People are becoming increasingly concerned about online privacy — more so than ever before. Signal, the encrypted messaging app for both mobile and desktop, is riding a wave of popularity and commandeering millions of new users, many of them exiles from WhatsApp and other messengers, cementing a newfound interest in encryption. We’ve already introduced you to the general concept of Signal and how to get started using it, but here we delve deeper into some of the unique ways you can augment its rich security features to ensure your communications stay private. The tips and tricks outlined below are from an LG V40 ThinQ running Android 10 and an iPhone 12 Mini running iOS 14.3.
Signal, by default, will show you which of your contacts are part of its ecosystem, so there’s no need for a special notification when a new person joins. With so many new people jumping on Signal, there’s likely to be such an abundance of notifications that you may want to switch them off. To do this, go to Settings > Notifications > Contact Joined Signal and switch it off.
Signal is a messaging app, but you can also use it for voice and video calls between individuals and groups. To make a video call, do the following.
Keeping messages private is Signal’s raison d’être. In addition to setting messages to disappear after reading or a certain amount of time, you can also prevent those messages from ever being captured via screenshot and saved for posterity. Signal’s Screen Security feature ensures that messages cannot be recorded. Go to Settings > Privacy > Screen Security and toggle on the control. That way, no-one receiving messages from you can screenshot the conversation.
Signal lets you use its built-in image editing tools to blur faces — or anything else in an image — that you don’t want to show. Use the photo editor to toggle on the Blur image option to detect a face and blur it automatically or manually blur other parts of photos. Here’s how to do it.
Old-time TV secret agent programs often gave instructions for spies to destroy their instructions after reading them. Disappearing messages in Signal are kind of like that. The app can delete any message you choose after a specified period of time after the initial reading — from 5, 10, or 30 seconds via User Profile > Disappearing Messages > Interval. It’s not a universal setting, but exists on the message level so you can keep the messages you want and almost immediately eliminate others you don’t want to save.
The Signal app can adhere to your system theme or you can set it to a permanent light or dark mode. To do that, go to Settings > Appearance > Theme and choose the option you prefer.
By default, any contact on Signal is available for encrypted communication, but perhaps there are some people who you want nothing to do with. Just like in other apps, you can block certain people. Tap the Pencil or New Group option to access your contacts. Then choose the contact that you want to block and tap on the Profile. Then scroll down and tap Block and confirm the block. It’s easily reversed by tapping Unblock.
With Signal, you can also communicate with yourself by yourself. It’s pretty nifty for sending notes, clarifications, reminders, and anything else you want to keep track of.
Signal comes with a built-in screen lock that ensures that even if someone gets hold of your phone, they cannot access your messages. You can lock the screen with your Android phone’s lock screen PIN, password, or fingerprint or your iPhone’s Touch ID, Face ID, or device passcode. Go to Settings > Privacy > Screen Lock and toggle it on.
Signal’s Incognito Keyboard is a privacy feature that asks keyboards like GBoard to enable incognito mode and disable machine learning and suggestions while typing in the Signal app on Android only. It also prevents the keyboard from recording your typing history or adding to the user dictionary. To use it, go to Settings > Privacy and toggle on the Incognito Keyboard.
Are you tired of paying for streaming services you never watch just to get a phone plan feature you actually want? T-Mobile has good news for you! The carrier is rolling out new plans, called T-Mix, in early November to replace its old Experience lineup with a build-your-own perks system called Picks.
The benefits you choose vary from streaming and gaming to food delivery, AI, satellite service, and phone discounts. But if you are satisfied with your existing plan, you can keep it.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.