How to Verify Your Contacts in Signal on a PC or Mac

This wikiHow teaches you how to verify a Signal user's identity when you’re using Signal on a computer.

Steps

  1. Image titled Verify Your Contacts in Signal on a PC or Mac Step 1
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    Open Signal on your Mac or PC. It’s the blue icon with a white chat bubble in your Windows menu (PC) or in the Applications folder (Mac).
    • You must have already linked the Signal app on your phone or tablet to the PC/Mac app to use this method.
    • The person you’re verifying will also need to go through the steps in this method, although they can use their mobile device instead of a computer.
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    Click the contact you want to verify. Contacts appear along the left side of the screen.
  3. Image titled Verify Your Contacts in Signal on a PC or Mac Step 3
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    Type a message and press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return. This is to initiate a conversation with this contact.
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    Click ⁝. It’s at the top-right corner of the conversation.
  5. Image titled Verify Your Contacts in Signal on a PC or Mac Step 5
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    Click Verify safety number. A series of numbers will appear in a box at the center of the screen. This is the safety number.
  6. Image titled Verify Your Contacts in Signal on a PC or Mac Step 6
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    Highlight the safety number. You can do this by clicking twice anywhere in the box, or by clicking once and pressing Control+A (PC) or ⌘ Command+A (Mac).
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    Press Control+C (PC) or ⌘ Command+C (Mac) to copy the highlighted number.
  8. Image titled Verify Your Contacts in Signal on a PC or Mac Step 8
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    Click the white arrow to return to the conversation. It’s at the top-left edge of the center panel.
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    Ask the contact to send you their safety number. Send a message to your contact, who has been going through these steps along with you, requesting that they paste the safety number into the message box. Once the safety number is pasted, you’ll be able to compare it against yours.
    • Your contact can paste the number into the typing box by pressing Control+V (PC) or ⌘ Command+V (Mac).
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    Press Control+V (PC) or ⌘ Command+V (Mac) to paste your safety number into the typing area.
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    Press ↵ Enter (PC) or ⏎ Return (Mac). Both safety numbers should now appear in the conversation. If the numbers match, you can trust that this person is who they say they are. Otherwise, refrain from sharing any private information.
    • There is a chance the safety numbers may not match if one of you is using an outdated version of Signal. Make sure you’re both using the latest version of the app, exchange another message, and then try again.

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About This Article

Nicole Levine, MFA
Written by:
Nicole Levine, MFA
Tech Specialist
This article was written by Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been viewed 2,040 times.
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Co-authors: 4
Updated: May 25, 2021
Views: 2,040
Categories: Instant Messaging