Signal reviews
What users love and hate, from real reviews
A privacy-first, end-to-end encrypted messenger run by a nonprofit — beloved for its security and ad-free experience, yet switching to a new phone and reliable notifications remain its sore spots.
What users love
Privacy and zero ads are the core reason people love Signal
Users switch from WhatsApp specifically for end-to-end encryption, open source code and the nonprofit model: no ads, no tracking, no data harvesting.
a messaging ap that doesn't spy on you, unlike most of the alternatives
Perfect app for messaging with no ads or tracking BS. A wonderful product!
It uses end-to-end encryption by default, is open source, collects minimal user data, has no ads, and is run by a nonprofit organization.
The clean, simple interface wins over users tired of bloated WhatsApp
Many praise the minimalism on purpose: nothing extra, no stories or statuses, easy and light — "so boring and efficient. I love it".
It's so boring and efficient. I love it 😝
5 stars for just simplicity, whatsapp has become a garbage with bulk features like status, stories and whatsoever.
Such and simple UI app for messaging no ads no data leak full end to end encrypted
Free international calls and messages are genuine value
For families spread across countries, Signal is a way to talk with no international charges: calls to a son in England, friends abroad, relatives without roaming fees.
Great app!! No charges for talking to my son in England. He's in the Airforce, this helps alot for parents who wanna talk to their children. No international charges! Thank you.
This is a great alternative to texting contacts who are without service and only have access to wifi or internet connections.
Way more better than the regular phone.. clarity of a call is awesome..
What users hate
Switching to a new phone wipes your entire chat history
Changing device or re-registering routinely ends in losing all chats and contacts: the code reads as "incorrect", the account gets "screwed up", and restoring old history across devices simply isn't possible.
When entered, the code read as "incorrect". I've tried to reach their help chat all day to no avail.
5 stars if you dont have to change your phone ever. 1 star if you do - you'll loose all your friends and your whole social life if you do....
Tried to add it to another phone and my entire account became screwed up...
Notifications arrive late or never arrive at all
A recurring complaint: messages don't arrive until you manually open the app, and call/message notifications stay silent even with background permissions granted.
after great 5 years ... calls notifications arent appering at all and Im missing calls. plz fix it
Bad, I often cannot receive Signal messages until I manually go and check the app. I have given unrestricted background usage permissions and Signal still does this.
My messages arrive extremely late, and sometimes notifications don't come through at all.
The "verify you are human" captcha loops forever
During sign-up the captcha gets stuck in a loop: you solve the puzzle over and over with no progress, the verification code never arrives, and registration becomes impossible.
We need to verify you are human and then goes in a loop no matter how many times you do the puzzle
Captcha puzzle verification has issues. Keeps asking repeatedly without proceeding.
try to re reregister and I keep getting notifications saying that I am not human
Linking a second device or desktop barely works
You can't link an Android phone to an Android tablet, the desktop QR code never loads, and with more than one device message-sending gets blocked entirely.
the problem is, i cant link my phone(android) and my tab (android) , thats such a major hassle i hope they can correct this
The setup QR code never loads, meaning I can't link my device or use the app on my computer at all.
Forbids you to send any messages if you have more than one device.
The mandatory phone number alienates privacy-minded users
The privacy-messenger paradox: just to chat you're forced to hand over a phone number even though people would gladly give an email, and kids without a number can't register at all.
forces me to add a number, I'm ok with email but im not giving my number just so I can simply use a chat
very bad especially for kids since kids do not have any phone number
why am I unable to get verification code
Calls are crisp but drop on incoming cellular calls and weak network
The audio gets praise, but a Signal call cuts off the moment a regular cellular call comes in (WhatsApp puts it on hold instead), and video freezes with voice breaking up on weak connections.
work on the call should not disconnect when the cellular call comes. as this feature is in WhatsApp the call doesn't disconnect when the cellular call comes instead disconnect the call the call put on hold.
Did a call with a friend in the Phillipines and the audio sound was as if he were standing right next to me in michigan.
sometimes it buffering at the time of call and voice break during call.
Scammers begging for gift cards have crept in here too
Despite the privacy, users report scammers: contacts beg for gift cards and pose as celebrities — the same privacy that shields users also shields the fraudsters.
everybody that I talk to you on here wants money. always asking me for a gift card
this app has too many people trying to scam people out of money and the majority of the people are claiming to be famous wrestlers...
scammers territory. wouldn't recommend this app or Whatsapp. they like to hide in there.
Missing the familiar small stuff: last seen, stickers, statuses
Users keep asking for features from Telegram, WhatsApp and Kakao: last seen, music posts, better gifs and stickers, link previews, scheduled messages on desktop.
please add last seen feature and it also doesn't show online or offline app is great
i love it, but I need update like "Music post" like Ig stories or even Whatsapp status. I also want to use more emo- sticker like Kakao Talk.
Needs better gifs like Telegram but otherwise perfect
Collapsed messages and "read more" annoy in everyday chatting
Small but sharp UX gripes: long messages auto-collapse under "read more" with no way to disable it, forwarding order is broken, and the red dot on the floating bubble is hard to read.
Stop collapsing messages. And fix forwarding order. It's tedious. It's annoying.
The red dot from floating bubble cannot be easily read that made new messages overlooked easily.
there is no option to last seen. add it ASAP. and also liquid Glass theme for android user.
Slow video and photo sending, sometimes stuck on compression
Sending video drags on forever or never goes through, HD quality suffers, and in the evenings media gets stuck showing "compression".
When sending videos it takes a really really really long time if it ever goes through.
It says that it is sending but it is stuck and says "compression".
it struggles w sending hd quality videos. other than that, it's alright.