Popular encrypted instant messaging app Signal was updated on Monday with a long-awaited feature, which is the ability to change the registered phone number without losing current conversations.
Since all Signal conversations are end-to-end encrypted, the app links the user’s conversations with their phone number – which means that the chats are not synchronized in the cloud. As a result, if a user changes their phone number for any reason, all conversations from the previous number are lost.
With the latest Signal update, the messaging app has introduced a new way to let users update their phone numbers without having to create a new account and losing conversations.
If you’re keeping your existing phone, but getting a new number, the Change Number feature will let you keep your profile and all of your existing messages and groups on your device, while making you reachable at your new phone number.
In order to change the phone number registered in your Signal account, you must have access to both the old and the new phone number to confirm the change. You will also need to have the old number enabled on Signal before you can update your account. All your Signal contacts will be notified about the change.
As detailed by the company in a support article, the new Change Number option requires Signal version 5.27.1 on iOS or version 5.30.6 on Android. You can download the latest version of Signal for free on the App Store.
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