The team behind Signal, the encrypted messaging app, have been working to address a common concern: Why do I have to give someone my phone number to talk to them on Signal? While it is possible to use alternative phone numbers (e.g., via Google Voice) to register a Signal account, chances are most people just use their personal phone number to chat on Signal. For journalists this often means sharing a personal phone number with unfamiliar people in exchange for the benefit of strong end-to-end encryption. This requirement creates a tradeoff between the privacy of your phone number and the security of your conversations.
The good news is that Signal is now rolling out usernames and new features to tinker with how discoverable you are to other Signal users. Because journalists often accept tips over Signal but may not always want to give away a private phone number, we recommend they enable these features as soon as possible.
How it works
In short, here are the key changes that Signal is introducing to usernames and contact discoverability:
- By default, Signal will no longer make your phone number visible to everyone you chat with.
- To start a conversation with someone, instead of giving your phone number, you can now use your own username to hand out to people. This username will have a set of digits appended to the end.
- You can optionally require people to find you via username instead of phone number, making your phone number undiscoverable in Signal’s search function for starting new messages.
You still need to register on Signal using a phone number. However, you no longer need to give someone your Signal number to set up a conversation — just the username. You can now also decline to make your phone number searchable under “new messages” so it will be harder for someone to tell if you have a registered Signal account at all.
How to set it up
Signal usernames require you to append digits at the end, which are customizable. Don’t worry about choosing these numbers too much — you can always change them later without affecting your ongoing conversations.
Enable a username here.
iPhone users: Press Settings (profile icon at top left) > [Your name at the top of the screen] > Username
Android users: Press Settings (profile icon at top left) > [Your name at the top of the screen] > Username
You can also optionally prevent others from looking up your phone number in their “new messages” search. This feature is ideal for those who only want to be contacted using their username.
iPhone users: Press Settings (profile icon at top left) > Privacy > Phone number > Who can find me by number > Nobody
Android users: Press Settings (profile icon at top left) > Privacy > Phone number > Who can find me by number > Nobody
In this menu you’ll also notice that by default, nobody can see your phone number. It’s important to remember that contacts who have previously had your phone number in their contacts can still see your phone number just fine in the app, because they already have your number. In practice this means you can’t completely withdraw your phone number with prior contacts.
Finally, with your newfound freedom to keep your phone number private while accepting messages, the last step for journalists is to promote your username.
To start receiving tips through your username, promote it in your social media bio, tip pages, and more. You can either hand out your username so someone can search for it themselves, or share a QR code or link to help them reach you faster:
iPhone users: Press Settings (profile icon at top left) > [Your name at the top of the screen] > QR code or link
Android users: Press Settings (profile icon at top left) > [Your name at the top of the screen] > QR code or link
To learn more about these new features, read Signal’s blog post. And while you’re at it, learn how to lock down your Signal settings.
Our digital security training team is always ready to support journalists who want assistance setting up Signal and other channels for speaking more safely. If you are a journalist in need, reach out here.