Secure and reliable messaging is extremely important to our team. There are a lot of service providers out there, but we have landed on Signal as our top choice for team communications and day to day operations. From it's non-profit ownership to it's secure encryption to being able to add and remove people without loosing content it's a phenomenal tool.
Pros
Independence = Freedom
There's a lot of pros with Signal. As mentioned above it's owned and managed by a non profit and accepts donations from user to keep it this way. While other messaging apps have sold out to big social media conglomerates Signal remains strong is avoiding this trend. When this happened with WhatsApp (purchased by Meta) the security world held it's breath to see what would come of it. While WhatsApp still has encrypted messaging and a solid platform, the security / privacy changes allows the owner to have access to your contacts and their information. This update was a big push for firms like ours and security professionals around the world to remove the app altogether. Knowing Signal is fighting to keep itself independent and the fact it has a growing international user base are definitely pros.
Add & Delete Users
This is one of my favorite features to a messaging app. The ability to add and remove users to a chat without loosing messages is so important to us and many of our clients. Whether we are setting this up for a church security group or kicking off a detail it's a huge advantage to be able to add and remove users on the go. This feature became important to me when asked to coordinate a coms setup for an extortion case where we had established a messaging group with the security team and the "victim". During the course of the event we were able to add a driver to the Signal group for only the time frame his services were utilized and then remove when completed.
Disappearing Messages
This feature isn't for everyone, but it has it's place and can reduce the amount of clutter in the system and can keep the records clean if security is a concern. This added feature shows dedication to the layers of security that Signal is committed to. Again, it may not be for everyone and is not a default, but it's a useful tool when required.
Attachments
Most messaging services offer the ability to add files and photos, and Signal isn't really much different there. The nice part is it also has capacity to send contacts and share location right from the chat. This all becomes important when it's paired with the "Add & Delete Users" functions and encryption. The user interface for this is also quite simple so when new users are learning the system it's a quick transition.
Mac & iPad App
As a die hard Apple user one of my favorite integrations is the desktop and iPad apps that syncs all my communications to all devices. When I'm up and running in an office or like today an airport lounge, I can charge my phone and keep on top of email, messages and Signal. This also becomes very helpful and makes us efficient in the times when we setup an Ops Center and use a MacBook to feed intel and information to the team. Not having to switch from one device to another and having all the information sent out quickly makes a big difference.
Odds & Ends
The items above are the main features that have drawn us to Signal and keep us on it. There are a few others that are bonues and even some we haven't jumped into.
QR Codes to add contacts: This is a quick and easy way to add new contacts. This could be a new business associate (often for us a driver) and links the accounts immediately.
Stories: Honestly this isn't something I use very often. For me Signal is a messaging / communication app and not anything that will be used in a social media platform. But it's there if desired.
Calls: This is something I've used on occasion with great success. It's not a common practice but does add a layer of security since the information passes through Signal's encryption program.
Custom Group Names & Icons: This feature makes it fun and quicker to find the right chat. It's also been appreciated by some of our clients when they see their brand in our communications.
Cons
Less Known
Signal is gaining attention, but it still is smaller than some of the others and this can create some challenges when working with established groups or even in some areas of the world.
There's been a few times where groups don't want to make the switch with us, but that often depends on where we are, the makeup of the team and whether or not we're coming in to an existing group.
Will it Last?
This is one of the main concerns with Signal. It hasn't caved to big tech money yet, but without user supported funding it could happen. This is would essentially impact it just like the sale of WhatsApp to Meta. Because of this risk we are constantly looking to the future and testing other platforms in the event it shutters or sells.
Communicate!
Use What Works!
Signal has become our app of choice, but use what works for you and your teams. Being connected and having a good platform should be more than what is popular. The messaging apps continue to develop and there are others such as Threema and UP Messenger which are also being developed and coming out with new features. UP Messenger is something that we will be looking to in the future as some of it's features are pretty incredible as well.
The key to this is knowing what you're platform does and can do for you and how reliable the features are that are important for it's use. The other side of this is having a good plan for communications and using the tools regularly so they are effective and efficient.
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