SIGNAL SECURITY CHECKLIST
BASICS:
- Don’t send anything you don’t want read back to you in court.
- Have in-person conversations as often as reasonable.
- If you’re in a group chat with people you don’t know well, assume it is not secure.
- If a group member is arrested or their phone is confiscated, notify an admin immediately so they can be removed from chats.
- Delete sensitive messages for everybody – this must be done within 24 hours. After that, messages can only be deleted for you, not for others.
SETTINGS:
Accounts:
- Registration lock: ON.
Chats:
- Generate Link Previews: OFF
- Share Contacts with OS: OFF
Notifications:
- Show: No name or content (Super Important!)
Keyboard:
- Incognito Keyboard: On (Android Only)
Privacy:
- Phone Number: Who can see my number, NOBODY
- Disappearing Messages: Set a default time period.
- Hide screen in app switcher: ON
- Screen Lock: ON
- Screen Lock Timeout: SHORT
- Biometrics: DISABLED
- Advanced: Always Relay Calls: ON
Phone (OS-Level)
- Passcode: 6 Digit Minimum (Stronger preferred)
- Disable cloud backups if possible
IMPORTANT REMINDER:
Deleting messages reduces risk – it does NOT guarantee deletion if:
- Someone screen shots
- A device is seized before deletion
- Messages are backed up elsewhere.