Signal Messenger is growing every day, and that is because WhatsApp wanted to go sideways, now many users have switched to the app, but that isn’t all we know. Signal is a secure messaging platform that encrypts your messages end-to-end.
The private messaging app recorded a high number of users who joined the app in the last few months and they want to keep them, by introducing some of the best WhatsApp best features, which include a wallpaper for different chats.
The messaging app uses the same technology WhatsApp uses to secure and encrypt its users’ messages, this technology makes sure that no one can decrypt your message even the government.
Although the messaging app is far behind in terms of features, new features are coming on the app and Signal would start including those interesting ones from WhatsApp.
WhatsApp has been sharing users’ data with Facebook since 2016, but users were able to opt-out and still use the app. But the new WhatsApp Policy changes everything, you will need to agree to the terms before using the app.
At this moment, WhatsApp is trying their users back, and Signal wants to keep them. Away from that, here’s everything you need to know about the Signal Private Messenger, and what’s coming next.
Everything you need to know about Signal is here. And if you have been following the news, you know what happens. And if you have downloaded the app, or you are about to, here are things you should know before using the private messaging app.
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The messaging app is free
Just like WhatsApp Messenger, Signal is free to use, and you can get started by downloading the app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store. You can do everything for free. Using the app you might as well want to donate to the platform through the donate button at the bottom of the app settings.
Signal Messenger is open source
What does open-source mean? It means the code is publicly available for everyone to see, unlike WhatsApp which is private, and only available to the company.
With the app being open source, no one can secretly program a back door for personal or government use. The code is available to everyone, and anybody can contribute to the app library.
You can make voice and video calls
If for anything a messaging app doesn’t have this, many people would avoid using the app, Signal makes voice and video calling easy for its users.
Messaging on Signal Messenger feels seamless and easy to type on, as well as video calling your family and friends. If you want to make calls, you just have to tap on the button in your preferred chat.
Signal Messenger is end-to-end
The messaging app is encrypted, that’s why everyone is running to the app in the first place, the messaging app uses end-to-end encryption technology to encrypt your message so that no one else can decrypt it.
Signal says it doesn’t view messages and the company can’t spy on anyone, once the message is encrypted it can’t be decrypted as per the technology that’s used. Signal uses the same technology WhatsApp uses to secure messages, the Signal Encryption protocol was developed by the company.
Disappearing messages is on Signal
Signal has disappearing messages just like WhatsApp. The disappearing message feature allows you to set a timer to automatically delete messages when the time elapsed.
To use the disappearing messages on Signal, you will have to turn it on by setting up the time you want messages to disappear in a specific chat.
After you’ve selected the time in a chat, any messages you sent from there will automatically disappear once the time is reached.
Signal act like SMS app
You can use Signal as a normal text messaging app to receive SMS. The only popular messaging app doing this is Messenger. You can start using it by turning on the feature in the Account settings.
Signal security features
Signal security comes with some interesting feature. From the Privacy tab in your settings, you can block screenshots of your chats, lock the app with your phone security lock, and many more. You can block your IP address when calling by relaying your calls through the Signal server and using your Signal Pin to protect your account.
Signal with some features
Managing storage is now a thing, messaging app now allows you to manage your storage, by showing you things that take up most of the storage space. You can manage Signal storage from your account Settings.
With all the messaging app having dark mode, Signal doesn’t want to be left out. The app has a dark mode that can be enabled with just a few clicks on the Settings page, in the Appearance section.
Signal local backup
With backup being the next thing, I’m sure why Signal decided to backup chats locally (encryption). Signal uses a passphrase to store your backup on your device, don’t lose the passphrase or you can’t restore the backup.
If you lose access to your old phone, and you Install Signal on your new phone, you’ll not get access to your previous chats. The company says all messages, pictures, files, and other contents are stored locally on your device.
But if you have access to your phone with Signal, you can transfer all your Signal data to the new device, but make sure you don’t change your phone number before doing it.
You can use Signal on all device
Of course, you can use Signal on all major devices, you can use Signal on Android, iPhone, iPad, and your computer. Unlike WhatsApp, if you use Signal on a computer, your chat won’t be available because Signal stores it chats locally on your device.
You can link Signal to your PC or Mac using the “Linked” feature from your account settings, once you linked it, all your chat on mobile won’t appear on your computer.
Signal collect just your phone number
According to Signal’s privacy policy, it is “designed to never collect or store any sensitive information,” the only data that Signal collects is your Contact Info, which is the phone number. All messages and calls on the app are end-to-end encrypted, and nobody can access them. All information is encrypted including your profile name and picture.
