Testing smartphones as part of your living is a pain in the ass when you’re a heavy Signal user. The secure messaging service has traditionally gotten pissy when you attempt to log into it on a new device, logging you out of the app on any other handset you’ve installed it on. It’s a feature, not a bug, as they say. While I appreciate the reassurance of knowing that you’re most likely the only one able to use your account on a phone, having to log in every time you pop your SIM into a new device is a pain.
According to The Verge, enough spies drug dealers phone nerds complained to make the issue a thing of the past:
You can link more devices with one phone number on Signal now, including an Android phone or iPhone. Signal already supported linking PCs and iPads, but not additional phones.
Linking a device lets you check and respond to messages from all of them, and choose whether to copy over an encrypted history of your past messages to each newly linked device, in case one ends up lost, shared, or compromised.
While they were at it, Signal also spruced up how the app presents on phones with larger displays and foldables and is reported to be working on an app for Chromebooks as well. If you haven’t given Signal a spin, you might want to consider doing so. Outside of using it to talk about bombings in Yemen, it’s a great option for those who prefer iron-clad privacy over the bells and whistles that come with apps like Google Meet, Telegram or WhatsApp. So long as your phone hasn’t been hacked — and honestly, most of us aren’t worth the bother of hacking — your Signal messages will remain secure. Signal’s free to use, ad-free and doesn’t allow trackers to muck up their app’s code. However, if you’d like to help fund the good work the program’s developers do, you can donate a few bucks to the cause, via their website.
Previously: