Signal data collection: Difference between revisions

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Signal is a open source encrypted messaging service that is frequently recommended to highly vulnerable users such as human rights activists, whistleblowers, and journalists whose lives and/or freedom can depend on their ability to maintain private and secure communication. Since 2020 Signal has been collecting and keeping sensitive user data in the cloud while lying to their users about their data collection practices. Users and potential users of Signal have a right to know what data is being collected and how it is being stored and secured so that they make informed choices about the risks they are taking when using Signal.

Signal is an open source encrypted messaging service that is frequently recommended to highly vulnerable users such as human rights activists, whistleblowers, and journalists whose lives and/or freedom can depend on their ability to maintain private and secure communication. Since 2020 Signal has been collecting and keeping sensitive user data in the cloud while lying to their users about their data collection practices. Users and potential users of Signal have a right to know what data is being collected and how it is being stored and secured so that they make informed choices about the risks they are taking when using Signal.

==Background==

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===Signal's response===

Signal was not convinced to abandon this data collection and they began to roll out the change in 2020 without clear communication about the new feature which resulted in a lot of confusion for users, many of whom only learned about this feature when they were ~~promoted~~ to create a PIN. There were many social media posts expressing confusion over what the feature was and what it was doing. Even years after the change was made some Signal users were/are still unsure about what data Signal collects or were/are convinced that Signal doesn't collect any data at all<ref>{{Cite web |title=What info does Signal store about it's user? |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/q5tlg1/what_info_does_signal_store_about_its_user/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011111619/https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/q5tlg1/what_info_does_signal_store_about_its_user/ |archive-date=10/11/21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About data collection and data delivery |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/1id3xu8/about_data_collection_and_data_delivery/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250201072439/https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/1id3xu8/about_data_collection_and_data_delivery/?ref=readnext |archive-date=02/01/25}}</ref>

Signal was not convinced to abandon this data collection and they began to roll out the change in 2020 without clear communication about the new feature which resulted in a lot of confusion for users, many of whom only learned about this feature when they were prompted to create a PIN. There were many social media posts expressing confusion over what the feature was and what it was doing. Even years after the change was made some Signal users were/are still unsure about what data Signal collects or were/are convinced that Signal doesn't collect any data at all<ref>{{Cite web |title=What info does Signal store about it's user? |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/q5tlg1/what_info_does_signal_store_about_its_user/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011111619/https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/q5tlg1/what_info_does_signal_store_about_its_user/ |archive-date=10/11/21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About data collection and data delivery |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/1id3xu8/about_data_collection_and_data_delivery/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250201072439/https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/1id3xu8/about_data_collection_and_data_delivery/?ref=readnext |archive-date=02/01/25}}</ref>

This confusion is understandable, since Signal's own website continues to state that they do not collect the information they are collecting. The first line of their "Terms & Privacy Policy" page reads: "Signal is designed to never collect or store any sensitive information."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Signal Terms & Privacy Policy |url=https://signal.org/legal/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250302122622/https://signal.org/legal/ |archive-date=03/02/25}}</ref>

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'''Workarounds'''

While some social media posts and articles suggested that opting out of setting a pin would prevent a user's data from being uploaded to the cloud this is not the case. There is currently no way for a Signal user to prevent their data from being uploaded and stored in the cloud.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PSA: Disabling PINs will now upload nothing to the server |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/htmzrr/psa_disabling_pins_will_now_upload_nothing_to_the/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616082821/https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/htmzrr/psa_disabling_pins_will_now_upload_nothing_to_the/ |archive-date=06/16/23}}</ref>

While some social media posts and articles suggested that opting out of setting a pin would prevent a user's data from being uploaded to the cloud, this is not the case. There is currently no way for a Signal user to prevent their data from being uploaded and stored in the cloud.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PSA: Disabling PINs will now upload nothing to the server |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/htmzrr/psa_disabling_pins_will_now_upload_nothing_to_the/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616082821/https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/htmzrr/psa_disabling_pins_will_now_upload_nothing_to_the/ |archive-date=06/16/23}}</ref>

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-Signal is a open source encrypted messaging service that is frequently recommended to highly vulnerable users such as human rights activists, whistleblowers, and journalists whose lives and/or freedom can depend on their ability to maintain private and secure communication. Since 2020 Signal has been collecting and keeping sensitive user data in the cloud while lying to their users about their data collection practices. Users and potential users of Signal have a right to know what data is being collected and how it is being stored and secured so that they make informed choices about the risks they are taking when using Signal.
+Signal is an open source encrypted messaging service that is frequently recommended to highly vulnerable users such as human rights activists, whistleblowers, and journalists whose lives and/or freedom can depend on their ability to maintain private and secure communication. Since 2020 Signal has been collecting and keeping sensitive user data in the cloud while lying to their users about their data collection practices. Users and potential users of Signal have a right to know what data is being collected and how it is being stored and secured so that they make informed choices about the risks they are taking when using Signal.
 ==Background==
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 ===Signal's response===
-Signal was not convinced to abandon this data collection and they began to roll out the change in 2020 without clear communication about the new feature which resulted in a lot of confusion for users, many of whom only learned about this feature when they were promoted to create a PIN. There were many social media posts expressing confusion over what the feature was and what it was doing. Even years after the change was made some Signal users were/are still unsure about what data Signal collects or were/are convinced that Signal doesn't collect any data at all<ref>{{Cite web |title=What info does Signal store about it's user? |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/q5tlg1/what_info_does_signal_store_about_its_user/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011111619/https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/q5tlg1/what_info_does_signal_store_about_its_user/ |archive-date=10/11/21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About data collection and data delivery |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/1id3xu8/about_data_collection_and_data_delivery/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250201072439/https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/1id3xu8/about_data_collection_and_data_delivery/?ref=readnext |archive-date=02/01/25}}</ref>
+Signal was not convinced to abandon this data collection and they began to roll out the change in 2020 without clear communication about the new feature which resulted in a lot of confusion for users, many of whom only learned about this feature when they were prompted to create a PIN. There were many social media posts expressing confusion over what the feature was and what it was doing. Even years after the change was made some Signal users were/are still unsure about what data Signal collects or were/are convinced that Signal doesn't collect any data at all<ref>{{Cite web |title=What info does Signal store about it's user? |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/q5tlg1/what_info_does_signal_store_about_its_user/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011111619/https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/q5tlg1/what_info_does_signal_store_about_its_user/ |archive-date=10/11/21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About data collection and data delivery |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/1id3xu8/about_data_collection_and_data_delivery/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250201072439/https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/1id3xu8/about_data_collection_and_data_delivery/?ref=readnext |archive-date=02/01/25}}</ref>
 This confusion is understandable, since Signal's own website continues to state that they do not collect the information they are collecting. The first line of their "Terms & Privacy Policy" page reads: "Signal is designed to never collect or store any sensitive information."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Signal Terms & Privacy Policy |url=https://signal.org/legal/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250302122622/https://signal.org/legal/ |archive-date=03/02/25}}</ref>
@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 '''Workarounds'''
-While some social media posts and articles suggested that opting out of setting a pin would prevent a user's data from being uploaded to the cloud this is not the case. There is currently no way for a Signal user to prevent their data from being uploaded and stored in the cloud.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PSA: Disabling PINs will now upload nothing to the server |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/htmzrr/psa_disabling_pins_will_now_upload_nothing_to_the/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616082821/https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/htmzrr/psa_disabling_pins_will_now_upload_nothing_to_the/ |archive-date=06/16/23}}</ref>
+While some social media posts and articles suggested that opting out of setting a pin would prevent a user's data from being uploaded to the cloud, this is not the case. There is currently no way for a Signal user to prevent their data from being uploaded and stored in the cloud.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PSA: Disabling PINs will now upload nothing to the server |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/htmzrr/psa_disabling_pins_will_now_upload_nothing_to_the/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616082821/https://old.reddit.com/r/signal/comments/htmzrr/psa_disabling_pins_will_now_upload_nothing_to_the/ |archive-date=06/16/23}}</ref>