# Molly vs Signal on GrapheneOS **URL:** https://discuss.privacyguides.net/t/molly-vs-signal-on-grapheneos/35168 **Category:** Questions **Created:** 2026-02-03T19:09:38Z **Posts:** 38 ## Post 1 by @Archer — 2026-02-03T19:09:38Z I occasional get problems with Signal, that I don’t get messages or calls, even though I have the app opened and are connected to the internet. I suppose this could hapen because I am using GrapheneOS and Signal is optimized for stock Android with normal Google Play Services. Therefore I am thinking about switching to Molly. Do anyone here also had issues with Signal on a Custom ROM and can tell me if Molly is better regarding this? --- ## Post 2 by @vincent — 2026-02-03T19:15:27Z I use grapheneos and can say for sure that molly will be better in terms of notifications because it has an option to switch to unifiedpush, which works great without Google services (more specifically, they use mollysocket; you can find a server or host your own to receive notifications; for example, I use my own). It’s very convenient and almost problem-free. The only downside is that notifications will not come in power saving mode when the app is closed (when it’s open in the background, as far as I remember, they came). --- ## Post 3 by @kissu — 2026-02-03T19:16:31Z Oh, Signal + sandboxed GPlay services are not working well? > [@vincent](#): > > in terms of notifications because it has an option to switch to unifiedpush You’re self-hosting or using a public server? Not everybody can self host haha. :smiley: --- ## Post 4 by @vincent — 2026-02-03T19:18:00Z I used to use a public server, and overall there were no problems until it stopped working, so I had to set up my own :slight_smile: But I’m sure you can easily find a public that works well. --- ## Post 5 by @privacy.slouchy — 2026-02-03T19:30:36Z If this is a response to issues you experienced today in particular, be aware that [Signal suffered a network outage](https://www.theverge.com/news/873112/signal-app-down-outage) earlier that impacted both Signal & Molly users Generally, Signal on GOS w/ Play Services should work w/o any issue, assuming all apps have correct permissions & background usage enabled. Are you using any custom DNS resolvers? Signal does often [try to use its preferred DNS server](https://www.reddit.com/r/GrapheneOS/comments/1qmo400/comment/o1ppt1n/), if you’re trying to force use of an alternative resolver & block attempts to circumvent it, both Signal & Molly will occasionally malfunction Molly has less features, but enjoys security hardening & less integrated dependence on Google. It’s a fine choice. Though on GOS specifically, your data already enjoys essentially-uncrackable disk encryption; Molly’s additional database encryption _may_ be overkill. I myself run Molly on GOS w/o Play Services - my notifications through a WebSocket implementation work pretty well --- ## Post 6 by @kissu — 2026-02-03T19:33:57Z > [@privacy.slouchy](#): > > Molly has less features I’d say that it has more (relevant) features than Signal, never cared about Stories or other nonsense and being able to have multi-device is super nice! --- ## Post 7 by @ph00lt0 — 2026-02-03T19:34:28Z > [@kissu](#): > > Oh, Signal + sandboxed GPlay services are not working well? Works fine for me. If you don’t use Gplay maybe Molly is better. There is something to say for both choices. With Molly you add another provider to the chain of trust which adds risk, on the other hand in return get some additional privacy enhancements. --- ## Post 8 by @kissu — 2026-02-03T19:35:43Z > [@ph00lt0](#): > > Works fine for me. Would expect that one too. But the outage above makes sense for a potential lack of notifications yes. :+1: --- ## Post 9 by @privacy.slouchy — 2026-02-03T19:42:49Z Agree, most of it is bloat. I do occasionally find myself missing the [view-once media messages](https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360038443071-View-once-Media), but that passes quickly --- ## Post 10 by @kissu — 2026-02-03T19:46:14Z Didn’t even noticed that one was missing from Molly until you mentioned. :joy: I do love that feature too. Not sure why it’s not available… --- ## Post 11 by @vincent — 2026-02-03T19:48:16Z > [@privacy.slouchy](#): > > my notifications through a WebSocket From what I know, websockets consume a lot of battery power. How is it with you? --- ## Post 12 by @privacy.slouchy — 2026-02-03T19:56:15Z Ive got no issues to report. Battery stats put molly at ~10% of my daily battery usage. It is my main messenger, I have it open in the foreground often. Usually last most of the day on one charge --- ## Post 13 by @kissu — 2026-02-03T20:00:44Z > [@vincent](#): > > websockets consume a lot of battery power this is incorrect [Websockets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebSocket) are a performant way of checking for updates by today’s standards, it is a push/pull and not a naive polling kind of thing[[1]](#footnote-136962-1). Other things might be draining your battery. Also, Google Play services also use that kind of approach anyway. Maybe they do [SSE](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Server-sent_events) but it’s not like it’s very different from some WebSockets. * * * 1. like: check every X minutes for updates [↩︎](#footnote-ref-136962-1) --- ## Post 14 by @Tux — 2026-02-03T21:30:19Z Molly is better especially if you don’t want Google libraries. For one, Signal outright crashes if you attempt to share your location without Google stuff. In my mind, installing Google dependencies on Graphene almost completely defeats the point of a FOSS system. It’s probably acceptable for that one app you seldom need in a separate profile, but completely out of the question in the owner profile. --- ## Post 15 by @Scott — 2026-02-03T23:18:22Z I have a lot less issues with Signal when I split tunnel (allow the app to bypass my vpn). --- ## Post 16 by @Archer — 2026-02-04T19:50:21Z > [@vincent](#): > > I use grapheneos and can say for sure that molly will be better in terms of notifications because it has an option to switch to unifiedpush, which works great without Google services (more specifically, they use mollysocket; you can find a server or host your own to receive notifications; for example, I use my own). Is the experience also good with a push distributor like for example: > **[Sunup | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.unifiedpush.distributor.sunup/)** > > UnifiedPush provider using Mozilla's push server ? --- ## Post 17 by @kissu — 2026-02-04T19:54:52Z They are kinda doing the same job yes, hence maybe some technical differences but it looks like it works fine too? > > > ### Guidelines > > - [x] Yes, I have searched the existing requests > > ### Feature De…scription > > I currently use the websocket feature which requires constant notification to be displayed for push notifications while I route other apps like IronFox (Firefox fork) and Element X through Sunup. It would be nice if Molly allowed for Sunup as well so I don't have to have Sunup and Molly be two different services. This feature should ideally be implemented the same way as the current websocket approach without requiring any server setup like with the current UnifiedPush approach in Molly. Simply display `New message` through Sunup the same way as the websocket. Sunup in other apps makes UnifiedPush simple without headaches. > > https://unifiedpush.org/users/distributors/sunup > > EDIT: Molly does support Sunup when you use mollysocket but could this be skipped and implemented the same way as the wbesocket approach that does not require any server? --- ## Post 18 by @Archer — 2026-02-04T19:58:51Z If I read this correctly, Molly works with Unified Push over Sunup --- ## Post 19 by @kissu — 2026-02-04T20:00:43Z Yes indeed. You asked about Sunup, hence why I linked the GH issue above that also states > I would rename the issue to “builtin unifiedpush support” as Molly works with Sunup just fine Hence, you should be able to make it work with both just fine. :+1:t2: --- ## Post 20 by @ph00lt0 — 2026-02-04T20:06:22Z It definitely does not defeat the purpose. Your phone is a lot more secure with GrapheneOS in the first place and secondly you can still limit all the permissions, access, tracking capabilities by a lot. This narrative is an unfortunate thing that is being repeated a lot but far from true. --- ## Post 21 by @Archer — 2026-02-04T20:20:17Z I found on their Github that Unified Push is an direct feature > **[GitHub - mollyim/mollyim-android: Enhanced and security-focused fork of Signal.](https://github.com/mollyim/mollyim-android)** > > Enhanced and security-focused fork of Signal. --- ## Post 22 by @kissu — 2026-02-04T20:22:18Z Yes. I am still not sure on what you want to achieve here. Want to use UnifiedPush? It is the default and will work just fine. :green_circle: Want to use Sunup? Looks like it works fine too. :green_circle: --- ## Post 23 by @privacyisconsent — 2026-02-04T20:32:49Z > [@Archer](#): > > I occasional get problems with Signal, that I don’t get messages or calls, even though I have the app opened and are connected to the internet. This has been an issue for my family on stock Pixel and Samsung devices too, so I am fairly comfortable with saying it is just a Signal thing for some of us. --- ## Post 24 by @Archer — 2026-02-05T15:39:33Z > [@ph00lt0](#): > > With Molly you add another provider to the chain of trust which adds risk, on the other hand in return get some additional privacy enhancements. On my research I found that [their builds are reproducible](https://github.com/mollyim/mollyim-android?tab=readme-ov-file#reproducible-builds),and since their own changes a probably relatively small in code size, it wouldn’t be that hard to verify that they don’t add anything malicious. > [@kissu](#): > > Yes. > > I am still not sure on what you want to achieve here. > > Want to use UnifiedPush? It is the default and will work just fine. :green_circle: > Want to use Sunup? Looks like it works fine too. :green_circle: Sunup is a distributor for Unifiepush, and I need a distributor because I don’t want to self host it. > [@privacyisconsent](#): > > This has been an issue for my family on stock Pixel and Samsung devices too, so I am fairly comfortable with saying it is just a Signal thing for some of us. You also getting bugs like that you get called and they call just doesn’t ring even though you have the app open on stock os? Then its a real Signal bug and not just a dependency issue. Then its weird that Signal doesn’t patch such an annoying bug for this long time. --- ## Post 25 by @Tux — 2026-02-05T16:40:45Z A phone with GrapheneOS and Google libraries may be more secure than a stock Google phone, but still allows Google to collect plenty of information. Considering that this is is a privacy forum, removing all Big Tech snooping should be the primary objective, ahead of “security” in some loosely defined sense. --- ## Post 26 by @anon64387538 — 2026-02-05T17:39:20Z Molly in my opinion is better than Signal in every way. It is hardened and has additional privacy and security features. The only potential drawback is trusting another party, although it seems the Molly devs take security more seriously than the Signal team, so I’m not remotely concerned. Regarding battery, there does seem to be a difference in battery consumption depending whether you have Google Play Services installed or not. Not sure why, but when I used to have GPS, Molly (FOSS, from Accrescent) used like 40% of my battery. Without GPS installed it uses under 10%. Regarding websocket vs. unified push. I believe unified push is just a websocket. If you have several apps that use unified push, setting it up can help with battery, but if not just keep it simple with the default Molly websocket. The public instances of Molly Socket did not work reliably for me because they seem to get rate limited. Otherwise you have to self host. --- ## Post 27 by @kissu — 2026-02-05T17:54:36Z > [@Archer](#): > > Sunup is a distributor for Unifiepush, and I need a distributor because I don’t want to self host it. Why don’t you use a public UnifiedPush instance then? --- ## Post 28 by @anon64387538 — 2026-02-05T18:11:28Z However you use UP, you also need a hosted instance of MollySocket. The public instances I’ve tried are overloaded, and self hosting is a chore. The UP distributor in “Conversations" worked okay in combo with a public MollySocket instance but notifications were delayed and came thru in chunks. --- ## Post 29 by @mooseberg — 2026-02-05T18:12:59Z I’m just one data point but Signal on GOS without Google services has been very solid for me. It used to be a little finicky a couple years ago but these days it works without issue. > [@Tux](#): > > In my mind, installing Google dependencies on Graphene almost completely defeats the point of a FOSS system > [@Tux](#): > > Considering that this is is a privacy forum, removing all Big Tech snooping should be the primary objective, ahead of “security” in some loosely defined sense. Its sounds like your threat model is “avoid big tech" and that’s fine but not the same for everyone. Personally I relate, but GOS offers a lot more than just being able to degoogle. Also importantly, sandboxed Google services is much better than standard system level Google services because it significantly restricts what data Google can access and how it can operate. I’m all for getting rid of Google but many people are unfortunately dependent on it. --- ## Post 30 by @anon64387538 — 2026-02-05T18:16:24Z > [@mooseberg](#): > > Personally I relate, but GOS offers a lot more than just being able to degoogle. I think the distinction is been privacy and security benefits. If you run GOS with GPS installed, you’re getting only a marginal improvement in _privacy_. You’re still getting a quantum leap improvement in _security_ over stock Android though. --- ## Post 31 by @mooseberg — 2026-02-05T18:30:56Z Being able to isolate through several user profiles, being able to disable network and sensor permissions, being able to sandbox google services, having storage/contact scopes. Those are significant privacy wins IMO --- ## Post 32 by @anon64387538 — 2026-02-05T19:06:43Z I suppose I agree. --- ## Post 33 by @Archer — 2026-02-06T15:28:28Z > [@kissu](#): > > ![](https://forum-cdn.privacyguides.net/user_avatar/discuss.privacyguides.net/archer/48/11846_2.png) Archer: > > > Sunup is a distributor for Unifiepush, and I need a distributor because I don’t want to self host it. > > Why don’t you use a public UnifiedPush instance then? Sunup is a client for a public UnifiedPush instance --- ## Post 34 by @Cyber-Typhoon — 2026-02-06T16:12:21Z I like Molly but one thing that is a bit annoying is the hardcoded Screen Security that blocks screenshots. Edit: this seems specific from the version used in the Accrescent --- ## Post 35 by @anon64387538 — 2026-02-06T16:31:34Z Toggle off “screen security" in settings. You can enable screen shots in all versions of Molly and Signal. --- ## Post 36 by @Cyber-Typhoon — 2026-02-06T16:39:59Z ![IMG_0613](https://forum-uploads.privacyguidesusercontent.com/original/3X/4/a/4a62dfd0d54fafa4d90f08f2d0a89d5a84c1e115.jpeg) Not for me. Gray out, it is the Molly version available from Accrescent. --- ## Post 37 by @anon64387538 — 2026-02-06T16:41:11Z I use Molly from Accrescent. That option has never been greyed out for me. I’m not sure why yours is like that. EDIT: I think it’s because you have screen lock on. --- ## Post 38 by @Cyber-Typhoon — 2026-02-06T16:43:48Z > [@anon64387538](#): > > EDIT: I think it’s because you have screen lock on. Yes, I forgot about that. That is the reason. Ignore my complain. Note: it sounds so dumb, I even used another phone to take a picture to share here. I really need some vacation.