Signal and Internet Crime Investigations

Signal is a nonprofit messaging app designed to collect as little data as possible. It is widely used by journalists, privacy-minded users, and government officials. Because Signal keeps so little, investigations involving Signal tend to look different from investigations involving other platforms. This page gives general background on Signal and how investigations involving it often happen.

Background and History of Signal

Signal grew out of the encrypted texting and calling apps TextSecure and RedPhone, developed by Moxie Marlinspike and Open Whisper Systems, and was released as Signal in 2014. In 2018, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton helped create the nonprofit Signal Foundation. The Signal Protocol, its encryption design, is also used by WhatsApp and other services.

Signal Features and Services

Signal offers end-to-end encrypted messages, voice and video calls, group chats, disappearing messages, Stories, and usernames that allow users to connect without sharing a phone number. Signal says it also encrypts metadata such as profile information, group information, and contacts.

How People Use Signal

Signal is used legitimately by people who value private communication, including families and friends, journalists, lawyers, health professionals, and businesses that want to keep conversations confidential. It is run by a nonprofit foundation, and its open-source Signal Protocol is also used to secure messages in other widely used apps. For many users, Signal is simply a secure way to text, call, and video chat with the people they know.

How Many People Use Signal?

Signal does not publish an official user count. Outside estimates vary widely, and we did not locate a figure reliable enough to state here.

How Investigations Involving Signal Often Begin

Many investigations involving Signal do not start with a police officer stumbling onto something. They start with a report. Online providers based in the United States are required by federal law to report apparent child sexual abuse material that they become aware of to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which runs the CyberTipline. NCMEC reviews each report, tries to work out where the user is located, and makes reports available to the appropriate law enforcement agency, often an Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force or a federal agency such as Homeland Security Investigations or the FBI. For more on what happens after a report is made, see what a CyberTipline report is and what happens next.

Signal does not appear in NCMEC’s published 2025 list of companies that submitted CyberTipline reports, and because it cannot see message content, it is not a significant source of reports. Signal investigations usually begin elsewhere: an undercover officer invited into a Signal chat, a conversation that moved to Signal from another platform, a phone seized in another investigation, or a cooperating participant who shares messages.

What Records Signal May Have and How Police Request Them

Signal publishes the government requests it receives and its responses on its website. Signal says it does not have access to messages, calls, profile information, group information, contacts, and many other kinds of content and metadata, and its published responses have described producing very little information, such as when an account was created and when it last connected. As a result, the evidence in Signal cases usually comes from devices, from the other participants in a conversation, or from an undercover officer’s own copy of the messages.

Connecting a Signal Account to a Person

A record showing that a Signal account did something is not the same thing as proof that a particular person did it. Investigators typically try to connect an account to a person using things like the email address or phone number used to register, IP addresses from logins, subscriber records from an internet or wireless provider, device identifiers, payment records, and what is found on devices during a search. Each link in that chain can raise questions: shared homes and shared Wi-Fi, devices used by more than one person, VPNs, carrier networks that place many customers behind one IP address, compromised accounts, and gaps in the records. These are the kinds of issues a defense attorney may look at closely, case by case, under current law. The firm discusses this further in how police connect online accounts to a person.

Examples From Reported Cases

The examples below are drawn from public announcements and news reports. They are described generally and without names. Charges are only accusations, and anyone charged is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. These summaries are not a prediction of how any other case will turn out.

• In Washington, D.C., in 2025, a man was indicted after allegedly sending illegal material over Signal to a person who turned out to be an undercover officer. A federal court opinion on pretrial release noted that the government relied on the Signal messages themselves and on additional material later found on the man’s phone. The charges are allegations.

Related Articles on InternetCrime.com

• Platform Investigations: all platforms
• Social Media Crimes and Digital Evidence
• Online Sting Arrests
• Police Seized My Computer: What Now?
• How Police Connect Online Accounts to a Person
• Distribution Charges

If You Are Under Investigation Involving Signal

If police have contacted you, if a search warrant has been served, or if you believe an investigation involving a Signal account may be underway, it is important to get legal advice before taking any action on your own. Attorney Ron Frey generally advises speaking with an attorney before answering questions or agreeing to a search. Whether a person may be required to provide a password or unlock a device depends on the circumstances, the jurisdiction, and any search warrant or court order involved, so that decision should be made with an attorney’s advice (see should I provide my password to the police or FBI?).

You have the right to remain silent. Anyone accused of a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court. Laws change and vary from state to state and between state and federal court, and the way they apply depends on the specific facts. Please don’t rely on the internet or on AI tools to evaluate your situation. Every case is different, and contacting an attorney is a priority to get tailored advice.

Attorney Ron Frey of The Frey Law Firm, LLC has been practicing law for over two decades and represents people nationally in internet and computer crime investigations and charges. He is a conference speaker and published author.

Attorney Ron Frey Is Available for a Free Initial Confidential Consultation: Call or Text (844) 766-3739. In Florida, call (813) 775-2276. You can also reach the firm through the contact page.

References

• Signal, Government Communication (published government requests and responses)
• NCMEC, “2025 CyberTipline Reports by Electronic Service Providers (ESP)”
• U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, memorandum opinion on pretrial detention (Sept. 2025), via GovInfo; contains graphic descriptions
• Signal Foundation
• Wikipedia, “Signal (software)” (background)

Important: This page provides general information only. It is not legal advice, and it is not a complete or current statement of the law or of any company’s policies. Laws, court decisions, and platform practices change, and their effect depends on the facts of each case and on how courts interpret them. User figures and report counts come from the sources listed and may since have changed. Platform names and logos are trademarks of their owners and are used only to identify the services discussed; The Frey Law Firm, LLC is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of these companies. Please don’t rely on this page, or on any other information online, to make decisions about your situation. Talk with a lawyer. Reading this page or contacting The Frey Law Firm, LLC does not create an attorney-client relationship. Last reviewed: October 26, 2026.