Signal Training - staffny

Privacy + Security

Name
1. It is highly recommended to not use your full legal name, use a nickname or a silly name instead
2. Signal is a safe tool, but as with all online spaces personal information is sensitive and should not be readily given
3. There will be other opportunities to meet each other and get to know your fellow volunteers (meetings, rally’s, etc.)
4. Settings > (Your name/profile pic) > (change your name to a nickname here)
5. Sharing your name or QR code is a safer option to connect with people that avoids sharing your phone number.
Number
1. We recommend hiding your number from other signal chatters, and momentarily turning on who can find you by number on when joining a local response team
2. Settings > Privacy > Phone Number > Who can see my number > Nobody
3. Who can find me by number > Nobody
Relay Calls
1. Set calls to relay thru signal servers. With this setting turned off like default, it puts you at risk for leaks of your IP address.
2. Settings > Privacy > Advanced > Always Relay Calls
Screenshots
1. Screenshots for others privacy, please disable this feature.
2. Settings > Privacy > Screen security
Notification Previews
1. Disable Message Preview
2. Settings > Notifications > Show > “No name or content”
3. FBI Extracts Suspect’s Deleted Signal Messages Saved in iPhone Notification Database
  The FBI was able to forensically extract copies of incoming Signal messages from a defendant’s iPhone, even after the app was deleted, because copies of the content were saved in the device’s push notification database, multiple people present for FBI testimony in a recent trial told 404 Media.
Registration Lock
1. Enabling Registration Lock prevents your phone number from being registered on a different device without the PIN you set up when your first installed Signal. Make sure you write this PIN down, because without it, you will not be able to get back into your Signal account for at least seven days if you change phones.
2. Go to Settings > Account > Registration Lock
Link Previews
1. Link previews have been reported to leaking IP addresses, exposing links sent in end-to-end encrypted chats, and unnecessarily downloading gigabytes of data quietly in the background. These are typically disabled by default, but let's check!
2. Settings > Chats > Generate link previews
Keyboard Settings
Go into Settings, and then Privacy. Please enable Incognito Keyboard. You're keyboard settings might still ignore it but its been highly recommended by our friends at SUS to turn off predictive text through your keyboard settings. This will turn off autocorrect unfortunately.
1. On Android: Settings > General management > Keyboard > Predictive text
2. On iPhone: Turn this off on your iOS settings

Guide

Connecting with others:
1. You turned off “Find me by my phone”, so how will we connect with new people?
2. Settings > QR code next to name
3. Have your new contact scan that QR code, and now you have a new verified bestie
4. You can also share your username.## to connect indirectly. Make sure you tell the person you're connecting with the two digits attached with your username. This is a safer way than giving out your phone number.
Group calling:
1. Calling the chats whether video or audio calling could be a good tool to continue the communication.
2. To initiate a call:
  1. Click the video button on the top of the chat
  2. Click on the chat icon and then press on video
Pinning messages
1. Another great tool of Signal is the Pin option to highlight important messages for a desired amount of time. Press and hold on the message you're wanting to pin, and choose how long you'd like to pin it for. Please be mindful of "disappearing messages"
  1. not every chat will have this option, depending on admin settings.
Member Labels
1. Labels! It's been my new favorite tool. I think it'd be a great tool to use so people can know what role each member plays.
  1. Go to Group Settings by clicking on the group icon. Scroll down to your name, if it says Add member label, then this option is available to you within this group. (not all groups will have this feature turned on)
  2. You could use your role or something quippy to help others in that chat group know who you are!
Chat Folders + Pinning Chats
1. There are options for Groups as shown in the screenshot, and options for pinning important chats. Currently an Android feature.
2. Settings > Chats > Chat Folders > Create a Folder
3. Pin your most important chats.
Notifications
1. Mute every chat you have, except those important to you, and which other ones are important to you, to lower the noise.
  1. If your phone has AI features, please disable "notification summary features". This will prevent further spying on our sensitive signal chats.
Notification profiles Currently an Android feature.
1. On Android: Notification Profiles can be used instead of muting every chat.
2. Settings > Notifications > Notification profiles > New profiles
3. Create a name, add an emoji if you'd like > Create > add whichever groups you'd like to hear from, and Next > Skip > Done, then turn on your new profile.
Disappearing Messages
1. Setting new groups to disappearing messages for 4wks is preferred.
  1. As an admin, go into group settings, disappearing messages, set for desired time.
2. For your own messages:
  1. Settings > Privacy > Disappearing messages > set to desired time
3. Think of time as hours and days, not weeks.

ADDITIONAL SECURITY MEASURES!

Do not use biometrics to unlock your phone, police do not need a warrant to search your phone if it's easy to get into. Do not punch in your passcode to unlock your phone if you're in direct line of a security camera.
If you lose your phone or if it's confiscated, please let someone in the chat know immediately. You'll need to removed from the chat as to not compromise those in the group.
Be ready to uninstall signal or lock down your phone if you come in contact with ICE or the police.
1. Lockdown Mode is an optional setting for iPhone, iPad, and Macs, designed to protect high risk people from specific types of digital threats. It’s available on any device that can run iOS 16, iPadOS 16, macOS 13, and newer.
  1. Settings > Privacy & Security > Lockdown Mode > Turn on Lockdown Mode. Tap Turn on & Restart, enter your passcode, and wait for your device to restart.
  2. When you're in a safe environment, you disable Lockdown Mode, following these same directions, but choose “Turn Off Lockdown Mode,” instead.
2. Auto Blocker for Android should be kept on at all times to avoid external forces from downloading the contents on your phone.
  1. Settings > Security and privacy > Auto Blocker > On

Resources: our friends at sUS and ssd.eff.org