{"id":153351,"date":"2021-01-11T11:00:03","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T08:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/can-you-use-signal-without-giving-it-your-contacts\/"},"modified":"2021-01-11T11:00:03","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T08:00:03","slug":"can-you-use-signal-without-giving-it-your-contacts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-you-use-signal-without-giving-it-your-contacts\/","title":{"rendered":"#Can You Use Signal Without Giving It Your Contacts?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a30cb7a26578\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a30cb7a26578\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-you-use-signal-without-giving-it-your-contacts\/#Why_Does_Signal_Want_Your_Contacts\" >Why Does Signal Want Your Contacts?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-you-use-signal-without-giving-it-your-contacts\/#Does_Signal_Tell_Other_People_When_You_Join\" >Does Signal Tell Other People When You Join?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-you-use-signal-without-giving-it-your-contacts\/#Does_Signal_Upload_Your_Contacts_to_Its_Servers\" >Does Signal Upload Your Contacts to Its Servers?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-you-use-signal-without-giving-it-your-contacts\/#What_Happens_If_You_Dont_Give_Access_to_Contacts\" >What Happens If You Don\u2019t Give Access to Contacts?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/can-you-use-signal-without-giving-it-your-contacts\/#Signal_Works_Best_With_Your_Contacts\" >Signal Works Best With Your Contacts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><strong>&#8220;#Can You Use Signal Without Giving It Your Contacts?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_708666\" style=\"width: 650px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-708666 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/xsignal-app.jpg.pagespeed.gp+jp+jw+pj+ws+js+rj+rp+rw+ri+cp+md.ic.m9MGuallOk.jpg\" alt=\"A Signal app splash screen on an iPhone.\" width=\"650\" height=\"300\" data-crediturl=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/man-holding-apple-iphone-11-displaying-1729838656\" data-credittext=\"Eliseu Geisler\/Shutterstock.com\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"imagecredit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/man-holding-apple-iphone-11-displaying-1729838656\">Eliseu Geisler\/Shutterstock.com<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/signal.org\/en\/\">Signal<\/a> is a privacy-focused encrypted chat solution, but the first thing it wants after you sign up is access to all the contacts on your phone. Here\u2019s why, what Signal actually does with those contacts, and what using Signal is like without them.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Does_Signal_Want_Your_Contacts\"><\/span>Why Does Signal Want Your Contacts?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Signal works based on phone numbers. You need a phone number to sign up. That phone number identifies you on Signal. If someone knows your phone number, they can send you a message on Signal. If you send someone a message on Signal, they\u2019ll see your phone number.<\/p>\n<p>You cannot use Signal without revealing your phone number to the people you contact. In other words, your Signal address is your phone number. (The only way around this is to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2017\/09\/28\/signal-tutorial-second-phone-number\/\">sign up with a secondary phone number<\/a>, which people will see instead.)<\/p>\n<p>Like other modern chat <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lications, Signal asks for access to your iPhone or Android phone\u2019s contacts. Signal uses your contacts to find other people you know who are already using Signal.<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t have to ask everyone you know whether they\u2019re using Signal. If a phone number in your contacts is associated with a Signal account, Signal will let you contact that person.\u00a0Signal is designed to be an easy-to-use app that can quickly replace SMS.<\/p>\n<p>What that means is, with access to your contacts, when you tap \u201cNew Message\u201d in Signal, you\u2019ll see a list of people you know who are using Signal.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" alignnone wp-image-708676 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/xselect-contacts-for-new-message.png.pagespeed.gp+jp+jw+pj+ws+js+rj+rp+rw+ri+cp+md.ic.9BWs6d99N3.png\" alt=\"Signal suggesting contacts on the &quot;New Message&quot; screen.\" width=\"650\" height=\"473\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_Signal_Tell_Other_People_When_You_Join\"><\/span>Does Signal Tell Other People When You Join?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>When you join Signal, other people who have you in their contacts will see a message that you joined and are now reachable on Signal.<\/p>\n<p>This message isn\u2019t sent from your Signal app and will appear even if you don\u2019t give Signal access to your contacts. Signal wants to let people know that they can now reach you on Signal and don\u2019t have to use SMS.<\/p>\n<p>To be clear: If someone else has your phone number in their contacts, they\u2019ll get a message saying that you just joined Signal if your phone number is used to create a Signal account. They\u2019ll see whatever name they have associated with your phone number in their contacts. That\u2019s all that happens when you join. Signal will not contact anyone in your contacts to let them know you\u2019ve joined.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_Signal_Upload_Your_Contacts_to_Its_Servers\"><\/span>Does Signal Upload Your Contacts to Its Servers?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Some chat apps upload your contacts to the service\u2019s servers, store them, and use them to match you with other people you know on that service.<\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s fair to ask\u2014is Signal uploading all your contacts and storing them forever?<\/p>\n<p>No, Signal doesn\u2019t store this information forever. Signal does hash phone numbers and regularly sends them to its servers to help everyone discover which of their contacts is using Signal. Here\u2019s how <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/support.signal.org\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/360007061452-Does-Signal-send-my-number-to-my-contacts-\">Signal\u2019s documentation<\/a> puts it:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Signal periodically sends truncated cryptographically hashed phone numbers for contact discovery. Names are never transmitted, and the information is not stored on the servers. The server responds with the contacts that are Signal users and then im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>tely discards this information. Your phone now knows which of your contacts is a Signal user and notifies you if your contact just started using Signal.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Happens_If_You_Dont_Give_Access_to_Contacts\"><\/span>What Happens If You Don\u2019t Give Access to Contacts?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you aren\u2019t comfortable with this, Signal does work without access to your contacts. It just works a little differently\u2014without some useful conveniences.<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t give Signal access to your contacts, it won\u2019t know who you know. You will have to either wait for those people to contact you or use \u201cFind by Phone Number\u201d and type in someone\u2019s phone number to contact them.<\/p>\n<p>How will you know that other person is using Signal? Well, you\u2019ll likely have to ask them using another chat service first. This is why Signal provides contact discovery\u2014rather than having a conversation about using Signal on another chat service, you can jump straight to talking to someone you know on Signal, even if you had no idea they previously signed up for Signal.<\/p>\n<p>When you contact a person for the first time, you\u2019ll just see their phone number. That\u2019s because <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/signal.org\/blog\/signal-profiles-beta\/\">Signal profiles are encrypted<\/a> and the key is only shared with your contacts and people you contact. This ensures that people can\u2019t just determine whose name is associated with a particular phone number by looking it up on Signal.<\/p>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-708680 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/xsignal-find-user-by-phone-number.png.pagespeed.gp+jp+jw+pj+ws+js+rj+rp+rw+ri+cp+md.ic.QKEtCm1ApD.png\" alt=\"The &quot;Find by Phone Number&quot; dialog in Signal.\" width=\"650\" height=\"395\" onload=\"pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\" onerror=\"this.onerror=null;pagespeed.lazyLoadImages.loadIfVisibleAndMaybeBeacon(this);\"\/><\/h2>\n<h2 role=\"heading\" aria-level=\"2\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Signal_Works_Best_With_Your_Contacts\"><\/span>Signal Works Best With Your Contacts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Ultimately, Signal is designed to work best when you give it access to your contacts. It\u2019s designed as a drop-in replacement for SMS.<\/p>\n<p>Realistically, let\u2019s be honest: If you don\u2019t trust Signal to treat your contacts as privately as the documentation promises, then it might not be a good idea to trust Signal with your conversations.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, you can still use Signal without giving it access to your contacts. That\u2019s your choice, but it will make it harder to find and contact people you know on Signal.<\/p>\n<p>You can even change your mind and give Signal access to your contacts after you start using it\u2014just head to your smartphone\u2019s settings and give the app access to your contacts. On an iPhone, head to Settings &gt; Privacy &gt; Contacts or Settings &gt; Signal to control this. On an Android phone, head to Settings &gt; Apps &amp; notifications &gt; Signal &gt; Permissions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n setTimeout(function(){\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s) } (window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n   fbq('init', '335401813750447');\n   fbq('track', 'PageView');\n  },3000);\n<\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/708651\/can-you-use-signal-without-giving-it-your-contacts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Can You Use Signal Without Giving It Your Contacts?&#8221; Eliseu Geisler\/Shutterstock.com Signal is a privacy-focused encrypted chat solution, but the first thing it wants after you sign up is access to all the contacts on your phone. Here\u2019s why, what Signal actually does with those contacts, and what using Signal is like without them. Why&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":153352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.howtogeek.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/signal-app.jpg?width=2&height=200&fit=crop","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-153351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}