Signal appears in version 6.7 – and with the update a fundamental performance improvement and bug fixes. Most importantly, Messenger has adjusted how it handles archived and silent conversations. The new function is available for Android and iOS.
Muted chats that are also archived will now remain muted and archived even when new messages arrive. To do this, however, you have to select in the settings that this is exactly what happens – which is actually to be assumed from the name. So far this has not really been the case. In the settings select: “Keep muted conversations archived”. By default, the selection is disabled.
If the setting is not made accordingly, Signal will indicate new messages even if a chat is archived. This ends up in the archive at the bottom of the messages and remains stored there and is almost invisible. However, as soon as a new message arrives there, Signal brings the entire chat back up and flags the message.
Muted groups are displayed at that point in the overview, like all other conversations, i.e. in the order in which they were received from the last message. If new messages are received here, users will not receive a notification. The new function and setting option thus combines these two types.
Bug fixed, SMS and MMS function gone
Signal does not reveal to what extent the performance has been improved with the new version and which “small errors” have been fixed.
Signal recently announced that they would be scrapping the messenger’s SMS and MMS functionality. Among other things, these are too insecure and the protocol is outdated, it was said, SMS also lack the encryption, so that every telecommunications provider can read. Google is working on establishing RCS as a new standard – Signal writes in one blog post, but that there is no API that they could hook into. Signal cannot check the content of an SMS for spam. For all these reasons, the function has now been removed.
A stories function has been added. This is similar to those of other messengers and social networks.
(emw)
