Signal is experiencing a large 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 tweeted. Use Signal ”. But if you’ve just started using the privacy-focused messaging app, there are quite a few features you’ll want to know about.
Read on for the best Signal tips and tricks 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 should be able to access your phone using a PIN or biometric phone lock to open the Signal app. So even if you handed the phone over to someone for whatever reason, they wouldn’t be able to see your messages.
To do this, go to Settings> Privacy> Enable screen lock enabled.
2. Disable joined signal notifications
Since a lot of people are joining Signal right now, your phone will start to sound like crazy if many of your contacts join. 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> Turn the contact’s signal on or off.
The signal allows you to automatically blur the faces of the images you send.
Photo credit: screenshot / signal
3. Blur the faces of the photos
If you’re concerned about privacy, you don’t always want to send photos with people’s faces unless you have their consent. The solution is to manually edit the photos, which are tedious and time consuming. However, the signal has covered you: the photo sending option includes an automatic face blur tool, and you can also manually slide additional parts of the screen to blur it, for example, if you need to send a identification document.
Do this, Tap the + sign> Tap an image to send> Tap the Blur button (which looks like a circle with black and white tiles inside) > Switches blur faces. You can draw anywhere on the screen with your finger to blur additional information.
4. Send a message that disappears
Recently, WhatsApp has received messages disappearing, but Signal has had this feature for a long time. These are time-bound messages that are deleted so that your conversations remain private.
To do this, open a chat and then access the menu by tapping the person’s name> Toggle missing messages> Slide the timer to set the duration of the message.
5. Define how many times an attachment can be viewed
A disappearing chat sets a time limit for a message, but the other person must be able to access it during that time. If you set it to 5 seconds, the other person might not see anything unless they are actively chatting with you. Attachment limits are a slightly different way of sending messages in a more private way. With this setting, you can send an image or video that can only be viewed once, and once closed, the attachment disappears. Therefore, it can be viewed days or weeks after shipping, but only once.
How to set up single send messages.
Photo credit: screenshot / signal
To do this, tap the button + sign> Tap an image to send> Tap the Infinity icon at the lower left. That’s all you have to do, and then you can submit the attachment as usual.