Many people resort to using Signal for its excellent privacy features than other social media platforms.
When you have friends using Signal, you can get curious whether it’s possible to know if they are online.
It could be you want to text someone and get an instant reply, so knowing whether they are online is handy.
If you are wondering whether that’s possible, don’t worry.
This guide will elaborate on everything.
Signal stresses the privacy of its users. Hence, it doesn’t offer a feature to let you know when someone is online or when they were last online. However, you have two ways of knowing if someone is online. First, text them and wait to see the typing indicator. If you see it, then they are online. Alternatively, if they have disabled the typing indicator, text them and wait for their reply. The moment they reply is when they are online.
So, what is Signal, and how can you know if someone is online? This guide elaborates on whether you can know when someone is online on Signal and presents two tricks to confirm that someone is online. Let’s dig in!
What Is Signal?
Signal is one of the many messaging applications available for use.
The messaging app offers end-to-end encryption, making it a safe choice for voice, photos, and chats. Signal stands out for its focus on privacy and security.
With Signal, no intermediary can decrypt your messages. Moreover, the application uses open-source code that security experts can analyze.
Signal is a non-profit organization. Therefore, they don’t collect user data for profit or other gains.
How To Know if Someone Is Online on Signal
Signal utilizes different features to make it a secure platform and give confidence to the user.
Unlike a platform like WhatsApp, Signal doesn’t let you know when someone is online. There are no direct means to see if someone is online or when they were last active on Signal.
Nonetheless, you have two options to know if someone is online.
Method #1: Using the Typing Indicator
When you are in a chat window with someone and text them, you can know they are online if you see the typing indicator on the chat window.
The typing indicator implies that the person is online and is currently writing a text to chat with you.
You can only see the typing indicator if that person has not disabled it and if you’ve enabled it on your end using the steps below:
- Open Signal on your phone.
- Access the account settings page by tapping on your profile picture.
- Tap on “Privacy.“
- Locate “Typing indicators” and toggle it on.
When you open the conversation window and send a message to your friend, you will notice the typing indicator if they are online.
Method #2: Waiting for a Reply
Another obvious way of knowing someone is online is by texting them and waiting for their reply.
Suppose you want to check if someone specific is online, do the following:
- Open the Signal app.
- Open the “Chats” view.
- Tap on the conversation of the target person.
- Type a message and tap the send arrow button.
When you get a reply to your message, that’s the time the target person is online.
However, that’s not a guarantee, as someone can respond to your message and immediately go offline. Still, someone can see your message and fail to reply, yet they are online.
Conclusion
Signal is a messaging platform that stresses user privacy.
Hence, it doesn’t let others know when you are online.
The only hint that someone is online is if you see the typing indicator on the chat window or when the person replies to your message.
Otherwise, it’s impossible to know if someone is online on Signal.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, it doesn’t. Signal doesn’t hint when someone is online. Moreover, you can’t see the last seen of the person.
Your best shot is to wait for that person to start typing. The typing indicator signals that someone is online. Also, when someone replies to your message, they are online.
