Signal is seeing a massive influx of users switching from WhatsApp as users want to protest WhatsApp’s new privacy policy, a move that also got a big boost when Tesla boss Elon Musk tweeted “ Use Signal. ” But if you’ve just started using the privacy-focused messaging application, there are quite a few features you’ll want to know about.
Read on to know the best Signal tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of using the app.
1. Set a screen lock
Signal has a screen lock feature, so even if your phone is unlocked, you will need to access the phone via a PIN or your phone’s biometric lock to open the Signal app. So even if you were to hand your phone over to someone for some reason, they wouldn’t be able to see your messages.
To do this, go to Settings> Privacy> Enable screen lock.
2. Turn off aggregated alert notifications
With a lot of people joining Signal now, your phone will ping like crazy when many of your contacts come on board. The good news is that it is really easy to turn off these notifications so that you can use the app without being bombarded by unnecessary messages.
To do this, go to Settings> Notifications> Disable Contacted Signal.
Signal allows you to automatically blur faces in photos you send.
Photo credits: screenshot / signal
3. Blur faces in photos
If you’re concerned about privacy, you don’t always want to send photos with people’s faces in them unless you’ve gotten their permission. The solution is to manually edit the photos, which is tedious and time consuming. Signal has you covered, though – the option to send photos includes an automatic face blur tool, and you can also manually swipe away extra parts of the screen to blur – ideal if you need to send an ID document, for example.
To do this, Tap the + sign> Tap a photo to send> Tap the Blur button (which looks like a circle with black and white tiles in it) > Switch on Blur faces. You can draw with your finger anywhere on the screen to blur additional information.
4. Send a disappearing message
WhatsApp recently got lost messages, but Signal has had this feature for a long time. These are messages that have a time limit and are then deleted so that your conversations remain private.
To do this, open a chat and go to the menu with tapping the person’s name> Enable / disable disappearing messages> Slide the timer to set how long the message will last.
5. Set how often an attachment can be viewed
A disappearing chat sets a time limit for a message, but the other person must have access to it during that time. If you have it set for about 5 seconds, the other person will not be able to see anything unless they are actively talking to you. Attachment limits are a slightly different way to send messages privately. This setting allows you to send a photo or video that can only be viewed once, and once closed, the attachment will disappear. So it can be viewed days or weeks after you send it, but only once.
Set up send-once messages.
Photo credits: screenshot / signal
To do this, tap the + sign> Tap a photo to send> Tap the Infinity icon in the lower left corner. That’s all you need to do, and then you can send the attachment as usual.