucial setting.

[โ€“] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

Often apps in the background will be killed aggressively, so check this website out to see how to turn off battery optimization on the apps you need always running https://dontkillmyapp.com/

Soon you'll be able to turn it on again and use a UnifiedPush app instead