A few months ago, I started using Signal again. The messenger evolved quite a lot since I last used it, for instance, usernames weren’t even a thing back then, and this is mainly what drove me out of the platform.

But now that we have them, I feel a bit safer using it, knowing people don’t need my direct phone number to add me anymore. As a bonus, it’s now possible to import extended chat history when linking a desktop app, which is quite nice.

If you don’t know what Signal is, it’s quite simple: it’s an encrypted chat app. As it stands, it’s also the safest (broad sense there, please don’t hurt me) option at the moment as it has the most eyeballs on it and sane encryption. Soatok talks about that quite often on his blog as well.

Because I have no imagination whatsoever, here is how I use Signal (basically, the configuration keys I use for it in the “Privacy” section, please note that this is basically for the iOS version, no clue if the Android one has the same configuration keys).

Privacy#

Phone number:

  • Who can see my phone number: nobody
  • Who can find me by number: nobody

Advanced:

  • Always relay calls: on

General:

  • Read receipts: off
  • Typing indicators: off
  • Disappearing messages: 4w
  • Hide screen in app switcher: on
  • Screen lock: on
  • Lock screen timeout: 5 minutes
  • Show calls in recent: off

Chats#

General:

  • Generate links previews: off
  • Share contacts with iOS: off
  • Use phone contacts photos: off

Stories#

General:

  • Turn off stories

Data usage#

General:

  • Sent media quality: high

Coinciding with this post, I turned off the ability for new people to DM me on Telegram, from now on, personal contacts will have to be done through Signal.

If we have an existing DM and you want to switch to Signal, use that DM thread to ask me for my username. Otherwise, either email me yours or ping me on a common chat platform. Remember, none of us have to know each other’s phone number anymore, just setup a username if you haven’t already.