Signal offers unusually strong privacy commitments and minimal data practices compared with many messaging services, including explicit no-sale language and end-to-end encryption. Its downsides are mostly standard legal-risk protections for the company: liability limits, California forum selection, unilateral policy changes, account termination discretion, and required phone-number registration.
Signal’s legal terms are notably privacy-forward for a messaging service: it says it does not sell or monetize personal data, uses end-to-end encryption, and stores limited account and technical information. The tradeoffs are standard but important: required phone-number signup, international data transfers, broad service disclaimers, a $100 liability cap, California-only dispute venue, unilateral updates, and the ability to suspend or terminate access at any time.
Points of interest
Signal explicitly says it does not sell, rent, or monetize your personal data or content. That is a strong privacy commitment compared with many ad-supported services.
"Signal does not sell, rent or monetize your personal data or content in any way – ever."
Signal says it cannot access the contents of your messages or calls because they are end-to-end encrypted. In practice, this sharply limits what the company can read or disclose about your communications.
"Signal cannot decrypt or otherwise access the content of your messages or calls."
If Signal harms you, its total contractual liability is capped at $100 to the extent allowed by law, and many categories of damages are excluded. This significantly limits practical remedies.
"OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY... WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100)."
The policy says message history stays on your devices and that server-side technical data is limited to what is necessary to operate the service. This reduces the amount of personal information retained centrally.
"Your message history is stored on your own devices... Signal limits this additional technical information to the minimum required to operate the Services."
You must sign up with a phone number and accept verification texts or calls. That creates an identity link many privacy-conscious users may prefer to avoid.
"To create an account you must register for our Services using your phone number."
Disputes must be brought in specified California courts under California law. This can make it harder or costlier for non-California or international users to pursue claims.
"resolve any Claim... exclusively in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California or a state court in San Mateo County, California."
Signal can update its terms and privacy policy, with continued use treated as acceptance, and it may suspend or terminate access at any time for any reason. Users have limited leverage if terms worsen or access is cut off.
"We may modify, suspend, or terminate your access to or use of our Services anytime for any reason... Your continued use of our Services confirms your acceptance of our updated Terms."
Signal states that you own the information you submit through the service. Notably, the terms do not describe a broad content license letting Signal exploit user content.
"You own the information you submit through our Services."
If you use contact discovery, Signal may hash address-book data and send it to its servers to find other users. This is optional and privacy-protective by design, but still involves sharing derived contact data.
"Information from the contacts on your device may be cryptographically hashed and transmitted to the server"
Signal says encrypted information and metadata may be transferred to the United States and other countries where it or its providers operate. Users outside those countries may face different legal protections.
"transfer of your encrypted information and metadata to the United States and other countries"
Signal is not a substitute for emergency services. Relying on it in a crisis could be dangerous because it does not connect to police, fire, hospitals, or similar services.
"Our Services do not provide access to emergency service providers like the police, fire department, hospitals"
Users can manage personal information and enable extra protections like a Registration Lock PIN in the app settings. This is a useful transparency and account-security feature.
"You can manage your personal information in Signal’s application Settings."
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Documents
Terms of Service
source ↗- •You must be at least 13 to use Signal, and your country may require a higher age without parental approval.
- •You need a phone number to register and agree to receive verification texts or calls from Signal or its service providers.
- •Signal says it does not sell or monetize your personal data, and message and call content is end-to-end encrypted.
- •You agree to Signal’s Privacy Policy, including transfer of encrypted information and metadata to the United States and other countries.
- •You must use Signal lawfully and may not spam, auto-message, misuse accounts, scrape user data, or harm Signal’s systems.
- •You are responsible for your device security, carrier charges, taxes, and installing app updates needed for new features and functionality.
- •Signal may suspend or terminate access at any time, especially for Terms violations, and you may stop using the service anytime by deleting it.
- •Signal provides the service as-is, does not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation, and is not responsible for third-party actions or content.
- •Signal’s liability is limited as much as law allows, excluding many damages, with total liability capped at $100.
- •Disputes must be brought in specified California courts under California law, and Signal does not provide access to emergency services.
Privacy Policy
source ↗- •You must be at least 13 to use Signal, register with a phone number, and accept verification texts or calls.
- •Signal says it does not sell, rent, or monetize your personal data or message content.
- •Messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted, and Signal says it cannot access or decrypt their contents.
- •Signal stores limited account and technical data, including your phone number, authentication tokens, keys, and push tokens needed to run the service.
- •Optional profile details like your name and profile picture are end-to-end encrypted, and message history stays on your devices.
- •Signal can optionally check which contacts use Signal by hashing contact information from your address book and sending it to its server.
- •If you contact support, Signal keeps the personal data you share only to investigate the issue and respond to you.
- •Your encrypted information and metadata may be transferred to the United States and other countries where Signal or its providers operate.
- •Signal may suspend or terminate access at any time, and you can end use by deleting the app and stopping use.
- •Disputes must be brought in Northern California courts under California law, and Signal limits liability to $100 where legally allowed.
