5 reasons why I wish more people would use Signal

When it comes to encrypted messaging, there are many options you can go with in 2024. However, Signal remains one of the best, yet one of the least used, security-first messaging apps out there. Here’s why I wish more people would notice the app.

1 It’s the easiest way to send text messages securely

Signal is by far the easiest way to text securely. You don’t need to be a cyber security expert, you don’t need to enable any hidden switches, it just works out of the box.

All messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted by default, and the app does not collect any data about its users. Signal’s self-destructing messages are also much easier to use and offer more options compared to something like WhatsApp.

Additionally, Signal’s call forwarding feature automatically hides the caller’s IP address, providing an additional layer of security. And that’s just the tip of the security iceberg.

By default, the app will hide your phone number from anyone you talk to. You can choose to display your phone number and communicate with people as you normally would in other apps, or you can create a username for people to find you on Signal. The app even goes so far as to let you control who can find you using your phone number.

Last but not least, Signal also prompts you for a lock code by default and keeps prompting you to re-enter that code from time to time so you don’t forget it. It’s a small but thoughtful feature that ensures you remember the password to access your Signal account without having to enter it every time you want to send a message.

All of these features are available in Signal by default and work without you having to read online guides or fiddle with settings where you could do more harm than good.

2 You won’t lose any features

If you use Signal as your daily personal messaging app, you won’t lose any essential features. “Safer” apps usually don’t implement commonly used features under the guise of protecting the user. However, this is not the case with Signal.

You get messages, audio and video calls, stickers, the ability to create groups and even record stories (or opt out of this feature altogether). Unless you have specific business or broadcasting needs, Signal can do everything that its main rivals WhatsApp and Telegram can do. Even the stickers you use on Signal are end-to-end encrypted.

You also get customization features like chat wallpapers, backgrounds and themes. Signal’s calling and interface are, in my opinion, the best you’ll find in a phone app, and you get additional features like an incognito keyboard, proxy support, in-app payments, text formatting, and even message scheduling.

It also has a desktop client available on Windows, Linux and macOS. You can log in to up to five devices at once and all data is stored locally. Signal groups are also great to use with a maximum limit of 1,000 members. You get additional control such as admin approval before someone joins a group and invites through group links or QR codes, among others.

Because Signal Groups are built on private group system technology, Signal has no record of your group memberships, group names, group avatars, or group attributes. You can even have group video calls with up to 50 people and share video call links on Signal instead of making a direct call.

You can also authenticate your session to ensure that no one is eavesdropping on your conversations. To prevent someone from looking at your notification if they have your phone in hand, you can also control whether the app displays a notification with the sender’s name and message content.

3 File sharing is much better

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One of the best things about Signal is that it lets you share almost any file with your contact, and you’re not limited to photos, videos, PDFs, and documents. However, the actual file size you can share varies depending on what device you’re using.

You may be able to send larger files through Signal, specifically through the Android app, but those uploads will either be uploaded or rejected. For file sizes that lie within the above limits (which may change as you read this article), you can send uncompressed files with decent upload speeds.

4 SMS between Android and iPhone is still a problem

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If you are still using SMS, it is high time to stop. Although Apple finally supports the RCS protocol, SMS between Android and iPhone is still a problem. First, the iPhone user you’re trying to talk to needs to have RCS enabled, and even then my experience messaging my friends in Apple’s walled garden wasn’t very good.

Using an internet messaging app will solve almost every problem you might have with texting and put an end to the blue dot vs green dot debate for good. Sure, there are alternatives out there, but they can’t be trusted too much when it comes to security.

5 The alternatives are not as robust

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Finally, Signal’s two biggest rivals and the most popular internet messaging apps around — WhatsApp and Telegram — aren’t as robust when it comes to security. WhatsApp is owned by Meta, a company that thrives off of advertising, so it needs your data to be sustainable. Whether you should use WhatsApp or Signal is up to you, but you’re safer with the latter.

Telegram is another alternative, but the lack of moderation around the app has caused some problems. It can be used for anything from casual conversation to scamming people or running malware command and control centers.

Telegram is one of the most feature-packed messaging apps, and for that very reason, it is also used by many fraudsters, digital pirates, and cybercriminals. Additionally, Telegram does not enable end-to-end encryption by default, putting you at risk.

All of these reasons make Signal the easiest way to securely text and call, but it’s still held back by its limited user base, which means that even people who would like to use the app can’t use it because most of their contacts use other apps, mostly WhatsApp or Telegram.