Signal is seeing a huge influx of users switching from WhatsApp as users want to protest WhatsApp’s new privacy policies, a move that also gained significant momentum when Tesla boss Elon Musk wrote on Twitter “Use Signal”. But if you’ve just started using the privacy-focused messaging app, then there are quite a few features you’ll want to know about.
Read on to learn the best tips and tricks for Signal that will help you get the most out of using the app.
1. Set up a screen lock
Signal has a screen lock feature, so even if your phone is unlocked, you’ll need to be able to access your phone with a PIN or biometric phone lock to open the Signal app. So, even if you were to hand over someone’s phone for any reason, they wouldn’t be able to see your messages.
To do this, go to Settings> Privacy> Enable screen lock.
2. Disable connected signal notifications
As a lot of people join Signal now, your phone will start singing like crazy if a lot of contacts will be on board. The good news is that it’s very easy to turn off these notifications so you can use the app without being bombarded with unnecessary messages.
To do this, go to Settings> Notifications> Switch the contact signal off is off.
The signal allows you to automatically blur faces on the images you send.
Photo credit: Screenshot / Signal
3. Blur faces on photos
If you’re concerned about privacy, then you don’t always want to send photos of people’s faces in them, unless you’ve gotten their consent. The solution is to manually edit the photos, which are tiring and time consuming. The signal has you covered though – the photo submission option includes an automatic face dimmer tool, and you can also manually drag extra parts of the screen to blur – great if you need to send an ID, for example.
To do this, Touch the + sign> Touch an image to send> Touch the Fade button (which looks like a circle with black and white tiles inside) > Switch the dimming faces. You can draw anywhere on the screen with your finger to blur additional information.
4. Send a message that disappears
WhatsApp has recently received missing messages, but Signal has had this feature for a long time. These are messages that have a time limit and are then deleted so that your conversations remain private.
To do this, open a chat, then access the menu until touch the person’s name> Switch messages off> Slide the timer to set how long the message will last.
5. Set how many times an attachment can be seen
A disappearing chat sets a time limit for a message, but the other person must have access to it during that time. If you set it to something like 5 seconds, the other person may not see anything unless they are active in chatting with you. Attachment limits are a slightly different way to send more private messages. With this setting, you can send an image or video that can only be viewed once, and once closed, the attachment disappears. So it can be viewed days or weeks after you submit it, but only once.
How to set up easy-to-send messages.
Photo credit: Screenshot / Signal
To do this, tap + sign> Touch an image to send it> Touch the Infinity icon in the lower left corner. That’s all you need to do and then you can send the attachment as usual.