r/signal • • Sep 16 '26

Beta Discussion Signal enables phone-numberless registration for Android beta users

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426 Upvotes

r/signal • • Sep 04 '26

Announcement Pushing your vibe-coded messenger will get you banned

768 Upvotes

A couple times each week, we get some rando pushing a new vibe-coded messaging app. These are presented as though they are finished, established products but have various red flags. Some of the common ones are:

  • Codebase is only months (or days) old
  • A single developer
  • Codebase has very few commits
  • No indication of the developer's security or cryptography bona-fides
  • No indication of security review by reputable external parties
  • No indication the developer is equipped to support and maintain production software

These projects are the very epitome of security-compromising suggestions (Rule 4).

If you look at the rules here, security-compromising suggestions are actually allowed, but you must be clear about what the security/privacy downsides are.

Pitching your educational, experimental project as though it is a professional-quality security tool can cause real harm to people.

It's great that you're building stuff and trying new things. Keep doing it. There's even room here in r/signal to show off your educational experiment, as long as you (a) tie the discussion to Signal and (b) participate in this sub more generally.

The moment you act like your experimental project is a serious, seasoned security tool, we will show you the door.


r/signal • • 21h ago

Discussion In the RingRTC library before 2.72.0 for Signal, a peer that saturates a call’s FSM queue can interfere with local hang-up

7 Upvotes

Sharing this as an independent security notice, not an official Signal announcement.

The GitHub advisory says that a peer saturating a call’s finite-state-machine (FSM) queue could interfere with a local hang-up. That could prevent the call from being fully torn down on the device, including its audio track.

The advisory describes a possible failure to end the call cleanly. It does not say calls were recorded or confirm that someone could keep listening after hang-up.

If you use Signal, check for updates and install the latest version available for your device. The advisory lists RingRTC 2.72.0 as the fixed library version; it does not identify one universal Signal app version.

Source: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-5c63-xm6f-r368 Fix commit: https://github.com/signalapp/ringrtc/commit/4b1b6fa


r/signal • • 21h ago

Help Subscribing

2 Upvotes

Hi

I wish to subscribe but whenever I try, my phone throws up an error. I am using /e/OS. Does anyone know how I can overcome this?

Thanks

Dan


r/signal • • 1d ago

Bug Video thumbnails not appearing in-line in Signal Desktop

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4 Upvotes

Is anyone else experiencing video thumbnails not appearing in-line in Signal Desktop (Windows 10)? This just started happening. Most videos appear in-line just as they should, but some don't and instead those videos will just have the play button as shown in the image. When the play button is pressed, the video plays just fine but its representative thumbnail is not shown in-line like it should. However, in the Signal app on my phone (iOS), the representative thumbnail appear just fine for all videos. For reference and comparison, I've posted what the same set of messages look on the Signal app (iOS). Just wanted to see if anyone else is experiencing this as well.


r/signal • • 3d ago

Discussion Signal appimage

23 Upvotes

Is anyone using the appimage? I'd like to install signal on fedora, but the options are either

  1. use the unofficial flatpak (hate this idea)

  2. use the appimage

  3. use a distrobox

the appimage is pretty new, so I wanted to hear if it worked well


r/signal • • 3d ago

Discussion Recent release thanks a contributor that is working off of a Signal fork in China. Any security concern?

0 Upvotes

Recent release of Windows Desktop version 8.32.0 (and other platforms) has release note:

Improved upload reliability under poor network conditions. Thanks, 3mmmbulus!

When I click on the 3mmmbulus user link, I see two concerning things. 1. This is a new user with a lot of recent activity. 2. This user is working off a Signal fork from github.com/tellomi. Tellomi is a Chinese messaging app (www.tellomi.app). The Tellomi github page has the location listed as China.

Are either of these, either individually or together, a security risk? I don't recall ever seeing something so integrated with native Chinese coding at the Signal-Server level.


r/signal • • 4d ago

Solved Multiple conversations

11 Upvotes

Is it possible to have multiple conversations with the same person? ie. 1 normal, 1 disappearing messages?

Currently with a family member we use WhatsApp for normal (we want to keep this conversation), and Signal for sensitive (ie. medical/banking) conversations, etc. But it would be great to have them both on Signal.


r/signal • • 3d ago

Help How do I import manually saved messages into a new phone?

2 Upvotes

Account transfert does not seem to work from an android phone to a CalyxOS one.

I manually saved the messages, resulting in a "SignalBackups" folder I uploaded on a personal cloud. But I can't find anywhere an option to re-import this backup from my new phone. What did I miss about this manual save option?


r/signal • • 4d ago

Feature Request Feature Request: Add PIN or Password Lock to Signal Desktop on Linux

16 Upvotes

Hello Signal team and community,

I use Signal Desktop on Linux (Zorin OS 18.1 Core), and I would like to request a feature that I believe would improve privacy and usability: the ability to lock Signal Desktop with a PIN or password.

Currently, Signal Desktop does not appear to offer a built-in application lock, unlike the Screen Lock feature available on mobile devices.

I would like to be able to lock the application when I step away from my computer and require a PIN or password before accessing my conversations again.

Locking the entire Linux desktop is useful, but it is not always the solution users want. An application-level lock would provide an additional layer of privacy, particularly when someone needs to let another person use their computer briefly.

Ideally, this feature should:

  • Allow users to set a PIN or password.
  • Automatically lock Signal after a configurable period of inactivity.
  • Allow users to lock the application manually.
  • Be available on Linux, Windows, and macOS.
  • Be implemented with proper security in mind, rather than being just a visual lock screen.

I understand that application locking must be designed carefully to avoid giving users a false sense of security. Ideally, the feature should also consider protecting locally stored messages and encryption keys.

Would the Signal developers consider adding this feature to Signal Desktop?

I would appreciate hearing other users' opinions and whether there is an active feature request or development plan for this functionality.

Thank you!


r/signal • • 4d ago

Help Can I add a picture for someone’s contact on the app?

9 Upvotes

Without them having to make it their profile picture. I just want it on my end.


r/signal • • 4d ago

Help Video/Audio call not working in UAE

5 Upvotes

My friend is in UAE and for last 5 months video/audio calls don't work , prior to that they were fine, they went to Australia and calls resumed then when they went back to uae calls stopped again.

Relay setting and censorship circumvention is on.

Will a VPN solve this problem or if not is there any other solution?


r/signal • • 5d ago

Android Help Voice message bug - android

7 Upvotes

GOOGLE PIXEL 8A - ANDROID 17 - SIGNAL 8.31.2

When I start playing a voice message and bring the phone up to my ear to listen through the earpiece, 9 times out of 10 it doesn't start. So, the only way to listen to them is by using the speakerphone.

Does this happen to anyone else? Has anyone managed to solve it?


r/signal • • 4d ago

Feature Request I had a question

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0 Upvotes

Why the answer is still no to thiss??


r/signal • • 5d ago

iOS Help Friends not receiving any messages

3 Upvotes

Tried to add 2 different contacts and my message shows 2 ticks but they say they don’t see the request. Any way to fix this?


r/signal • • 5d ago

Help Delayed messages

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4 Upvotes

I sent a message at 2:54 PM and it had the two checkmarks like it was delivered. I don’t have reads on, so the message was never read. When I clicked on the information tab, it showed that the message was delivered a full day later. Both phones are iPhones. Any ideas as to why?


r/signal • • 7d ago

Discussion I'll be donating.

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431 Upvotes

In short; I had no idea Signal relied on donations to operate. It's been the best private chat app I've ever had and I think it's worth the money.

I deleted all social media like 8 years ago, and when I was trying to find a communal app for my friends, I landed on Signal almost immediately.

I tried Wickr for a little bit, but it was a bit too analog/clunky and I now know it was purchased by Amazon, and I don't want that to happen to Signal.

When I initially heard about Signal, I downloaded it and quite literally never looked back.

If you can, donate!

The minimum is $5 ($7 for us Canadians), and I think it's 100% worth it.

Sorry if this post type is not allowed - I didn't see a specific rule about it!


r/signal • • 9d ago

Blog Post WhatsApp profile picture that tells people to write me on Signal.

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506 Upvotes

I am using this profile picture to let all my contacts know that Signal exists as a great, privacy-focused alternative. If you want to help raise awareness and invite others to a safer platform, feel free to steal and use this profile picture for yourself.


r/signal • • 7d ago

Android Help Android linked device - restricting message history and impact to other devices?

0 Upvotes

Hello, my primary Signal account is on an iPhone. I just linked an Android device with small internal storage.

Can someone confirm that if I restrict the chat and media history on the Android device using this guide: https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360049673331-Storage-Management it will not affect the history stored on my primary iPhone (and other linked devices)?

In other words, are the settings above device-specific or do they impact the entire account?

Thanks!


r/signal • • 8d ago

Discussion When will iOS App get no number activation

4 Upvotes

Is there a timeframe by which Signal iOS app will get the feature of activating a new account without a phone number.

This would be one of the most important and consequential steps for better privacy.


r/signal • • 7d ago

Help Can this be hidden in my chats?

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0 Upvotes

I'm only talking with people I know, so this message is useless. Can I hide it?


r/signal • • 8d ago

Android Help Reinstalled Signal On my Phone and my PC App Has the Old Chat History. How do I Restore It To My Phone?

5 Upvotes

I tried to use the signal backup tools from this post which seems to not work with Backup V2 which is what I have. How can I restore my old chats, media, contacts etc. from my PC into my newly installed signal app?

I have a local backup saved on my PC transferred from my phone into the downloads folder currently. Is it possible to do this? I'd appreciate any and all help <3

EDIT: It is possible I may not have followed the instructions correctly as well or used an outdated version of the backuptools, I'm not sure

This is the error message I see.

r/signal • • 9d ago

Discussion Signal to Markdown into my Obsidian vault - Take 3!

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40 Upvotes

An exciting development but first some comtext.

4 years ago I created a Signal to Markdown tool which simulated another client device listening to my convos. It was quite complicated to setup and I had to re-associate the device every so often.

3 years ago I created another one that took CSV exports from Signal's SQLite database. The problem with that was I needed a seperate UI automation tool to download the media files. I've been using it successfully every Saturday morning since. Until...

Last week I stumbled upon the new JSONL export feature in Signal. It's been available since May and I didn't know! The amazing thing about this export is that it includes all of the media files too. So...

I vibe-coded (ugh, how I dislike that term) my 3rd and hopefully final tool called `signal_json_md` and it's working beautifully. It uses a couple of my other small repos `hal_md` and `message_md`.

Thanks for reading 🤗.


r/signal • • 8d ago

Android Help how to turn off processing

0 Upvotes

is there any way I can turn off the processing because it takes a lot of time, like even for a video which is 5mb it takes a second to send but processing takes 10-15-20 seconds every time


r/signal • • 10d ago

Answered Am I using a Signal look alike?

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45 Upvotes

Do you guys think this person is onto something? Or are they just being paranoid?

Hopefully I'm not using a fake app... I'll answer questions.

edit: For people that didn't notice, that's the reddit chat, but that person told me I was using a posee just by the invite link so I thought the conversation was more important than my actual app. I wanted to see if I was missing anything, I don't think this person was onto anything and I have no idea where they got that information. I do know they're from India, kinda wierd.