Windows: Signal uninstaller deletes user data when uninstalling application. about signal-desktop HOT 3 CLOSED

I feel the need to break this down further because there may be a language barrier here.

The app and its related info will be uninstalled.

The way a sentence like this is parsed is as such:
"The app" Signal in this case, "and its related info" the data signal needs to operate, "will be uninstalled" meaning this information, that Signal needs to operate will be removed from your system.

Signal doesn't need user data to operate. Furthermore, user data is not seen as belonging to the app or Signal. It belongs to the user: "and its related info", its states possession, the data that "the app", Signal owns. Signal doesn't own a users messaging data.

It's very clear that someone just used the default text for this installer system, and added the user-data folders to the in the uninstall script. Let's not dig our heels in because it's what was always done, or out of laziness.

The corrective action is to either remove the deletion of the user data folder from the uninstall script, or modify the text to also state it removes user data, because currently it does not.

Anything else will make users stop relying and trusting Signal. You can't trust something that doesn't do what it says it's going to do, or something that works in unpredictable ways.

from signal-desktop.

Hey, @nabeelr. The Signal Desktop uninstall process has worked this way on Windows for many years. If we suddenly changed it to start leaving data behind, that would also break user expectations at this point.

The text that appears in the dialog box during the uninstall process is provided by the Windows operating system and cannot be customized by individual apps like Signal.

We are genuinely sorry that this was confusing, and we also apologize for the frustration that this has caused.

The rest of our comments in your original issue (#6910) remain relevant. The underlying bug which caused you to see that two versions of Signal were both installed (and to therefore try to uninstall one of them) is being tracked here. Fortunately, it only impacts people who first installed Signal a very long time ago using a legacy install process — but we still hope to find a solution at some point.

from signal-desktop.