Secure messaging platform Signal is adding a neat feature to let users take control over conversations. The company is rolling out message requests, a feature that adds a barrier when other Signal users send you a message. With message requests, Signal users can choose to accept, delete, or even block an incoming message from someone who isn’t in their contacts.
Moreover, this is not limited to text messages. According to Signal’s blog post, message requests will support voice and video calls as well. Hence, your phone won’t ring until you approve the request. This is a handy feature that should be a standard across all messaging platforms.
Another feature being added with this update is support for profiles in group conversations. With this change, Signal will show usernames instead of phone numbers. “Now you can start thinking “Alice seems cool” instead of “the person whose number ends in 435 seems cool,” wrote the company in a blog post.
Meanwhile, Signal is adding a new icon in the header for personal chats to help you identify if a person is in your contacts.
You can also see updates in the conversation thread whenever a contact changes profile name. While other features on the list have a focus on privacy, I’m not quite sure why Signal has decided to let everyone know whenever you change your profile name.
All these changes must be already live in your Signal app. If you’re not seeing them, make sure you update the app to the latest version available on App Store or Google Play Store.
