(Newswire.net — June 27, 2022) —
It’s 2022, and digital privacy is a necessity when communicating online these days. Your standard messaging apps such as Facebook Messenger, Email, or even normal SMS are simply not secure enough to be trusted with important information.
Even if you undergo all the proper safety precautions, the data you send over typical online channels of communication could become intercepted, or the recipient of the information may not have the correct security for their system.
This is where Signal comes in. Signal is one of the most popular online encrypted messaging platforms. It is a fast, free, and secure way to communicate online.
Don’t confuse this Signal with the popular investing tool by NFX. That Signal is a free-to-use tool where founders of companies can learn about and reach out to various investors, like the one profiled here.
So, what exactly is Signal and how should you use it? Keep reading this article to find out.
What exactly is Signal?
Signal is a free online messaging platform that can be used on both desktop and phones. It differs from other messaging platforms in that every message you send becomes encrypted, so that it cannot be intercepted by anyone.
This means, not even Signal can view what messages you send using their platform. Some other social media companies such as Facebook can’t offer this guarantee of privacy, as they have been caught reading messages sent on their messenger app.
Additionally, your internet provider and cellular data company will not be able to intercept and read the messages you send. The only way your message can be unencrypted is if it is through your own device, or the recipient’s device. So, just be sure you actually trust the recipient enough with whatever sensitive information you are sending.
How do I get started with Signal?
To get started on Signal, we recommend downloading their phone app and checking out their desktop application. We should note that in order to use the desktop application, you must have the app on your phone.
Upon opening the app on a mobile device, you will be prompted to create a new account (assuming you don’t have one already). This is a fairly standard process, as you’ll just need to verify your phone number to create an account with Signal.
Once you’ve created an account, all your contacts sync with the app and you will be able to immediately message your contacts who have also installed Signal onto their devices.
In addition to messaging, you will be able to start encrypted phone calls with your contacts in Signal as well. To do this, head to one of your conversations within Signal and then tap the phone icon on the top right of your screen.
You can also create group chats on Signal, making this a fantastic place to work on and share important documents and other information (provided you can trust all the recipients in the groupchat, of course). To do this, all you need to do is click on the messaging icon on the home screen of Signal and then tap “new group.”
Security Features
If you’re still wary of sending important information over Signal, you may want to look into some of their security features to see if any of them will alleviate your concerns.
One neat feature that Signal offers is the ability to have messages disappear after a certain amount of time. This is a great way of sending passwords to people, or other information that only needs to be accessed one time.
You can also disable lock screen notifications, so that no one can read a Signal message through a normal text notification you would get if your phone was locked. This feature is also very customizable, as you can change which elements of a message are okay to appear in notifications. For example, you can set it so only the name of the sender will appear, and not the message itself.
Wrapping It Up
We hope you learned a thing or two from this article, and that you have a better understanding of the encrypted messaging platform Signal. Signal is a fast, secure, and reliable method of sending sensitive information online, and a great tool for those interested in internet security and privacy.