this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2025
89 points (98.9% liked)

Selfhosted

60758 readers
143 users here now

A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.

Rules:

Detailed Rules Post

  1. Be civil.

  2. No spam.

  3. Posts are to be related to self-hosting.

  4. Don't duplicate the full text of your blog or readme if you're providing a link.

  5. Submission headline should match the article title.

  6. No trolling.

  7. Promotion posts require active participation, with an account that is at least 30 days old. F/LOSS without a paywall has exceptions, with requirements. See the rules link for details. Tags [CBH] or [AIP] are required, see the links in Rule 8 for details.

  8. AI-related discussions and AI-involved promotional posts have additional requirements for tagging, as noted in Rule 7 and the AI & Promotional Post Expanded Rules post, and find example disclosures here.

Resources:

Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.

Questions? DM the mods!

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

When not using Google Play services (e.g. GrapheneOS, LineageOS users), Signal can be a real battery drain. Molly with UnifiedPush on the other hand is extremely battery efficient.

Here's how to set this up, using Nextcloud as the UnifiedPush provider.

all 18 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] rhythmisaprancer@piefed.social 7 points 9 months ago

I am using websocket and don't see a large battery drain. Am I missing something by not setting up unified push?

[–] Sunny@slrpnk.net 7 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Nice thanks for sharing! How much more battery preserving have you found molly to be? Signal is also on the top of my list in terms of most battery-draining apps, so a migration to Molly sounds nice (also on GOS).

Also, nice blog! Subscribed via rss ☺️

[–] 0bs1d1an@infosec.pub 3 points 9 months ago

I sadly haven't tracked precise battery usage for both Signal and Molly, to properly compare. I do believe it easily saves me 10 percent on my daily battery life, though.

Thanks for subscribing! :-)

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 5 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Molly and Signal apps can be installed on the same device.

Big warning here, if you switch to Molly on the same device, your Signal install will go offline/be disconnected.

I just wanted to try the Material You theme that Signal is missing, but this made me apprehensive.

[–] WeAreAllOne@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 9 months ago

Warning. If switching from newest version of Signal to Molly, this might not work since Molly is quite few versions behind → compatibility issues.

[–] 0bs1d1an@infosec.pub 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Of course, Signal will be unlinked when using Molly. Molly however supports multiple devices.

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 6 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Right, but Molly saying they can be installed on the same device alongside Signal is kind of confusing because it implies they can be USED simultaneously, kind of like Telegram and Telegram X. But this is not the case as far as I understand.

[–] oakcroissant@feddit.org 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

If Molly is set as a linked device, they can be used on the same phone at the same time.

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I tried every way I could find but every path I took in the setup process of Molly told me to scan a QR code, but how tf do I scan a QR code with my phone, that is shown on my phone's screen. So I gave up. I really tried to make Molly a linked device. 🤷‍♂️ If anybody has the exact process for this, please hit me with a reply. Would love to try Molly on the side of Signal proper, without losing Signal as the main app/device.

[–] katve@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Take a picture of the code with a webcam or another phone, worked for me.

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Really though? 😆 I guess that's what I gotta do. (I won't btw.) But what if I didn't have another camera lol. This whole setup would fail miserably. Just let me have a link I can click as well. 💀

[–] JadedBlueEyes@programming.dev 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

You can use scrcpy or similar to mirror your phone screen, and/or take a screenshot

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I won't do any of this stuff, mostly because I don't care enough to test it, and I soft-refuse to get this to work unless it's in a way the app developers intended. I don't know why I have this principle. The shit needs to work without workarounds, otherwise it's bad design. Kind of?

But I really appreciate the help, regardless. ❤️

[–] UniversalBasicJustice@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I agree with you in spirit but would also like to shill for scrcpy in general if you aren't already using it. Mirroring phone screen to my laptop is fucking amazing.

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

What do you use it for? I have my phone sitting on a small holder/stand next to my screen both at home and at work. What's your use case, if you don't mind sharing?

[–] UniversalBasicJustice@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Keyboard and mouse input for the phone is a gamechanger for me. Having a manipulatable window that I can drag and drop files to is super nice as well.

Also since Slay the Spire doesn't have cross-saving and all my progress is on my phone I can play it without staring at my phone.

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

I guess I don't really have a reason to access my phone via my computer. Everything I use has a desktop interface — Signal, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, my radio app, my podcasts app, Spotify, etc.

But it's good to have alternatives if something comes up! Thanks for the tip!