Using Signal: Everything you need to know (2024)

Signal is one of themmore popular encrypted messaging platformson the market for those who want a secure (and free) way to communicate.

The app uses its own open source, end-to-end encryption protocol and, as a bonus, is owned by a non-profit foundation rather than a tech giant like Facebook (Whatsapp's parent company).

• How to switch from WhatsApp to Signal
• The best encrypted messaging apps
• Plus: Signal and Facebook Messenger Let Hackers Spy on You: What to Do

With Signal, your communications are encrypted end-to-end by default, meaning no one else can intercept your messages, group chats, and voice calls. To ensure this, you don't need to enable any settings.

The app has a disappearing messages feature for communications you don't want to keep. And because it's open source, the code is regularly checked for security flaws.

Install signal

1. Download the Signal software for your preferred platform:

• iOS
• Android
• ramen
• macOS
• Linux(Debian-based distributions only, including Ubuntu and Linux Mint)

Please note that to use Signal on your desktop, you must first have the app installed on your phone.

2. Open the app on your phone and register with your phone number.

Note: Before you do this, click through the terms and conditions and decide whether you want to enable notifications and give Signal access to your contacts.

3. Signal will send you a confirmation code via SMS. Enter this in the code field.

4. You will be asked to create a PIN for your account.

The PIN code consists of four digits by default, but you can choose to make it an alphanumeric password or use a longer PIN code.

5. Complete your profile.

Signal only requires a first name and it does not have to be your real name. It can be a nickname or even an emoji. A last name and a photo or other avatar are optional.

That's all you have to do. Once set up on your phone, you can use a desktop oriPadversion too. Signal makes it easy to connect multiple devices.

Connect a desktop or iPad to your Signal account

First, install and open the app on your desktop or iPad (Android tablets are currently not supported for this feature).

Then open Signal on your phone and tap your profile icon in the top left corner to access your settings.

Tap Connected Devices > (Android) or Pair New Device (iOS) and use your phone to scan the QR code on the device you want to connect to. Follow the instructions to complete the installation.

Use signal

To send an individual message using Signal, tap the pencil icon in the top right corner. (On some versions of the Android app, the pencil is in the lower right corner.) This will retrieve your phone's contacts (if you enabled these permissions during setup). Just tap a switch and start typing.

You can also search for Signal users who are not among your contacts by clicking Search by Phone Number.

To make an encrypted audio or video call, select a contact and then tap the phone or camera icon that appears in the top corner of the screen.

To chat with a group, tap the pencil icon on the home screen and then tap New Group.

You can select members from your contacts or add people by phone number. Tap Next, enter a group name and tap Create.

You can invite additional members by sending the group link or adding members from your contacts. Tap the group icon at the top of the screen to access your group's settings. Scroll down to Group Link to enable this feature and share the direct link. You can also require an administrator to approve member requests.

You can also use Signal for group calls (limited to five participants once, butnow supports as many as 40) directly from a group chat.

To enable disappearing messages in an individual or group chat, go to the chat settings and enable this feature. You can choose how long you want messages to appear (from five seconds to a week).

Other signaling functions

Signal has a number of additional privacy settings you can enable. From the home screen, go to Settings > Privacy to change specific message preferences, such as read receipts, as well as screen saver, which prevents message previews, and screen lock, which requires your password or biometric access to view the app.

If you send photos or videos, you can also reply in Signalparts of images blur. This is useful if you want to hide faces before sending media.

Tap the camera icon to record or upload media. To send a photo, use the checkerboard icon to blur.

If you need itchange your phone number while keeping your alert history and groups, this is now possible as long as you keep the same phone and use Signal version 5.30.6 on Android and version 5.27.1 on iOS.Instructions are here.

You can also transfer your Signal account, with message history and groups intact, from one phone to another, as long as the number doesn't change. The catch is that you can only do it from one Android device to another, or from one iOS device to another.Here's how you do it.

If you ever want to destroy your account, go to Settings > Advanced and tap the Delete Account button.

Updated with number change and account transfer information. This guidance was first published in January 2021.