Disappearing messages, also known as vanishing messages, are a popular feature in messaging apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Signal that allow users to send messages that automatically delete after a set period of time. This can be useful for sharing sensitive information or just keeping conversations clutter-free.
One of the apps that offers disappearing messages is Signal, an encrypted messaging app focused on privacy. Signal’s disappearing messages feature deletes a message from the sender and recipient’s devices after a preset duration. But an unanswered question around Signal’s implementation is – when a message is deleted for everyone, does it also remove any indication on the receiving end that a now-deleted message had been sent? Let’s explore this topic in more detail.
How Do Disappearing Messages Work in Signal?
When a user sends a disappearing message in Signal, the app displays a countdown timer for that message, showing how long until it will be deleted. Once elapsed, the message is removed from the chat history on the sender’s device as well as the recipient’s device.
The duration can be set to as short as 5 seconds or as long as 1 week. The default is 1 day. Users can change the default duration in Settings > Privacy > Default timer.
Some key points about how Signal handles disappearing messages:
- The message is deleted from the sender and recipient’s message history and notification center.
- If a disappearing message is quoted in a chat, the quoted text will remain after the original message deletes.
- If the disappearing message contained media, such as a photo, the media is deleted along with the message.
- Disappearing messages cannot be forwarded, saved, or starred.
So in summary, Signal intends to completely remove all trace of a disappearing message once the deletion time is reached. But there are some scenarios, like quoting a disappearing message, that can inadvertently leave a trail.
Does Signal Remove All Evidence of a Disappearing Message?
Given how Signal handles disappearing messages, does it completely remove all evidence that a now-deleted message had existed? Are there any subtle clues left behind?
While Signal intends to delete all traces of a disappearing message, there are some niche cases where remnants can remain or its existence can be deduced:
- Quoted text: If a user quotes a disappearing message before it deletes, the quoted text will remain in the chat history.
- Saved media: If media from a disappearing message is saved before it deletes (e.g. saving a photo), the media will not be deleted.
- External backups: Devices with third-party Signal backups could retain disappearing messages beyond their deletion time.
- Watchful recipients: The message appears briefly before deletion. A quick reader could spot it and remember it existed.
- Context clues: Based on the chat discussion context before and after, users might infer a message existed.
So while Signal strives to remove all observable traces of a disappearing message, savvy users or unusual circumstances can make it possible to infer their prior existence.
When Might the Existence of Deleted Signal Messages Be Detected?
Given the potential for remnants of disappearing Signal messages, in what situations might the existence of a deleted message be detectable by the recipient?
- Quoting the message: This directly exposes disappeared message text in a persistent quote.
- Backups outside Signal: Devices that backup Signal chat history could retain deleted messages.
- Saved media: If media is saved before a message deletes, its origin is revealed.
- Screenshot: Users can screenshot a message before it disappears.
- Reading message as it appears: Brief visibility before deletion means fast readers may spot it.
- Watching notification content: Message preview in notifications could allow fast users to read disappearing content.
- Inferences from context: Recipients might deduce a message existed from conversational context.
So while Signal strives for foolproof deletion, circumstances like backups and user actions can make vanishing messages potentially detectable. However, in most straightforward chat use cases, disappearing messages will leave no evidence behind.
Can You Recover a Disappearing Message in Signal After It Deletes?
Is it possible for either the sender or recipient of a Signal disappearing message to recover it after deletion?
Unfortunately, once a disappearing message has been automatically deleted after its timer expires, there is no native way to recover or retrieve that deleted message within Signal.
A few reasons recovering deleted disappearing Signal messages is impossible:
- The message content is encrypted end-to-end, so only the devices that exchanged the message have access to the decrypted message.
- Signal deletes the message forensic securely – it does not leave retrievable remnants on devices.
- Signal itself does not retain message history on its servers that could be recovered.
The only way a user might recover disappearing message content is if they happened to back up the message externally before deletion. For example, taking a screenshot or using a third-party backup service.
But natively within Signal, once a disappearing message reaches its deletion time and is removed from both the sender and recipient’s apps, it’s gone for good. There are no secret techniques to retrieve or undelete a disappeared Signal message.
Does Turning Off Disappearing Messages Recover Deleted Ones?
If a Signal user turns off disappearing messages after some have already been deleted, will that restore or recover the deleted messages?
Unfortunately, disabling disappearing messages only applies to future messages going forward. It does not recover or undeletes any messages that have already been automatically deleted.
Here’s why changing the disappearing message setting won’t bring back deleted messages:
- Disappearing messages are permanently deleted at the encryption level when expired.
- Signal does not retain copies of deleted messages on its servers.
- Disabling the setting only affects newly-sent messages after the change.
So any messages already deleted by their expiration time remain permanently deleted. Changing the disappearing message setting moving forward won’t suddenly restore deleted messages from the past.
The only way a disappeared message could potentially be recovered is if the user had a backup containing the deleted messages from before their expiration time. But the messages themselves cannot be retrieved within Signal once cleanly deleted.
Conclusion
In summary, while Signal’s disappearing messages are designed to completely remove all evidence of a message after deletion, remnants like quoted text, saved media, and external backups can occasionally reveal clues that a message once existed. Careful Signal users as well as context from the chat history could also potentially infer that a message had been sent.
However, barring these edge cases, disappearing messages will leave no trace behind after they reach their expiration time and delete. And once deleted, there is no native way within Signal to recover or restore that content. Disabling the feature also will not bring back messages that have already disappeared.
So while not absolutely foolproof from determined forensic analysis, Signal’s disappearing messages provide a reasonable assurance of privacy for sensitive communications that need to lack permanence. But users should be aware disappearing messages may leave some breadcrumbs behind in certain situations.