Why not use an Android version of Signal with the compatibility layer? I don’t own any SFOS devices yet so please forgive me if this is a stupid question. If Signal or a Sailfish native app with equivalent functionality and security isn’t available in 6 months I might not be able to make the switch.
Unofficial ports do not have Android Support so they can not use the Signal app. I can not answer about how good or bad does Signal Android App work with the compatibility layer. I do not own a Xperia.
If you have a phone, that supports AAS, you can use the official Signal-App - it works.
Like @sturai said, some phones dont have AAS. And on the other hand, a lot people like the native app with less functionality more, than the android app (i love to use Fernschreiber instead of the official Telegram-App, that I only have on my phone for the few situations I need features of it)
For me it’s mostly two things:
- Because Android apps are ugly and break the beautiful Sailfish UI experience.
- Because it involves firing up Android App Support which I try to use as little as possible.
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Because for some (many?) users, the goal is not to use Android at all at a certain point.
By using native apps, we encourage them to get better, we peripatetic to debug, make pull requests (improve code) etc. We learn “more with less”.
Also because Android is a data pump in itself or at least in principle. Systems philosophies…
Well… I guess everyone is at its maximum, that won’t help. Hurry up to come participate! 
Wrong.
What about Waydroid?
Please, don’t spread falsities over spread falsities.
Read more and use the search tool.
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I read that as not everyone has purchased the comparability layer. I preorderd the Jolla phone but have reservations about needing to give an email address to download free software. I was planning to rely on F-Droid and the deGoogled signal app I already use. GrapheneOS has a zero knowledge approach but ultimately I prefer the hackability of Linux.
You don’t need an email to download the native Signal client for Sailfish.
For the same reasons why people use SailfishOS over Android itself! Whisperfish is a very Sailfish-y app, and Signal Android will have all the benefits and flaws of, well, running Android.
If you’re using Signal with any threat model outside “I’m chatting with my grandma”, I will definitely recommend you use Signal Android or Molly. At that point, you might want to consider some hardened Android over SailfishOS as well.
Whereas that’s a very understandable point of view, pointing it out is rather inconsequential. Whisperfish will never be at “equivalent functionality” from an objective viewpoint. Signal has 40x the number of engineers, and they are paid full-time. We’re two volunteers (four if you count Gabriel and Schmiddi), and we’re reusing Signal’s upstream code maximally.
We’re trying very hard to keep up with Signal’s changes, at functionality, security and privacy levels. From what subjective point of view would Whisperfish be at “equivalent functionality” for you, specifically?
That doesn’t mean anything. But if what you’re after is maximal security, Graphene plus a de-Googled Signal might be your best bet indeed.
@Orangutan might be referring to SailfishOS here.
Anyway, let’s keep this on-topic; this is about Signal and Whisperfish, not about Android compatibility layers.
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I will try it in the Sailfish SDK. From a newcomer standpoint this gets confusing because there are Jolla apps, Android apps, native community apps from other sources, and whatever the individual wants to run because it’s Linux. I wish Jolla made a virtual machine available on their website for us to explore. To my knowledge there is no way to visit the official app store from a web browser.
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I understand that you do not want to take all the flak if something goes wrong, but if there is nothing inherently unsafe about Whisperfish itself, I would not generalize that far.
In my company, we have far more expertise in securing Linux systems than Android, so being able to predict possible threat models and failure modes is sometimes far more valuable than promised security that nobody has the time to check.
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Messaging with encryption. Reasonable power consumption for a mobile device. Low latency encrypted voice calls. Camera integration so I can send throwaway photos without saving to my gallery first. The ability to keep my account linked to the SIM without needing a second phone to receive registration texts. My threat model isn’t that high. Basic privacy is all in looking for and I assume the recipients of my messages are inadvertantly leaking everything anyway.
Everything you list, except voice calls is there. Signal does not have any unencrypted mode, by the way.
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For that you would need AAS or waydroid.
I mean no disrespect whatsoever but this was my original cause for concern. SFOS has a small user base and accordingly smaller number of devs. I suspect the ratio of devs to users is much higher than average though.
If you are forever playing catch up to Signal and the Android original works well I might have to stick with that. Signal is 70% of the reason why I carry a phone so native UI is a background concern.
The truth is I hate phones and try to use mine as little as possible. I’m still on the fence about my Jolla preorder because GrapheneOS is good enough. If adapting everything is a headache for devs and Jolla don’t directly contribute to the apps I use then what’s the point?
It seems like SailfishOS is the best and worst of both worlds. It isn’t mainline desktop Linux compatible (X11/Wayland) but does run Android apps through a compatibility layer. Jolla phones have closed source elements much like a Pixel running GrapheneOS. I like their independent EU approach and commitment to long term support but I’m worried it requires too many workarounds to replace my simple affordable Pixel.
I’ll let my preorder stand for now and see how it goes. Running the OS in a virtual machine will help clear things up because until then there are too many unknowns. I do appreciate every independent dev who makes things for the love of freedom and transparency. But I was under the impression Jolla was backing the Whisperfish project and it wasn’t just two people fighting an uphill battle with no support.
What is the relation between a mainline kernel and X11/Wayland? Because Sailifsh can run on mainline devices 
Link1: Mainline Linux kernel for the Jolla C2
Link2: The Pinephone Thread
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Other important point, the other dev behind Whisperfish works at Jolla
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Jolla already has its hands full developing the OS itself, so they are not backing individual apps. Some Jolla employees do create Sailfish apps off the clock, though.
If you do not care much about the UI or Linux and just want a platform that reliably runs Signal, I would think Graphene is probably the better option for you, especially if you are already familiar with Android.
I have never used Android myself, so I cannot really judge how good or bad it is. All I know is that I find it ugly and hard to use, but different people have different priorities.
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Subjectively I prefer ugly 
On Android I tap an app icon from the home screen or launch bar. The app appears full screen. I swipe up from the bottom to see the carousel of other open apps. I can swipe left or right and tap to fill the screen with one of these or swipe up to close a running instance. My most common apps are saved to the home screen or launch bar like desktop shortcuts.
Launching an app on Android never takes more than three inputs (unless you have too many to fit the home screen). With that said I prefer real Linux for all the bells and whistles. GrapheneOS, built on Android, is close to perfect on small screens. It has no bloat and F-Droid contains everything I could wish for. My interest in SFOS is running command line programs and having parity between my phone, desktop, and laptop.
I know Android has Termux, a terminal emulator, but it didn’t suit me. It is a derivation of Linux after all.
I think we might be better of with you beeing better of with Graphene. It suits you so much better. You should not waste your time with dummies like us not even having a proper Android and Google hardware underneath. We’re so lost.
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Well, @Orangutan is not wasting my time. There are many users interested at Sailfish OS, I totally agree if they have questions.
Moving from iOS or Android to Sailfish is absolutely not easy and generate a lot of question depending how autonomous the user is, how motivate he is, and if he knows his needs.
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