Signal Private Messenger Gains Chat Wallpapers, Animated Stickers, 'About' Profile Section, and More

Encrypted messaging app Signal has been updated with several new features that reflect its increase in popularity, including chat wallpapers, an "About" section in user profiles, and more.

signal speak freely
In a change that should appeal to former WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger users, Signal now lets you set chat wallpapers for individual chats, or set a single default background for all chat threads.

Similarly, the app now offers support for animated stickers, while Signal users can create their own APNG animated sticker packs in Signal Desktop.

Elsewhere, expanded chat list previews display the sender's name in group chats, so it's easier to decide which threads to look at first.

In addition, the update includes a new setting to lower data usage for calls, and users can automatically pause attachment downloads while a call is in progress. The developers have also improved image compression and quality.

The update comes at just the right time for Signal. The privacy-focused chat app recently enjoyed a surge in account sign-ups after a bungled privacy policy update by rival service WhatsApp caused a user exodus from the Facebook-owned platform.

The app also got the thumbs up from prominent Signal users like Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Edward Snowden, which only added to mainstream interest in the app.

The last major update came in December, when the app rolled out support for encrypted group video calls. Signal Private Messenger is a free download [Direct Link] for iPhone and iPad available on the App Store.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...

Top Rated Comments

Apple_Robert Avatar
51 months ago
I am probably one of the exceptions. I don’t need the fancy wallpaper and animated stickers, in order to message with someone. However, if adding these features helps get customers off WhatsApp and Messenger, that is a great thing.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
amg99 Avatar
51 months ago
They also came up with some marketing for data privacy day. I think it's awesome.
[MEDIA=twitter]1354915823501025280[/MEDIA]
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Saturnine Avatar
51 months ago

Add a Gif feature and I'm sold ?
Pretty sure it already had it. You press the + button at the bottom left, then choose GIF. Seems to only support Giphy but it works well enough for me. Did you want something different?

I've criticised Facebook and Google for years for their dodgy privacy policies and other misdemeanours. It was only a couple of weeks ago I decided I needed to take my own advice. I'd closed down my social media accounts in 2018 but still used Messenger and WhatsApp. Well, I had to message all of the contacts I speak to most often and make sure they had my phone number. I told them about Signal and then deleted my WhatsApp and Messenger accounts.

So far so good. Some of my contacts have also downloaded Signal and those that haven't have been in touch via iMessage or SMS. I'm not a tin-foil hat wearing, conspiracy theorist lunatic but I do believe in a certain level of personal privacy. Ultimately, the only way to get these companies to change their behaviour is to walk away. Unfortunately, most people won't but at least I'm able to say I did my miniscule part for something I believe in.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orbital~debris Avatar
51 months ago
Decided on trying Signal yesterday and I downloaded it.

The whimsical/customisation features it lacked made me want to choose Telegram, but the stronger privacy credentials had to override that.

Pleased that these new features make it a choice with less compromise.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
orbital~debris Avatar
51 months ago

I am probably one of the exceptions. I don’t need the fancy wallpaper and animated stickers, in order to message with someone. However, if adding these features helps get customers off WhatsApp and Messenger, that is a great thing.
Agreed. I don’t need them either (I suppose they’re ‘nice to haves’ for me).

The main reason those features are a good thing in my book is they make the app likely to be accepted by more people, which in turn hopefully makes the platform more viable to replace WhatsApp/Messenger for many.

I have a family member who moved away from iPhone, so a cross platform app was required for group family chat. WhatsApp was used almost by default…
I’ve wanted to move to an alternative. To do that, aside from the “everyone’s on it” barrier - admittedly, a big one - other problems to overcome are the lack of feature parity (perceived or otherwise). This update should help with that.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BigMcGuire Avatar
51 months ago

They also came up with some marketing for data privacy day. I think it's awesome.
[MEDIA=twitter]1354915823501025280[/MEDIA]
Recently got my family to switch to Signal from WhatsApp (never thought that would happen). First thing I hear is how it doesn't have wallpapers - I never used them myself but that's important to people :).

Very cool ad! That actress was great in Person of Interest! Go Signal!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)