Current Events > Technology illiterate. What's the difference between iMessage and regular text?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I have an iPhone but I turn off my iMessage. Other than the color, is there any real difference?

I like the color green more than the color blue.

I'm the only Department Head who isn't green. >_>

Admiral_Zero posted...

I have an iPhone but I turn off my iMessage. Other than the color, is there any real difference?

iMessage backs up to iCloud and can use WiFi instead of cell/SMS data.
If I remember right from my days with Apple those should be the basic differences. I think the stupid Memojis are unavailable as well and other minor stuff.

iMessage is end to end encrypted but SMS is already encrypted as is. end to end encryption doesn't provide any extra security unless someone steals or clones your phone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuaKzm7Kq9Q

Tyranthraxus posted...

iMessage is end to end encrypted but SMS is already encrypted as is. end to end encryption doesn't provide any extra security unless someone steals or clones your phone.

Or if your phone company wants to check your texts. Or if you want to send texts without having data.

sktgamer_13dude posted...

Or if your phone company wants to check your texts. Or if you want to send texts without having data.

Phone companies aren't going to check your texts without a subpoena and by then your phone has already been seized by the FBI or whatever.

Tyranthraxus posted...

iMessage is end to end encrypted but SMS is already encrypted as is. end to end encryption doesn't provide any extra security unless someone steals or clones your phone.

what does that mean exactly?

Admiral_Zero posted...

what does that mean exactly?

Imagine I'm sending you a message in Morse code over the air with beep bep. That's unencrypted. Anyone who can hear the beep bep can figure out what I'm saying to you.

So I come to you in private and say "to protect our beep beps, only the ones immediately before a clap count" now the guy listening to our beep beps is just getting a bunch of garbage letters while only you understand the real message. That's "SMS" as well as most of the internet in general.

Now Morse code takes a long time to transmit and you're going to forget the first letter by the time I send you the last letter. So to fix this, you start writing it down as I'm sending it. Now the guy listening to our beep beps realizes he can still get the message by looking over your shoulders as you're writing it down. To fix this, instead of sending you regular words, I send you pig Latin. The guy looking over your shoulder has no idea how to read pig Latin but you do just fine. The pig Latin is "end to end" encryption.

So now if the guy wants to read the Morse code I'm sending you, he has to beat you up and force you to translate the pig Latin for him. This is unlikely to ever happen.