Signal’s Android app will no longer support sending and receiving SMS messages. Those who currently use Signal as their default SMS app will receive notifications advising them to change. Your SMS messages will be exportable and importable into another app (as long as the other one supports that option).
Signal stated that it included SMS support in the first place to make it easier to use — you wouldn’t have to persuade friends to download the app before exchanging messages with them. While the change may be inconvenient for those who have relied on Signal for the majority of their messaging, the company has provided some practical reasons for the switch.
SMS messages, for example, lack end-to-end encryption. Furthermore, given the fluctuating prices of data and text plans over the years, it may now be more expensive to send an SMS message than a Signal message.
“We’ve heard repeatedly from people who thought the SMS messages they were sending were Signal messages, only to discover that they were using SMS and being charged by their telecom provider,” Signal writes in a blog post. “This is a terrible experience with real ramifications.”
Signal’s third reason is that it does not want users to be confused between SMS and Signal messages in the app. It stated that distinguishing these has “serious UX and design implications.” Furthermore, Signal stated that discontinuing SMS support will free up resources for other projects and features.
Following a data breach at its verification partner Twillio, it made the decision. According to Signal, the incident exposed approximately 1,900 of its user’s phone numbers and SMS codes. It’s unclear whether the request to discontinue SMS support is directly related to the breach.
