The desktop application is just a temporary web session in a box. You cant recover your account from it, so if you lose your phone, you will eventually lose access to your account and messages.
on a computer that anybody can see that might use my computer
Why dont you have access restrictions on your computer? Literally any operating system allows you to just set a password…
My laptop is encrypted but once it’s open I turn the password off because I just get tired of typing the password every time I sit down. I’m not too worried about people in my house digging into my laptop. Text messages OTOH, is a whole other level.
The desktop application is just a temporary web session in a box. You cant recover your account from it, so if you lose your phone, you will eventually lose access to your account and messages.
Why dont you have access restrictions on your computer? Literally any operating system allows you to just set a password…
My laptop is encrypted but once it’s open I turn the password off because I just get tired of typing the password every time I sit down. I’m not too worried about people in my house digging into my laptop. Text messages OTOH, is a whole other level.