Signal App : What it is and How to use Signal in your device

Social media is an essential aspect of our life now. And from waking up in the morning to going to the bed at night we all check what’s happening on the social media. And one of the biggest, and at this time most controversial players in this race is Whatsapp. The app has been badly criticized by its due to its new privacy policy. And if you want to know more about this new privacy policy you can check our other post that is related to it.

But due to the WhatsApp privacy policy issues, another social media platform is entering in the limelight. And in another word, you can say that at this time it is one of the most secure messaging apps in terms of user privacy. And that is Signal, ever since Elon Musk mentions the Signal from his Twitter handle and said use signal. The popularity of the Signal is increasing day by day. And people are also seeing it as the alternative of the Whatsapp.

But first let see the history of this Signal app, who created it and why people are shifting from WhatsApp to this particular app.

History of Signal App –

The Signal has a long history of being shut down and restart. And back in a time the app also has a different name too. But at last, in 2015 it was named Signal. And released on ios and Android with the name Signal. And in the result, in 2018 a non-profit organisation developed Signal foundation by Moxie Marlinspike and the co-founder of WhatsApp Brian Actor. Who also put $50M in Signal to supercharge the platform. And make it an independent nonprofit platform.

How Secure is Signal?

At this time everyone is shifting from WhatsApp to the signal. And if you go to the official page of Signal then you are going to see the testimony of some of the famous face. Like Jack Dorsey and Edward Snowden. And recently the world richest man Elon Musk is also seen as taking the side of Signal too.

And with all these peoples comments on Signal, you must have been understood that the platform has something that makes it special in terms of priacy.

The one more special thing that makes the signal more unique from its rivals is. That the app does not store or collect your metadata. And from the aspect of privacy, the meta-data is very important. And it can reveal many things about you.

The signal is also completely open-source. So you can see the code of it or check if there any vulnerability in it. And that a good thing. Because most of the big social media platforms have a close source code. And that’s mean there is no way you can check how secure the platform is, and is there any vulnerability that can be exposed.

And now, you all are thinking if Signal does not collect your data and share it with anyone. Then how it makes money and profit. And it’s a good question too but like I said early that it is run by a non-profit organisation and they totally depend on your donations. So if you feel like to contribute you can donate them by going to there site.

How to create an account in Signal-

Creating a Signal account is very simple like any other apps. And it is also available for Android,  iOS, Windows, Mac and Linux. So it doesn’t matter what operating system you use. You can be always touched with the signal.

Create Signal account in smartphones-

To create a Signal account in Android or iOS. You have to download the app first from Play Store or an App Store. And then need a mobile number to set up a Signal account. When you enter a mobile number the app will send you an OTP. And after that, you will be all set to use Signal in your device.

Create Signal account in your desktop-

To run a Signal in your desktop, you have to create a Signal account in your Smartphone first. Then you will be able to use Signal in your desktop. Because the app does not support create account option in desktop.

• To create a Signal account in desktop first you have to open your browser in pc. And search the Signal app in it.

• Now open the first site appear in SERP and go inside it.
• Click the get Signal button in there home page. And download it for your operating system. If you use Mac or Linux in your operating system you can also download the app for them too.

• After downloading the app install it simply like any other app.
• After the installation, open the app in your pc. And then go to your smartphone device signal app.
• Inside Smartphone signal app go to setting and clicked the linked devices.

• And scan the QR code that is appearing in your PC version of the app. Now it takes some time to sync your data in your pc so wait patiently. And after some minutes you will be able to run Signal in your desktop.

How to use Signal features-

Signal has come up with some useful features that you can be handy while using the app. And these features only increase your overall experience while using the software. So let’s see what are these features and how to use them.

1. Note to Self-  The Note to self is a feature if you want to leave some note or message for yourself. You can simply go to your contact and click the Note to Self to set a message for yourself.
2. Disappearing Messages- Another great feature that most of the other messaging platforms are missing these times are Disappearing messages. But in Signal you can set this feature in your chats. And set a timer limit for the disappearing message. To access this feature click that person profile in which you want to enable that feature. And there you find the option of disappearing message.
3. SMS Enable- The SMS enable let you show all your messages in the Signal app. Eg – your phone messages will be seen in Signal and you can also reply to those text from there.
4. Signal Privacy features- In the privacy option of Signal, you are going to see some great feature like Screen Security and Incognito keyboard. Check all the option and enable the one you want.
5. Chat Backups- The good thing about Signal is that it stores your chat backups in your own device, not in some other 3rd party cloud services. And these backups are also encrypted too. And by default, this option is disabled.
6. Storage option in Signal- In Storage option that is available in setting, You get some handy security features like Keep messages in which you set the time and after that time your messages in Signal will automatically delete. And a clear message’s history.

Are transferring chats from Whatsapp to Signal possible?

Most of the people who are thinking about shift from WhatsApp to signal are also finding a way that how to transfer the chats from WhatsApp to signal. But unfortunately, there is no way of doing this. Because it is impossible both of the platforms are from different companies so there is no way to doing this.

So I hope now you will understand all the features of Signal and why it can be one of the best Security-focused messaging apps that you can use.