(Note: For Android users, accessing Signal’s Settings menu can be done by tapping your profile icon or selecting the menu via the three dots in the upper-right corner, then choosing Settings. If you’re an iOS user, tap your profile icon followed by Settings to dive into the full menu.)
On Android devices, you have the option to set Signal as your default messaging app. To do this, navigate to Settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced > Default Apps > SMS app, and then select Signal. Just keep in mind that not all your contacts may have it installed, and an iOS user you text might not check their Signal app as frequently as they do iMessage. (Currently, iOS does not allow changing the default messaging app, unfortunately!)
After registering your Signal account, consider choosing a username if you wish to do so. (For optimum privacy, WIRED recommends opting for this.) Simply head to Settings and tap on your Profile at the top of the settings page. Click on the @ field and enter your username, which has to be unique and include two or more numbers at the end. You are free to change your username at any time.
Having a Signal username provides the advantage of keeping your phone number hidden from other Signal users, and you can also prevent others from finding you on Signal if they already know your number. To activate these options, navigate to Settings > Privacy > Phone Number and select Nobody under Who Can See My Number and/or Who Can Find Me By Number.
One of the key features to enable is profile PINs, which assists in safeguarding your account data during device transfers and protects your contact list, profile information, settings, and more. You can set one up upon joining or go to Privacy > Signal PIN within your app settings to create or change your PIN at any time. The introduction of PINs sparked controversy among hardcore cryptography enthusiasts, who raised concerns that the Secure Value Recovery system linked to them might introduce potential vulnerabilities. Additionally, it didn’t help that Signal initially mandated PINs. You can now choose to opt out by going to the Create PIN screen, tapping Select more, and then Disable PIN. Just be mindful that if you disable this, you won’t be able to transfer your contacts to a new device, and your sensitive account information might become more vulnerable.
Finally, once your PIN is established, activate Registration Lock by visiting Settings > Account and turning on Registration Lock. This feature prevents unauthorized users from taking control of your account and registering it on a different device, similar to the method exploited in the Twilio hack mentioned earlier.
Secure Your Screen
It’s vital to ensure that your activities within Signal remain private. This means preventing others from seeing what you’re up to through your lock screen or when you switch between apps. After all, having an app for confidential messages is pointless if notifications pop up on your screen whenever you receive a new message.
To disable Signal lock screen notifications on iOS, go to your phone’s Settings > Notifications, scroll down, and tap Signal > Show Previews > Never. For Android, the procedure is similar. From your home screen, access Settings, then Apps & Notifications, where you can disable all notifications. For more specific control, you can adjust them within the Signal app itself; the steps are the same across platforms. Tap your profile, then Notifications, followed by Show, where you can determine if the name, content, and actions for incoming messages are displayed; just the name; or none at all. Furthermore, you can mute notifications for a particular conversation for a specific duration by tapping on a message thread, selecting the contact header, and then tapping Mute. This allows you to silence notifications from that contact for an hour, a day, a week, or even a year.
