Data Report Card · Signal
Signal Data Report Card
A
11/12 Policy grade · Private messenger
Reviewed Jun 2026 · policies are checked weekly for changes · stated — every cell is read from Signal's published policy; none has been tested (run by us) yet.
2Accessstated
Self-serve "Your account data" export (Settings → Account) as TXT or JSON, free; it covers the little Signal holds server-side, since "Signal cannot decrypt or otherwise access the content of your messages or calls."
Signal — Requesting your account data · accessed Jun 2026 ↗1Portabilitystated
The account-data export is machine-readable but "does not include any messages or media"; your message content moves only via Signal’s end-to-end-encrypted Secure Backups or device transfer, not an open export — a limit of E2E design, not a dark pattern.
Signal — Secure Backups · accessed Jun 2026 ↗Connects to apps: No, end-to-end encrypted. Signal exposes no public API for a third-party agent to connect to your account data; the service is end-to-end encrypted and holds no message content server-side, so there is nothing for an API to reach — account data is available only through the in-app self-serve export. Signal — end-to-end encryption (no consumer data API) · accessed Jul 2026 ↗
2Frictionstated
Everything is self-serve and instant inside the app — account-data export, Secure Backups and account deletion — with no email, no waiting, no verification gauntlet and no dark patterns.
Signal — Requesting your account data · accessed Jun 2026 ↗2Deletionstated
Self-serve in-app account deletion (Settings → Account → Delete Account) removes your account from Signal’s servers; there is no residual server-side content because messages live only on your device.
Signal — Delete Account · accessed Jun 2026 ↗2Sells / sharesstated
"Signal does not sell, rent or monetize your personal data or content in any way – ever"; Signal is a nonprofit and shows no ads.
Signal — Privacy Policy · accessed Jun 2026 ↗2Trains AIstated
Signal ships no AI features that use your data, and end-to-end encryption means Signal cannot access message content to train on.
Signal — Privacy Policy · accessed Jun 2026 ↗Source-verified Jul 2026 from Signal’s own pages. All cells are "stated" (read from published policy and support docs); no live export or deletion has been run to mark any cell "tested."
Events
Breaches, policy changes, and export-format changes we’ve recorded at Signal — other parties’ actions, alongside the enforcement record above. An event never changes a grade by itself. All events →
No events on record for Signal.
Grade history
Every change to this company’s grade since it was first published, and why. All grade changes →
No changes since this grade was first published in Jun 2026.
How to request your data from Signal
- Go to https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/5538911756954-Requesting-your-account-data — Signal's data-request entry point.
- Settings → Account → Your account data → Export as TXT / JSON.
- Expected wait: instant self-serve export in-app (no email or waiting) — Signal's stated turnaround (we haven't independently timed a request yet).
These steps reflect Signal's documented process as of Jun 2026. The wait time is the company's stated figure, not yet independently measured by us.