Signal: How to Turn Off the Radar (Location) and Mute Notifications for Good

Let's face it: Signal is the gold standard for encrypted chats, but its default settings can feel like a clingy friend who never leaves. Notifications ping you for every emoji reaction, and location sharing? It's like the app wants to know if you're in the bathroom. That's not just annoying—it's a privacy and battery drain. Here's how to shut it all down, step by step.

Why Does Signal Want My Exact Location?

Signal uses location for one thing: to let you share your whereabouts with contacts in a chat. But if you never use that feature, it's just a permission sitting there, waiting to be abused by a bug or a bad actor. Plus, it drains your battery faster than a toddler with a tablet. Revoke it now.

How to Revoke Location Permissions on Signal

On iPhone (iOS)

Open your iPhone's Settings app, scroll down to Signal, tap it, then tap Location. Select Never. That's it. If you want to be extra safe, also toggle off Precise Location—even if you set it to 'While Using,' this ensures Signal only gets a vague idea of where you are.

On Android

Go to Settings > Apps > Signal > Permissions > Location. Tap Deny. Done. For extra credit, also check Nearby devices (if present) and deny that too—it can be used for Bluetooth-based location tracking.

How to Disable Notifications on Signal

On iPhone (iOS)

In Settings > Signal, tap Notifications. Toggle off Allow Notifications. Or, if you want to keep some but not all, customize: turn off Sounds and Badges, and set Alert Style to None. For granular control, open Signal itself: tap your profile icon > Notifications. Here you can mute individual chats or disable message previews.

On Android

Open Signal, tap your profile icon > Notifications. Toggle off Message notifications or adjust per chat. To kill all notifications system-wide, go to Settings > Apps > Signal > Notifications and turn off all categories. Android also lets you set a notification cooldown—handy if you want to batch alerts every 10 minutes instead of a constant barrage.

Bonus: Stop Signal from Running in the Background

On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and toggle off Signal. On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Signal > Battery and select Restricted. This prevents Signal from waking up to check for messages when you're not looking—saving battery and reducing background data use.

Now, a quick reality check: compared to the American model under the California CCPA or CPRA, Signal's approach is refreshingly transparent. Unlike WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, which hoover up location data for ad targeting (even when you don't share it), Signal doesn't collect it at all—unless you explicitly share it in a chat. But that doesn't mean you should leave the permission on. The CCPA gives you the right to opt out of data sales, but with Signal, there's no data to sell. Still, revoking permissions is a best practice. Think of it like locking your car even in a safe neighborhood—it's just smart.

And hey, if you ever need to share your location for a meetup, you can always re-enable it temporarily. Just don't forget to turn it off again. Your battery—and your sanity—will thank you. After all, the only thing more annoying than a clingy app is a dead phone at 3 PM.