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Explanation: For years has been adding features while retaining the core commitment to a secure communications protocol with a functioning client and no more. Now, Signal will backup your data to their computers, protected by that PIN they’ve been nagging you about.
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Signal was proud to have a network that retained no user information. Until a few days ago they could brag about this, and justifiably so. That is no longer the case. Signal is now storing your data inside SGX enclaves — a sort of wet paper bag for clustering sensitive info.
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There is no way to opt out of Signal’s data grab.
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Originally, it was a registration lock PIN. It stopped your phone number from being reassigned to another instance of Signal due to SIM jacking, etc. A weak PIN made sense for that. They overhauled the feature and turned it into a remote backup / sync implementation too.
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It only backs up contacts, profile, etc. but it's a lot different from the original purpose and it's not adequately explained in the app. Also, a weak PIN is not sufficient for deriving a proper encryption key. They do let you to set a strong passphrase, but it's not encouraged.
So, generate a strong random passphrase and you don't need to rely on sketchy SGX integration for throttling key derivation. Back up the passphrase in a password manager and turn off reminders. The problem is the UX, lack of explanation, dark patterns and their response.
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There isn't really a technical reason to stop using Signal based on this. It's an extra thing to deal with to use the app with the same privacy properties as before though. They're adding a way to opt out but registration lock is important since people don't check safety numbers.
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