For customers juggling multiple devices, Signal has some welcome news. The messaging app announced this week that Android customers can now link another Android phone or tablet to their account. The company also said that iOS customers can link an iPhone to their accounts. Customers can update their existing accounts with Signal iOS v8.22 in the Apple App Store and Signal Android v8.20 in the Google Play Store.
To link, download the Signal app onto the new device, then open the app to view a QR code. On the primary account phone, open Signal and go to Signal Settings > Linked devices > Link a new device. Scan the QR code to link the new device. Customers can link more than one device.
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If desired, customers can transfer their message history and 45 previous days of saved media to the new device. The company said the transfers process is fully end-to-end encrypted, which means the data is scrambled and unreadable to others.
Improved interface
Signal also says the app will now adapt its layout to different screen sizes so it looks more natural on linked devices, like tablets. When you look at the app on a tablet, it will adjust its appearance to match the tablet’s aspect ratio. The same will hold true for foldable phones, which can have wider screens when folded out, and for iPads and iPhones, the company said.
Signal said customers can also link Chromebooks but that the interface is not completely updated yet.
According to Signal, the rising popularity of foldable phones and devices with unconventional aspect ratios has forced the company to upgrade the app’s appearance across various devices.
What is Signal?
Signal is a free-to-use messaging app launched in 2014 by American cryptographer Moxie Marlinspike (a pseudonym for Matthew Rosenfeld). The app encrypts text messages, scrambling them so they’re unreadable to outsiders, and only the sender and recipient can read them. The app also encrypts voice calls and video chats.
Other messaging apps that also use encryption include Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Session, Threema and Wire. Unlike text messages sent through your regular phone service, encrypted messages can’t be read by your mobile carrier, which can otherwise view and store the contents of SMS and MMS messages sent over its network.
A messaging app that uses encryption is generally secure, but customers should read the fine print, says CNET privacy expert Attila Tomaschek. “Even if your messaging app uses end-to-end encryption, it may still be logging metadata,” Tomaschek said. “In which case, it’s not as private or secure as you may want it to be. So it’s important to check the app’s privacy policy to see how it handles metadata.”
Signal has roughly 70 million customers, putting it well behind competitors such as WhatsApp (3 billion), Snapchat (932 million), WeChat (1.41 billion), Messenger (more than 1 billion) and Telegram (1 billion).
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