Experiences with Signal
I plan to add to add to this post as I learn more. Signal a messaging app similar to Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger. I like Signal. Signal has a strong emphasis on security and no ads. Unlike other chat providers, Signal doesn't sell, store, or even see your data. Signal is run by a non-profit organization, and they make money through donations, not by exploiting their users.
Because of its emphasis on security and because of the lack of commercial pressure to make it addictive, its not as exciting as its competitors. But it's still more fun to use than regular text and Signal makes it easier to keep your conversations organized. And your inbox wont be flooded with messages from people you don't know.
Regarding Signal's Security
Signal has excellent encryption so I don't worry about having my messages intercepted in transit by some electronic monitoring tool, and Signal does not store messages on any central system so I don't worry about Signal's servers getting hacked.
But as with any secure tool, the weakest link is the users. It's easy for someone to invite people into chats who shouldn't be in those chats, and unless messages are set to disappear, a lost or unattended phone can put a bounty of secret messages into the wrong hands.
Nobody can sneak into a group uninvited, but the danger is a member of the group can invite someone they shouldn't. Signal protects the privacy of its users and unless the user adds information to their profile, they might just be represented by a first name or nickname, or even just a set of initials. So I might have two people in my contacts named Sally, but I might not have a phone number or other information to tell me which Sally is my coworker and which Sally is my sister-in-law. So if I'm not careful, I might invite my sister-in-law to a conversation about my company's plan to acquire a competitor, or I might invite my coworker to conversation about my brother's drinking problem
Diligence is the best defense against wrongfully invited members. Be careful when adding members to a group and if you see a member who you're not sure about, double check who they are with someone you know
Disappearing messages are the best defense against stolen information. Use disappearing messages when security is more important than the convenience of being able to refer to a message later. In most cases, I want to be able to look back over messages, so I don't usually set that option. But that means anything I send could end up on a phone that gets stolen.
My biggest annoyance with Signal is it doesn't log you out after a period of inactivity. In fact there isn't even a simple way to log out manually (* more details below). I have a password manager, Bitwarden, that I have to keep logging into. If someone steals my phone or if it's confiscated by an abusive federal police force operating with little regard for the Constitution, they probably won't get my passwords. But if they get past my phone's lock screen, they'll have my Signal messages. That's because technically you're not really logged in. You just registered your phone. But I still think they can do better
Because of those concerns, I don't use Signal for discussing operations in which my disregard for written and sensible rules might get my coworkers killed or compromise national security. But for most things I'm likely to discuss, Signal is good enough.
Signal vs Text
Signal works over an Internet connection, like most messaging systems that your probably familiar with but not like standard text messaging which works over your mobile phone network. So while generally you can send a regular text anywhere you can make a cell phone call, you can send a Signal message anywhere you can send an email. With mobile data (Internet through you cell connection) becoming more and more available, that difference is becoming less and less important
Text messaging doesn't support groups. See below where I discuss muting.
Some Tips
These tips address some issues I've come accross or are in reponse to things my friends or coworkers have said, so this is not like a universally applicable FAQ but may have some useful information for anyone who stumbles across this post.
I can't do better than Signal's own website for explaining how to get started. Start there and come back here for the possibility that I've written something useful. Maybe there's something here that can provide help if you need.
Ignore Spammy Message Requests
People you don't know can't bombard you with messages but they can do the next best thing which is to bombard you with message requests. Within a half hour of installing Signal on my phone for the first time, I got a message request from someone who used a girl's name (Candy or something like that). Don't feel compelled to respond to message requests.
Create Groups as Needed
Create new groups as needed for specific conversations. So if you're a member of an event planning committee and you are currently planning a specific event, create a smaller group for that event. Doing that:
- Reduces the possibility of unwanted members listening in to your conversation;
- Provides the ability to add a member to the specific group who shouldn't be a member of the committee;
- Keeps conversations organized the way emails threads are organized by subject
Use the Mute Option
The head of an organization that I'm a member of said she was getting too many notifications. I think muting is the answer.
Muting is one of the reasons I think groups are important: Say you have a conversation with a dozen friends about something important - like an upcoming visit from a VIP. Now say you also have a conversation with the same people in which your sharing cat pics.
As much as you like cats, you might not want to be buzzed every time your friend sends a cat photo. So you mute the cat group and check on the cats periodically. But you leave the VIP group unmuted so you can get immediate updates. You can't do that with text messaging - at least not with general text messaging apps. You either mute conversations that include those same contacts or not
Signal's PIN
Someone asked about Signal's PIN. Since Signal doesn't log you out, the PIN isn't needed to log in each time. But it's necessary to prevent data loss in case you reinstall Signal, and I think it might be necessary if you don't use signal for so long - could be months - that it eventually logs you out.
If you forgot your PIN, you can set a new one through your account settings
Support Signal
Providing a service costs money. Not exploiting you user's data or manipulating their intentions requires some other means of revenue. The Signal Foundation relies on donations, so please consider supporting them
Elaboration about inability to log out
The reason you can't log out of Signal is you're not logged in to Signal. When you registered you phone with Signal you authorized Signal to send messages to your phone. But there is no Signal username or password. You can't pick up another phone and log into Signal to see your messages. Messages aren't stored at Signal.org. You can't download them. Since you're not logged in, you can't log out. But I still think the Signal foundation can do better to improve projections against a stolen phone because relying on the phone's screen lock seems pretty weak