10 Life Hacks Every Signal User Should Know.
Signal is one of my favorite messaging apps because it’s focused on privacy and security. I regularly use it to message my closest friends, and along the way, I’ve discovered quite a few hidden features that I now use every day. From protecting your phone number from other users to preventing hackers from hijacking your account, these tips will help you get the most out of Signal.
Hide your phone number from everyone.
You can use Signal without sharing your phone number with anyone . You’ll still need to register with Signal and provide your phone number—the company uses this to protect you from spammers. But after creating an account, open Signal on your phone, tap the profile icon in the upper left corner, and go to “Settings.” Now, select “Privacy” > “Phone Number” > “Nobody” in both options on this page. This ensures that no one can see your phone number or use it to search for you on Signal.
Set up Registration Lock to protect your account from hackers.
To enhance the security of your Signal account, you can set up a registration lock in the app. This will prevent your Signal account from being created on a new device without an additional PIN. If your SIM card is stolen or hijacked, hackers won’t be able to use it to access your Signal account unless they know this PIN. To set up the lock, go to Signal Settings > Account and enable Registration Lock . This option is only available in the Signal mobile apps.
Use Screen Protect to block screenshots in the Signal app.
The Signal app now has a useful feature that disables app screenshots on Windows 11. This was added in response to Microsoft’s controversial Windows Recall feature to prevent your Signal messages from being recorded without your explicit consent. It’s also a useful tool for preventing screenshots of your Signal chats. You can check if this feature is enabled by going to Signal Settings > Privacy > Screen Security in the Windows app.
If you primarily use Signal on mobile, you can also protect your chats in another way. Go to Signal Settings > Privacy and enable “Hide Screen in App Switcher” on iPhone or “Screen Security” on Android. This will hide Signal messages when you’re in the app switcher, preventing others from viewing your Signal chats while switching between apps.
Use screen lock to secure your Signal chats with face scanning.
A screen lock helps ensure that no one but you can open the Signal app. Accessing Signal requires additional biometric authentication, reducing the likelihood of someone eavesdropping on your chats. You can enable this feature by going to Signal Settings > Privacy > Screen Lock in the mobile app.
Create notification profiles in Signal to block senders at specific times.
Notification profiles allow you to mute notifications from specific contacts at specific times. For example, you can block alerts from coworkers outside of work hours. This feature also allows you to allow or block alerts on specific days of the week. You can configure this in the Signal desktop apps by clicking the gear icon in the left panel of the app and going to Notifications > Notification Profiles > Customize .
You can then link this feature to chat folders to keep notifications from different contacts in separate Signal tabs. In Signal’s desktop app settings, go to Chats > Chat Folders > Manage .
Use the Disappearing Messages feature to automatically delete text messages.
Signal also lets you set a message auto-deletion timer , called “Disappearing Messages.” When enabled, all messages will self-destruct after a set period of time. To enable this feature for all your chats, go to Signal Settings > Privacy > Disappearing Messages and select your desired time period. You can also enable it for individual chats. Simply open any chat in Signal, tap the contact’s name at the top, and select “Disappearing Messages” to activate this feature.
In Signal, you can turn off the Stories feature completely.
For some reason, Signal allows you to post stories. If you, like me, only care about stories in apps like Snapchat, which were originally designed for temporary posts, then you’re in luck. Signal allows you to disable this feature entirely—that’s exactly what I did as soon as I discovered this option. To do this, go to Signal Settings > Stories .
Use Spoiler formatting to send messages in Invisible Ink.
If you’re familiar with iMessage text effects, you’ll know about the “Invisible Ink” feature, which hides your text until the recipient taps it. Signal has a similar feature, but it’s called “Spoiler Format” because it can be used to hide spoilers when discussing books, movies, games, or TV shows. To use it, type a message in any Signal chat, then highlight some text. Now, go to “Format” > “Spoiler,” and you’ll see the selected text hidden. (On a computer, the “Spoiler” feature is available after you highlight text.)
Call forwarding through Signal servers.
To prevent your IP address from being exposed when making voice or video calls through Signal , you can route these calls through Signal’s servers. This feature is located in Signal Settings > Privacy > Advanced > Always Forward Calls . Enabling this feature slightly reduces call quality, but it’s better for your privacy.
Use the Check Security Number feature to ensure you’re sending a message to the right contact.
To ensure Signal’s end-to-end encryption is working, you can use the “Check Security Number” feature. This ensures you’re sending a message to the person you’re contacting and not someone else logged into your Signal account. The security number only changes when you reinstall Signal or sign in from a new device. To view the security number, open a Signal chat, tap the contact’s name at the top, and select “View Security Number.” If you’re meeting the contact in person, you can either scan the QR code on this page or simply check if the security number matches. You can also check if the security numbers match during a call to ensure your chat isn’t compromised.
Afterwards, you can tap “Mark as Verified,” and Signal will notify you if the security code changes. In this case, you should confirm the security code with your contact again before continuing communication. Signal has a helpful blog post that explains this feature in detail if you’d like to learn more.