Signal App Review 2025: Android vs iOS Features, Security & Performance Compared

Signal offers top-notch encryption on both platforms, with Android providing local backups and customization while iOS delivers better system integration. iOS edges out in app ratings (4.8/5 vs 4.6/5) and battery efficiency, though both face the same 250-mile location vulnerability.

Key Takeaways

• Signal remains the most secure messaging app in 2025, offering identical end-to-end encryption on both Android and iOS platforms with minimal data collection.
• Android users benefit from local encrypted backups and customization options like Material You theming, while iOS users enjoy better system integration with features like Dynamic Island indicators.
• iOS has a higher App Store rating (4.8/5) compared to Android (4.6/5), with iOS generally showing better battery efficiency than Android’s 6-8% daily usage.
• A recently discovered vulnerability allowing location deanonymization within a 250-mile radius affects both platforms equally.
• TechEd Publishers provides comprehensive guides on optimizing Signal’s security features across different platforms.

Signal’s Encryption Superiority: What Makes It the Privacy Leader in 2025

In the surveillance-heavy digital world of 2025, Signal stands as the gold standard for secure messaging. What began as a privacy-focused alternative has grown into the primary communication platform for anyone serious about protecting their conversations. TechEd Publishers offers in-depth guides on maximizing your privacy with tools like Signal across multiple platforms.

Android vs. iOS Core Feature Comparison

1. Messaging & Communication Tools

Both Android and iOS versions of Signal provide a comprehensive suite of communication tools in 2025. Text messaging, voice messages, media sharing, and file transfers work identically across platforms with the same high-level encryption. The interface for these core functions remains clean and intuitive, prioritizing ease of use without sacrificing security.

One subtle difference is in how media is handled during sharing. The Android version tends to compress images and videos slightly more aggressively than its iOS counterpart, though both platforms maintain reasonable quality. Both versions support voice notes with playback speed controls and read receipts that can be toggled on or off per conversation.

Voice and video calling capabilities are functionally identical between platforms, supporting one-on-one and group calls with up to 40 participants for video. Call quality depends more on network conditions than platform differences, with both versions utilizing efficient codecs to maintain clarity even on slower connections.

2. Group Chat & Story Functionality

Group chats on Signal support up to 1,000 members in 2025, regardless of platform. Both Android and iOS users enjoy the same administrative controls, including the ability to designate additional admins, manage membership approval, and set group permissions.

The Stories feature, similar to those found on other social platforms, allows users to share photos, videos, and text updates that disappear after 24 hours. Story privacy controls are robust across both platforms, letting users precisely choose who can view each story—from all contacts to custom lists of selected individuals.

One minor platform difference appears in how Stories are displayed: Android follows Material Design principles with its layout, while iOS adopts a more iOS-native appearance. Functionally, however, the experience remains consistent, with both platforms supporting reactions, replies, and view counts for shared stories.

3. Cross-Platform Compatibility

Signal excels at cross-platform messaging between Android and iOS users. Messages, media, and calls flow seamlessly between different operating systems without compatibility issues. Encryption remains intact regardless of which platforms are communicating, ensuring privacy is never compromised during cross-platform exchanges.

The new username aliases feature introduced in 2025 works identically across both platforms, allowing users to hide their phone numbers in group chats for enhanced privacy. This is particularly valuable in mixed-platform groups where participants may not know each other personally.

Where compatibility differences emerge is in the desktop experience. Both Android and iOS users can link their accounts to desktop applications, but the synchronization process varies. Android users benefit from the ability to transfer message history to new devices, while iOS users are more limited in this regard, primarily relying on device-to-device transfers rather than comprehensive backups.

Platform-Specific Advantages

1. Android Strengths: Backups, Customization & Sideloading

Android’s implementation of Signal offers several significant advantages that iOS users don’t enjoy. Perhaps the most practical is the local encrypted backup feature. Android users can create complete encrypted backups of their Signal conversations with a 30-digit recovery key, allowing them to restore their message history when switching to a new device. This capability addresses one of the most common user complaints about Signal – the risk of losing conversation history when changing phones.

Android’s open nature also enables Signal to offer greater customization. With support for Material You theming, Signal on Android can adapt to your system-wide color scheme, creating a more cohesive visual experience. Android users also benefit from launcher shortcuts, allowing quick access to frequent conversations directly from the home screen.

Perhaps most significant for privacy purists is the ability to sideload the APK directly from Signal’s website, bypassing Google Play entirely. This allows users to install Signal without any Google services dependency, which is particularly valuable for those using de-Googled Android distributions like GrapheneOS or LineageOS.

2. iOS Strengths: System Integration & Performance Efficiency

Signal on iOS trades Android’s customization options for superior system integration and performance efficiency. iOS users enjoy Live Activity widgets displaying ongoing calls on the lock screen and Dynamic Island integration on newer iPhones, seamlessly fitting Apple’s design language.

Siri Shortcuts integration enables voice commands for common Signal actions, allowing hands-free messaging when needed.

Most significantly, Signal demonstrates better power efficiency on iOS. While Android users often report battery drain issues (particularly when Play Services problems force websocket usage), iOS users experience less power consumption and fewer thermal complaints. This advantage is especially noticeable during extended voice or video calls.

3. Exclusive Features You’ll Only Find on Each Platform

Beyond the core differences, each platform offers some truly unique features. Android users exclusively benefit from Signal’s “Incognito Keyboard” option, which prevents the keyboard from learning from your typing in Signal. This is a valuable privacy enhancement that prevents sensitive terms from appearing in keyboard suggestions in other apps. Android also features a Screen Security setting that blocks screenshots within Signal, preventing other apps from capturing your conversations.

Meanwhile, iOS users gain access to a dedicated “Censorship Circumvention” feature built directly into the app. This helps users in countries where Signal might be blocked to maintain access to the service. While Android users can achieve similar results, the implementation on iOS is more streamlined and user-friendly.

Performance & Battery Life Comparison

1. Android’s 6-8% Daily Battery Usage vs. iOS Efficiency

Android users typically see Signal consuming 6-8% of daily battery life, with potential spikes when network conditions force websocket connections instead of Google’s push infrastructure.

iOS users experience markedly better efficiency thanks to Apple’s controlled background processes and optimized push system. Signal rarely appears among top battery consumers on iOS unless actively used for calls or extended messaging.

These differences are amplified on newer devices. While Signal demonstrates excellent power efficiency on iPhone models with A16 chips and newer, some Android 15 users report significant battery drain even on flagship devices during normal usage.

2. Known Performance Issues on Both Platforms

Despite Signal’s generally solid performance, both platforms exhibit some known issues worth noting. Android users, particularly those on Android 15, have reported instances of excessive background battery drain. This appears most commonly when network connectivity fluctuates or when running custom ROMs without Google services.

On iOS, a specific issue emerged after the iOS 18.4 update, with users reporting slower FaceID unlock times when opening Signal. The delay is typically brief but noticeable, adding a fraction of a second to the authentication process. Signal developers have acknowledged this issue and are working on optimizations.

Both platforms occasionally experience message delivery delays, particularly for users with aggressive battery optimization settings enabled. These settings can interfere with Signal’s background operations, causing messages to arrive in batches when the app is opened rather than in real-time.

3. Background Activity & Notification Delivery Differences

Signal’s notification delivery varies significantly between platforms due to differences in how Android and iOS handle background processes.

On Android, Signal primarily uses Google’s Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) for efficient push notifications. When FCM is unavailable, Signal maintains a persistent websocket connection, which consumes considerably more power. Users of de-Googled Android variants often experience this higher power consumption as a privacy trade-off.

iOS uses Apple’s Push Notification service (APNs), which is generally more reliable and power-efficient. However, iOS imposes stricter background activity limitations, occasionally causing delayed message processing when the app hasn’t been recently active.

Notification handling also differs between platforms. Android offers more granular controls, including per-contact custom sounds and direct message replies from the notification shade. iOS notifications provide less customization but integrate elegantly with Focus modes and notification summaries.

Security Vulnerabilities & Privacy Concerns

1. The 250-Mile Location Deanonymization Risk

A significant vulnerability discovered in 2024 and still relevant in 2025 is the 250-mile location deanonymization risk that affects Signal users on both platforms. This security flaw exploits how content delivery networks (CDNs) handle attachment downloads, potentially allowing attackers to determine a user’s approximate location within a 250-mile radius.

The vulnerability works by analyzing how quickly a user’s device connects to various CDN nodes when downloading attachments or avatar images sent in Signal messages. By measuring response times, an attacker can triangulate the user’s rough location based on proximity to specific CDN servers.

While this vulnerability doesn’t compromise message content or exact location, it poses a serious concern for users whose general whereabouts need to remain private, such as journalists in conflict zones or individuals fleeing abusive situations. Signal has implemented some mitigations, but the underlying infrastructure issue remains partially unresolved.

2. Platform-Specific Security Vulnerabilities

While Signal’s core encryption remains equally strong across platforms, each operating system introduces unique security considerations. On Android, a notable vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-5715 affects the Biometric Authentication Handler in Signal. This vulnerability involves a missing critical step in the authentication process, potentially allowing an attacker with physical access to bypass the biometric lock under specific circumstances.

The iOS version hasn’t experienced comparable authentication vulnerabilities, but its implementation of screenshot prevention is less robust than Android’s. While Android can actually block screenshots within the app, iOS can only hide content from the app switcher preview due to Apple’s stricter app sandboxing.

Android’s sideloading capability, while offering greater freedom, also introduces the potential risk of installing tampered versions of Signal if users don’t verify the download’s cryptographic signature. iOS users are protected from this particular risk due to Apple’s walled garden approach to app distribution.

3. Phishing Attacks & Linked Device Exploits

Both platforms face an increasing threat from sophisticated phishing attacks targeting Signal users. A particularly concerning attack vector involves exploiting Signal’s linked device functionality through malicious QR codes. When scanning these codes, users might inadvertently link their Signal account to an attacker-controlled device, granting access to future messages.

Signal has responded by implementing additional verification steps when linking new devices, but the fundamental risk remains if users can be socially engineered into completing the authentication process. These attacks don’t exploit weaknesses in Signal’s encryption but rather target the human element of security.

Recent updates to both Android and iOS versions include QR code verification improvements and clearer warnings during the device linking process. Additionally, both platforms now feature detailed linked device management screens that show the last active time for each linked device, helping users identify potentially unauthorized access.

UI/UX Experience Across Platforms

1. Design Philosophy Differences

Signal’s interface follows distinctly different design philosophies on Android and iOS, reflecting each platform’s native guidelines. The Android version embraces Material Design principles with its characteristic floating action button for starting new chats, bottom navigation bar, and distinctive visual elements like rounded corners and elevation shadows. This creates an experience that feels natural to Android users while maintaining Signal’s minimalist approach.

On iOS, Signal adheres to Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines with iOS-native navigation patterns, typography, and interaction models. The app uses standard iOS controls, swipe gestures, and design patterns that make it feel like a natural extension of the operating system rather than a cross-platform port. This native approach extends to animations and transitions, which tend to be smoother and more fluid on iOS.

These platform-specific design choices create subtle but important differences in the user experience. Android’s implementation offers more visual customization options, while the iOS version provides a more tightly integrated feel with the rest of the operating system. Both approaches have their merits, with the primary goal being familiarity for users of each platform.

2. Notification Handling & Customization Options

Notification handling represents one of the more significant UX differences between the platforms. Android’s notification system allows Signal to offer richer customization options, including per-contact notification sounds, quick reply actions directly from notifications, and more granular control over notification appearance and behavior. Users can also leverage Android’s notification channels to control different types of Signal alerts independently.

iOS notifications for Signal are more streamlined but less customizable. While they integrate well with Focus modes and notification summaries, iOS users have fewer options for personalizing how Signal notifications appear and behave. However, iOS notifications benefit from tighter system integration, including better battery efficiency and more reliable delivery in most cases.

Beyond notifications, customization options vary between platforms. Android users can apply Material You theming to align Signal’s appearance with their system color scheme, change chat bubble colors, and utilize Android-specific features like launcher shortcuts. iOS users have access to customization within Apple’s ecosystem conventions, including widget customization and integration with iOS accessibility features.

3. Backup & Data Transfer Capabilities

Perhaps the most significant functional UX difference between platforms lies in backup and data transfer capabilities. Android users benefit from Signal’s local encrypted backup feature, which creates a complete backup of messages, media, and settings protected by a 30-digit recovery key. This provides a safety net when switching devices or reinstalling the app, addressing one of the most common user concerns about potential data loss.

iOS users face a more limited experience in this regard. Signal on iOS lacks a comprehensive backup solution, instead offering only device-to-device transfer capability. This requires having both the old and new devices physically present during the transfer process, creating a significant limitation for users who lose access to their previous device.

Both platforms support the new 45-day history sync feature for linked devices, allowing limited message history to transfer to desktop or tablet clients. However, this feature doesn’t replace a true backup solution, particularly for iOS users who remain vulnerable to permanent data loss if their device is lost, stolen, or damaged.

User Ratings & Community Feedback Analysis

1. Why iOS Users Rate Signal Higher (4.8 vs 4.6)

Signal’s App Store rating of 4.8/5 from 1.3 million reviews outpaces its Google Play rating of 4.6/5 from 2.7 million reviews. This rating disparity reveals interesting patterns in user expectations and experiences across platforms.

The higher iOS rating appears to stem from several factors. First, Signal’s UI on iOS feels more polished and cohesive with the platform’s design language, creating a seamless experience that iOS users particularly appreciate. Second, performance and battery efficiency tend to be more consistent on iOS, with fewer reports of background battery drain or notification delays.

Many iOS reviewers specifically praise Signal’s privacy features while noting that the app “just works” without technical complications. The integration with iOS-specific features like Dynamic Island and Live Activities also contributes to positive sentiment. Additionally, iOS users are accustomed to Apple’s walled garden approach, so Signal’s privacy-focused limitations (like the lack of cloud backups) align with their existing expectations around security tradeoffs.

2. Most Common User Complaints by Platform

While Signal enjoys positive ratings overall, user complaints reveal platform-specific pain points. Android users most frequently cite battery drain issues, especially on Android 15 devices or custom ROMs without Google services, with websocket fallback connections being particularly problematic. Other common Android complaints include message delivery delays, media compression quality, and notifications arriving only when opening the app.

iOS users primarily complain about the lack of proper backup solutions. Device-to-device transfer limitations create data loss anxiety and complicate upgrades. iOS users also report occasional FaceID unlock slowdowns after updates and media sending failures in poor network conditions.

Both platforms share common frustrations: inadequate group chat management, the network effect problem with non-Signal contacts, and message delivery delays when returning from areas with poor connectivity.

3. Regional Adoption Trends & Usage Patterns

Signal’s global adoption reached approximately 70 million monthly active users as of January 2025, though distribution varies significantly by geography and platform.

The Netherlands and Belgium lead in per-capita adoption, with Signal ranking #1 in both countries’ app stores, reflecting Europe’s stronger emphasis on digital privacy and data protection regulations.

US downloads surged 16% quarter-over-quarter amid growing political privacy concerns. Platform usage splits predictably: Android dominates in developing markets, while iOS captures larger shares in North America, Western Europe, and Australia.

Signal remains blocked in several authoritarian countries including Egypt, Oman, Iran, Qatar, and the UAE. In these regions, Android’s sideloading capability offers advantages for circumventing restrictions, though iOS users can sometimes access Signal via VPNs and other workarounds.

The Verdict: Choosing the Right Signal Version for Your Privacy Needs

Both Signal versions offer identical end-to-end encryption and security protocols in 2025. Your choice depends on priorities and ecosystem preferences.

Choose Signal on Android if you value: local encrypted backups, greater customization, sideloading capability, and features like Incognito Keyboard and screenshot blocking. Android provides more control and flexibility, though with potentially higher battery usage.

Choose Signal on iOS if you prioritize: seamless system integration, better battery efficiency, polished interface, and features like Dynamic Island integration. iOS delivers a streamlined experience with fewer technical complications but limited backup options.

Most users will follow their existing ecosystem preference, as both versions provide Signal’s core experience with industry-leading encryption. The key functional difference remains backup approach—Android’s local encrypted backups versus iOS’s device-to-device transfers only.

Signal remains the gold standard for secure messaging in 2025, outperforming competitors in privacy protection, minimal data collection, and tracking resistance. Its robust default encryption continues setting the benchmark other messaging apps aspire to match.

Looking for comprehensive guides on maximizing privacy with secure communication tools? TechEd Publishers offers expert resources to help protect your digital conversations across all platforms.