After months of trial testing and user demands, Signal, the end-to-end encrypted messaging app, announced it will begin rolling out its new ‘Username’ feature over the coming weeks.
Although Username is currently available to beta users only, Signal confirmed that users now have the optional username option that allows one to connect with others without revealing their phone number to them. However, users still need to register with the app via a phone number, and these usernames are solely for connecting without sharing said phone numbers.
Furthermore, Signal stated that its Username feature does not function like usernames on social media platforms. For example, Signal usernames are not the logins or handles that are displayed in the app. Instead, they’re just a quick way to connect with someone on the app without sharing your phone number, meaning if you create a username, your profile name will still display whatever you set it to and won’t show your username. People you message on the app also can’t see or find your username unless you have shared it with them.
How to Get Started with Signal’s Username?
- Creating a Username on Signal
After you set your sights on creating a username, head to your Signal Settings and click your Profile. Then, select a unique username that has two or more numbers at the end of it. One thing to note: You can always change your username as often as you want, and you can even delete it if you decide to get rid of your username altogether.
Signal stated it created usernames to be easily changeable so that you can choose to make a specific username for things like a conference or a group trip and then change it once it’s over. However, if you did change your username, other users can claim your previous username.
- Keeping Your Phone Number Private on Signal
Moving back on track, once you created your unique username, you can generate a QR code or link that points people to your username in the app. Other users can also connect with you by typing your username into the new chat bar and sending a message only if you reveal it to them.
On the other hand, if you want to start chatting with someone via their username, you need to open the “New Chat” screen in the app and type in their username. Randall Sarafa, the chief product officer at Signal, stated: “Put another way, someone will need to know your precise unique username to start a chat with you on Signal. Other users won’t be able to see it unless you share it, and Signal does not provide a searchable directory of usernames.”
Also Read: WhatsApp’s New Privacy Feature Is Introduced to Protect Users’ IP Addresses
Other Features Arriving with Username
Besides the long-awaited Username feature, Signal has announced other handy security features, such as a new privacy setting that will let you control and restrict who can find you on the app with your phone number. In the past, anyone on Signal with your phone number could search for you on the app regardless of social media or your business info. With this update, you can restrict this by going into your settings and selecting the Nobody option in the “Who can find me by my number”.
On the other hand, if you are contemptuous of others contacting you on Signal, you can select the Everybody option and decide who to accept, reject and block based on their message request.
Lastly, Signal will start hiding your phone number by default if users don’t already have it saved in their phone. To change this, follow the steps above by heading into your Privacy Phone settings and selecting the options in Who can see my number?
Could Signal’s Username Ensure Complete Cybersecurity?
Despite being one of the best security and privacy encrypted messaging apps, there are occasions where hackers successfully expose the app’s loophole to gain access and hijack the phone number at the phone carrier level used to register with Signal. For example, in 2022, a hacker attack managed to leak over 1900 users’ phone numbers and SMS codes, meaning the hackers could use the stolen info to register themselves on new devices.
While the situation eventually dissipated without fuss, Signal began extensive internal testing to mitigate this risk from happening again and eventually came out with Username. When questioned whether hackers can abuse the feature to impersonate others on its app, Signal responded that users should compare safety numbers — the unique code meant to help verify the person you’re messaging.
In addition, the app will display a message when a group chat has multiple people with the same name and will show whether you have any group chats in common with another user. With all that said, it is difficult to judge whether the new feature is foolproof before it is fully released. However, it is definitely a welcoming added security to ensure your phone number’s privacy.
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