Signal: App Details
Signal is a private messaging app with end-to-end encrypted texts, voice and video calls, groups, usernames, disappearing messages, stories, and linked desktop apps.
- Platforms
- Windows, Android, macOS, iOS
- Pricing details
- Core messaging, calls, groups, and the free Secure Backups tier cost nothing; optional donations and a paid Secure Backups media tier are available, with store pricing subject to change.
Pros
- End-to-end encryption is enabled by default for messages, calls, groups, and shared media
- Independent nonprofit model without advertising or monetizing personal communication
- Usernames and phone-number privacy controls reduce the need to reveal a number to new contacts
- Official mobile and desktop apps support messaging, groups, voice calls, and video calls
- Open-source clients and published protocol documentation enable external technical scrutiny
Cons
- A phone number is still required when registering a Signal account
- The app is less useful when the people you need to contact do not use Signal
- Encryption cannot stop recipients from copying, recording, or misusing received content
- Secure Backups require careful recovery-key storage and full media history is a paid option
- Compromised devices, phishing, impersonation, and unsafe links remain outside encryption's protection
Safety Features
- End-to-end encryption by default
- Safety number verification
- Signal PIN and registration lock
- Phone-number privacy controls
- Disappearing messages
- View-once media
- Blocking and reporting
- Linked-device review