2013-05-17 Gliph joins Boost.vc, launches bitcoin messaging and payments app

[gweedo]

http://pandodaily.com/2013/05/17/gliph-joins-boost-vc-launches-bitcoin-messaging-and-payments-app/

Portland-based Gliph has been building a secure, anonymous messaging app for two years without a strong use case for the technology. It’s also done so while bootstrapping.

And then, as co-founder Rob Banagale put it, ”bitcoin sailed in.” When the virtual currency began to take off this year, the founders knew that they’d found an application for their technology.

“We knew identity and payments and transactions were important but how it was going to fit together we weren’t sure,” he says. “We just knew we needed to start at security and privacy and getting people to connect.”

[aigeezer]

"an anonymous social layer" sounds like an oxymoron to me - I just don't get it. Is this the Next Big Thing? Anyone?

[teknomunk]

The Gliph site describes itself as "Secure Texting + Bitcoin Payments", so encrypted text messages.  Entirely possible for it to be both secure and social by limiting messages to only your contacts.

[Gliph]

Hey, this is Rob with Gliph here. I wanted to chime in and say hello.

I'm subscribing to this thread and will do my best to answer any questions that come up.

 

[razibuzouzou]

Hey Rob, the system looks great and promising.
My questions may sound a bit naive, sorry, do you plan on enabling businesses (local shops, webshops, brands) to have Gliph profiles and pages ? Prospectively, how long before such service appears (through Gliph or any other) ?

[gweedo]

Hey, this is Rob with Gliph here. I wanted to chime in and say hello.

I'm subscribing to this thread and will do my best to answer any questions that come up.

 

Gratz on your app, it looks cool! I been trying it out.

[aigeezer]

The Gliph site describes itself as "Secure Texting + Bitcoin Payments", so encrypted text messages.  Entirely possible for it to be both secure and social by limiting messages to only your contacts.

Thanks, I get it now. Seems like a good idea. Just looking at the site - hmmn "Safely interact with people who aren't "friends". Interesting, guess I've got some reading to do.

Rob, if you're reading this, thanks - is your app subpoena-proof, as it were? Can some "authority" make you reveal message contents under duress? I see "Your personal data is your property, and you own it in accordance with our privacy policy" in your FAQs, but of course the devil is in the whatsit. More specifically, what would have happened, hypothetically if Manning and Assange had used Gliph to communicate?

[Mike Christ]

"an anonymous social layer" sounds like an oxymoron to me - I just don't get it. Is this the Next Big Thing? Anyone?

It's possible to be both anonymous and social--just look at 4chan

[BTCLuke]

Hi Rob,

Just downloaded and played with Gliph; and I gotta give you props on making a truly original app.

I know exactly what _I_ would use Gliph for, being one of those die-hard privacy nuts, but what I'm having trouble figuring out is what the general public would use it for.  

Can you say a few words about who your target market is and how you plan to make Gliph's adoption as large as it can be?

Thanks!

[Gliph]

Gratz on your app, it looks cool! I been trying it out.

Thank you. And thanks for trying it out. Please send feedback to the Support Gliph!

Rob, if you're reading this, thanks - is your app subpoena-proof, as it were? Can some "authority" make you reveal message contents under duress? I see "Your personal data is your property, and you own it in accordance with our privacy policy" in your FAQs, but of course the devil is in the whatsit. More specifically, what would have happened, hypothetically if Manning and Assange had used Gliph to communicate?

Hey there. A key message here is that we offer the ability to turn off password reset, thereby removing the ability to decrypt your private key without your password. There are many reasons we offer this, including to allow privacy from our team (and future team members) and to ensure that in the unlikely event we lose control of your data (for any reason) you can be assured it remains private.

Can you say a few words about who your target market is and how you plan to make Gliph's adoption as large as it can be?

Despite Gliph's hard angle on privacy and security and more specific use case today, our target audience is mainstream smart phone users. Our intention is to make it as useful and cared about as any existing communications tool out there.

[cypherdoc]

so you can only connect with other Glyph users?

isn't Coinbase a centralized location with all your identity info?

[Gliph]

so you can only connect with other Glyph users?

Yes, in order for our team to offer the mix of user experience and security we aim for, both people must be Gliph users.

isn't Coinbase a centralized location with all your identity info?

Coinbase is also centralized, but does not necessarily have your identity information.

edit: typo

[cypherdoc]

Coinbase is also centralized, but does not necessarily have your identity information.

i'm almost sure it's a requirement.

[Gliph]

I believe you can create a wallet on Coinbase with just an email address and password.

If you are very concerned about privacy, you may need to provide more if you want to move USD into and out of the service. You could create a Coinbase account and move money into that wallet from another and you should be good to go.

Currently, Coinbase does send an email to the person you send bitcoin to with your account email address.

For privacy, we also recommend when you sign up for Coinbase that you do not use a personal or work email address. Instead use a Cloaked Email address, (an email privacy service Gliph provides), or a different throw away account.

edit: spelling

[aigeezer]

Thanks for the updates, Rob. Please keep the details coming.

I'm not in the USA. As far as I can tell, coinbase is US-only at the moment.

http://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/questions/833938-foreign-countries-and-currencies-

I think this means Gliph will not be much use to me for a while, other than the potential for an email cloak.

With respect to email cloaking, I've tried various services over the years. All went belly-up - ahead of their time perhaps, or just bad implementations.
In every case it meant lost email addys, and a mad scramble to tell correspondents to change my address - particularly awkward when I couldn't send from the suddenly-defunct old address.

Yours is structured differently for sure, but can you offer some reassurance as to what happens in the unlikely event of a water landing your company going under some day?
Could a user carry on with minimal disruption?

Thanks!

[Gliph]

Thanks for the updates, Rob. Please keep the details coming.

I'm not in the USA. As far as I can tell, coinbase is US-only at the moment.

http://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/questions/833938-foreign-countries-and-currencies-

I think this means Gliph will not be much use to me for a while, other than the potential for an email cloak.

This is only true if you need to use Coinbase to exchange money into Bitcoin.

Most folks here already have Bitcoin in a wallet. That means, no matter where in the world you are, you can still create a Coinbase account and then send Bitcoin to that wallet using its Receive Bitcoin feature. 

You simply can not use Coinbase's exchange system to get Bitcoin in.  You can still use BIPS, Mt. Gox, etc.

Once you have put Bitcoin in a Coinbase wallet (through transfer or exchange) The Gliph app is useful to you in sending bitcoin with other Gliph users.

...Yours is structured differently for sure, but can you offer some reassurance as to what happens in the unlikely event of a water landing your company going under some day? Could a user carry on with minimal disruption?

We also use Cloaked Email for important subscriptions and communications on the interent. So we are aware of the potential impact shutting such a service down would have.  I can vouch for the company doing everything possible not to abandon our users and leave them unable to receive their email.

Just the same, I understand reasonable concern around the fact that Gliph is still an early company. If there is a service or communication that you absolutely must guarantee will persist without any re-configuration, you may want to provide that person or service an actual email address.

[aigeezer]

Thanks, Rob. The coinbase issue goes away for me now. Very nice!

I'll have to reflect on the email implications a bit more.

[Muhammed Zakir]

I believe you can create a wallet on Coinbase with just an email address and password.

If you are very concerned about privacy, you may need to provide more if you want to move USD into and out of the service. You could create a Coinbase account and move money into that wallet from another and you should be good to go.

Currently, Coinbase does send an email to the person you send bitcoin to with your account email address.

For privacy, we also recommend when you sign up for Coinbase that you do not use a personal or work email address. Instead use a Cloaked Email address, (an email privacy service Gliph provides), or a different throw away account.

edit: spelling

What you told is nice but when using Cloaked Email address, it is a little hard to track every mails, right? When we use our personal email, we will open it most of the times and it is very easy to track every new mails.
IMO If you use Gliph, it would be better to use Email privacy service Gliph provides.

Kindly,
        Muhammed Zakhir

[bitpop]

Pando is a shit blog
Full of lies and shills

[Gliph]

This is a bit older thread, but I'll answer questions here anyway.  If you're have general questions about Gliph, please post to this thread which I'm monitoring more closely.

What you told is nice but when using Cloaked Email address, it is a little hard to track every mails, right? When we use our personal email, we will open it most of the times and it is very easy to track every new mails.
IMO If you use Gliph, it would be better to use Email privacy service Gliph provides.

Kindly,  Muhammed Zakhir

Hey Muhammed, thanks for the feedback. I think I follow what you're saying. Fwiw, Cloaked Email does route to your normal inbox, so you shouldn't miss notifications from Coinbase or other services, as they are delivered to your normal inbox.  (It sounds like you got that, but I want to clarify for anyone reading along.

Pando is a shit blog Full of lies and shills

I disagree, but I respect your opinion and realize you may have specific valid reasons for feeling that way. Out of curiosity, are there any publications you would recommend Gliph seeking coverage in? We have gotten press from a lot of different places, but if there is a place you'd recommend we focus efforts in getting coverage for our next release, I would like to know about it.