None declared
None declared
On the label it is low-risk: Signal collects some data but says none of it is linked to you or used for tracking. None of it falls in Apple's most sensitive categories (health, financial, location, contacts or your own content). In total the label lists 1 data type; 14% of secure messengers we checked declare tracking.
Signal privacy in one look
- 1Collects nothing
- 2Not linked
- 3Linked
- 4Tracks you
Built only from the developer's App Store label. It describes disclosure, not tested behaviour.
Signal collects some data but says none of it is linked to your identity, and none is used for tracking.
Did Signal ask for something?
Pick the permission prompt you saw. We compare it with what Signal's developer declared.
Location is not on Signal's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
User Content is not on Signal's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
Contacts is not on Signal's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
Signal declares no tracking, so a tracking prompt would contradict its label. Decline it, and consider reporting the mismatch to Apple.
Health & Fitness is not on Signal's label. That can be fine: data used only on your iPhone does not have to be declared. If the data would need to leave the phone for the feature to work, ask why it is missing.
A permission is what the app can reach on your iPhone; the label is what the developer says leaves it. They answer different questions.
What Signal collects, explained
| Data type | What it covers | Where to limit it |
|---|---|---|
| Contact InfoNot linked to you | Your name, email address, phone number or postal address. | Use Sign in with Apple with Hide My Email where offered, and check the app's account and marketing preferences. |
What Signal's label means for you
Signal's label has 1 type under “Data Not Linked to You”. A data type can appear in more than one section when it is used for different purposes — for example, identifiers used for both analytics and advertising.
Every type on Signal's label is in the “not linked” section, so the developer says the data is stripped of anything that identifies you before it is used. That is typical of anonymous analytics and crash reporting. Not linked is still collected: the data leaves your phone.
None of the data types fall into the categories most people consider sensitive: health, financial information, precise location, contacts, browsing history or the content you create.
Messengers see who you talk to as well as what you say. Even with end-to-end encrypted content, contact lists and metadata can be collected and linked to you. Check whether contact upload is optional, whether backups are encrypted too, and whether disappearing messages exist.
Among the 172 secure messengers in our snapshot with a label, 14% declare tracking, 54% collect data linked to you and 29% say they collect nothing. Signal lists 1 data type, fewer than the average of 2.8 for this group.
Social apps are built around identity and contacts, so data linked to you is nearly universal. Tracking and contact upload are the settings worth checking.
Settings to check for Signal
- 1
Contacts
Settings › Privacy & Security › Contacts. Limited Access shares only the people you select instead of your whole address book.
- 2
Microphone & camera
Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone and Camera. The orange and green dots in the status bar show when either is in use.
- 3
Sign-in
When creating an account, Sign in with Apple can give the app a relay address from Hide My Email instead of your real one.
- 4
Lock the app
On iOS 18 and later, touch and hold the icon and choose Require Face ID. Anyone who picks up your unlocked phone then needs your face, fingerprint or passcode to open it.
- 5
Notifications
Settings › Notifications › Signal › Show Previews: When Unlocked keeps message and account details off the Lock Screen.
Does Signal track you?
There is no “Data Used to Track You” section on Signal's label.
Lock Signal behind Face ID
- Find Signal on your Home Screen or in App Library.
- Touch and hold the icon until the quick-actions menu opens.
- Tap Require Face ID (or Require Touch ID / Require Passcode, depending on your iPhone).
- Tap Require Face ID again to confirm. Signal now asks for authentication every time it opens.
The lock is an iPhone feature, so it works whether or not Signal has a passcode of its own. It does not change what the app sends to its developer.
About Signal
| Developer | Signal Messenger, LLC |
| App Store category | Social Networking (also Utilities) |
| Latest version | 8.35.1, released October 2026 |
| First released | July 2014 |
| Requires | iOS 15.0 or later |
| Size | 239 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ |
| Languages | 44 (AR, BE, BN, BG, CA, HR, CS, DA…) |
| Bundle ID | org.whispersystems.signal |
The current version shipped in October 2026, so the app is actively maintained and its label is likely current. Labels are updated by developers when practices change.
What the label cannot tell you
- A label is self-reported. Apple publishes the developer's answers and can reject apps that misrepresent them, but it does not independently verify what Signal sends.
- It does not say where data is stored, how long it is kept, whether it is encrypted, or which companies receive it. The privacy policy covers those points.
- Optional data counts: if a feature lets you add something (a profile photo, a phone number), the type is listed even if you never use the feature.
- Data handled only on your iPhone is not 'collected', so a no-collection label is compatible with an app that reads your files locally.
- Third-party sign-in, payment processors and SDKs are supposed to be included, but a label can lag behind a new version.
The question to ask Signal's developer: Is the message content end-to-end encrypted by default, including backups?
Signal vs similar secure messengers
- Secretly
- Wire
- Wizpr
- Signal (this app)
- Private Message Box
- Session
- Air
- xPal Ultra Secure Messenger
Fewer types is not automatically safer: a cloud backup app has to collect your files to work. Compare like with like.
Look up any of our apps in seconds, or put two labels side by side.
Apps similar to Signal
All secure messengers → Who tracks you? A–Z → Apps that collect contact info → Privacy label decoder →
Your Signal privacy checklist
Done. You have applied every control the label points to.
True or false?
- Right.Not quite.
False: there is no Data Used to Track You section on Signal's label.
- Right.Not quite.
Labels are self-reported by developers. Apple can reject or remove apps that misrepresent practices, but it does not audit each label.
- Right.Not quite.
True: Contact Info appears on its label, in the Not Linked to You section.
- Right.Not quite.
It is collected and sent; the developer says it is de-identified rather than tied to your account or device.
- Right.Not quite.
Apple's rules require apps to work the same whether or not you allow tracking.