Sign is the privacy-focused smartphone messaging app that everyone seems to be using. You can also use Signal on a Windows computer, Mac or Linux. It is easy to install and register with your Signal account.
Privacy by design
The signal is published by the Signal Foundation and Signal Messenger LLC. These two non-profit institutions, based in Mountain View, California, were founded by Matthew Rosenfeld (also known as ‘Moxie Marlinspike’) and Brian Acton. Together they continue the work started in Open whisper systems, one of Rosenfeld's early start-ups.
The Signal app is free and open source. Anyone can review the source code. The source code of the Signal Messaging Protocol (junior high school) it was reviewed by a joint team from the German CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security, the swiss ETH Zurich University, Cisco, and the canadian University of Waterloo. They declared the code clean, pure reasons and rock solid encryption. The signal is definitely safe.
But there is a difference between security and privacy.
RELATED: What is Signal and why does everyone use it?
The difference between privacy and security
Privacy is about controlling your information and data, select who has access to them and choose what they can do with them. Security is one of the techniques you can use to maintain your privacy.
The security provided by the SMP is so strong that other applications, What WhatsApp, have adopted the Signal protocol to provide end-to-end encryption for their own products. But, even though WhatsApp can be safe regarding the transmission of your messages, that does not address any privacy worries. The security of the protocol has nothing to do with the WhatsApp data collection and exchange policy. It is those activities that impact your privacy., and it is the problem that has catapulted WhatsApp into the public eye and the worst public relations storm of its 11 years of history.
Whatsapp collects and records data about you and your use of your app. The company stores this data, including your contact list, who has been contacted, the details of the purchases you have made through the app and your location when you use the app, on their servers. Then, even when the delivery of your messages is secure, WhatsApp saves a lot of private data about you. And WhatsApp is owned by Facebook.
Conversely, Signal has practically nothing on you. Stores the smartphone number you registered with, when you signed up to use Signal and when you last used the service. That is all. One phone number and two timestamps. Therefore even if they are hit with a subpoena, that's all they can hand over to the authorities. Nothing about your messages, your location or anything else.
Signal starts to make a lot of sense when you scratch the surface of how other companies often use your data as a commodity..
Signal installation on Linux
There is only one way to sign up for Signal, and it is through your smartphone. Works on Android and iPhone phones. Then, if you don't have Signal installed on your smartphone, do it first. It must be working on your smartphone before you can use it on your computer.
Signal is enabled in the repositories of some Linux distributions. It is also enabled as flatpak and snap. We will install the plugin in Ubuntu.
sudo snap install signal-desktop
You can also use the plugin in Fedora, but to cover all the bases, we will demonstrate how to install the flatpak.
sudo flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.signal.Signal.flatpakref
In Manjaro, you can install it directly from pacman.
sudo pacman -Sy signal-desktop
Start Signal on the desktop
Press the key “Super” on your keyboard. In general, is located between the keys “Control” and “Alt” at the bottom left of the keyboard. Writes “sign” in the search bar. You will see the Signal icon.
Click the icon to start Signal.
Before you can use Signal on your computer, you need to link it to the Signal app on your smartphone. Desktop client displays a QR code. You need to scan this code with your smartphone from the Signal app. (The QR code in the next screenshot is not an actual Signal QR code).
Below the QR code are short instructions for Android phones and iPhones.
On your smartphone, open the Signal app and tap the menu button.
Touch the input “Setting” on the menu.
Touch the option “Linked devices”.
You will see a list of the devices you have already linked to this Signal account.
Touch the blue button “+” to add a new device.
Signal's QR code scanner appears.
Scan the QR code on the desktop client. When the QR code has been read and decoded, you will be asked if you are sure you want to link the device to your Signal account.
Touch the blue text “Pair device”. On the desktop client, you will be asked to provide a name for the device.
Click the button “End phone pairing” when you have entered the name by which you want the customer to be known. This is the name that will appear in the list “Linked devices” from your smartphone. It has no effect on your identity within Signal.
Signal will sync your contacts and message groups from your smartphone. Please note that it is not retrieved from existing chats and messages. Only messages that arrive after the desktop client is linked to your Signal account will appear in the client.
When it's over, will display them in your main client window. If you prefer dark mode, click File> Preferences> Dark.
Now, Signal is ready for you to send private and secure messages directly from your computer.
Unlink the desktop client
If you wish, you can delete the desktop client from your Signal account. You can do it from your smartphone or from the desktop.
On your smartphone, tap the menu button> Settings> Paired devices, then touch the paired device you want to erase. Touch “To accept” in the little pop-up box.
If you prefer to break the link of the desktop client, click File> Preferences> Delete Data.
Security and privacy from the desktop
Messaging apps are great. But when you are sitting in front of a computer, it may be more convenient to have the application on your desktop so as not to switch between your computer and your smartphone.
Now you can enjoy the guaranteed security and privacy of Signal and a real keyboard.
