[tor-bugs] #17510 [Tor Messenger]: Tor Messenger: store aliases locally

[Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki]

#17510: Tor Messenger: store aliases locally
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     Reporter:  cypherpunks    |      Owner:
         Type:  enhancement    |     Status:  new
     Priority:  Medium         |  Milestone:
    Component:  Tor Messenger  |    Version:
     Severity:  Normal         |   Keywords:  messenger, metadata
Actual Points:                 |  Parent ID:
       Points:                 |    Sponsor:
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 The Tor Messenger is intended to help anonymize IM metadata. For contacts
 to remain anonymous, they must create accounts with usernames which are
 not associated with their known identities. This creates a usability
 problem because all of your contacts' usernames may be unrecognizable
 gibberish.

 The natural response is to set an alias for your contacts so you can
 remember who they are. These aliases are stored server-side. This means
 that even if you do everything right, send messages only with both OTR and
 Tor, and pick a username that can't be traced back to you, your contacts
 could still easily and even accidentally reveal your identity to the
 server, which could be compromised or compelled to provide this data.

 The Tor Messenger should add storage of contact aliases in the client and
 disable sending of those aliases to servers.

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Ticket URL: <https://trac.torproject.org/projects/tor/ticket/17510>
Tor Bug Tracker & Wiki <https://trac.torproject.org/>
The Tor Project: anonymity online