Secure Your Political Voice: 5 Essential Signal Privacy Practices

From Usernames to Disappearing Messages: Your Essential Guide to Private Political Communication

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This article is not legal advice. Readers should consult qualified legal professionals for situation-specific advice. Civic Forge Solutions LLC disclaims all representations and warranties and assumes no liability for consequences arising from the use or misuse of information contained within this article.

Signal, an encrypted 1:1 and group chats platform, has become the go-to messaging platform for Americans organizing and protesting against the current Administration’s activities and policies. (As recent reporting has indicated, the platform has also been a platform for members of the Administration to avoid official communications channels.)

What’s the appeal of the platform? Messages are end-to-end encrypted, meaning that only you and those sending and receiving messages to you can view those messages. Accordingly, most attempts by third parties to intercept messages (without your knowledge) can be thwarted.

Other messaging and communications platforms, such as email and text messaging, do not offer these same privacy protections.

The platform is also easy to use - with desktop and mobile apps, it’s straightforward to install, activate, and use within minutes.

But, while Signal does provide considerable protections, users of the service engaged in political activity should be aware of some caveats and considerations:

Phone Numbers and User Names: User names can provide more privacy

While Signal requires a phone number for registration and verification, you may also hide your phone number and use a username to allow others to message you. Using a screen name instead of a phone number makes it more difficult for someone receiving a message from you to link your message to your phone number, which could, in turn, indicate information about your identity.

Public Profiles: Double-check what you are sharing with others

All Signal users have public profiles associated with their accounts. Whether you are messaging with friends, family, colleagues, or unknown individuals/groups, anyone can view your profile if you’ve accepted a message from them or joined a group. Take care to only put information in your profile that you are comfortable sharing with others.

Public Groups: Group membership lists are public within the group

Members can view the group membership list when they join a group on Signal. The membership list will include your public profile (and others’ public profile information). Again, be mindful of the information you provide if you are uncomfortable sharing personal information with others in your group.

Unknown Message Requests: Check before clicking “Accept”

Unfortunately, on Signal, malicious individuals and groups can pretend to be someone else: the most common method of impersonation is through profiles that appear legitimate and representative of people you may know.

When someone tries to contact you but has not chatted with them before, you will receive a message request with the option to Block, Report, or Accept. Be mindful that some requests may not be authentic. If unsure if the request is authentic, try contacting the person or organization you think may be messaging you to verify their request.

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Pro Tip: For enhanced security, use Signal's 'Safety Numbers' feature to verify your contacts' identity and ensure your conversation's integrity by confirming that the encryption keys have not changed between messages. Encryption keys are unique digital codes that scramble and unscramble your messages: a virtual fingerprint that helps confirm you're communicating with the intended recipient.

Disappearing Messages May Not Disappear

Signal offers “disappearing messages” for safety and privacy purposes. However, there are some practical limits to that functionality: the Desktop and Mobile apps do not prevent screenshots of chats. If a screenshot is taken, you may also be unaware of this action. Also, if a third party has physical access to your device or has installed malware or spyware to view your device’s screen, messages may be viewed and stored without your knowledge.

When chatting 1:1 with a single person, you trust that person to safeguard your messages on their device. When talking in a group, you are trusting everyone in that group to protect your messages. Mindfulness of these privacy caveats can help you better understand and secure your privacy and security.

Despite these limitations, Signal remains one of the most user-friendly messaging options for individuals engaged in political activity. Nevertheless, understanding caveats to using Signal can allow you to make informed decisions about how and with whom you communicate using the service.