Consistently ranked among thebest encrypted messaging appsout there, Signal has changed with the times and added dozens of nifty new features —some visualand some focusing onsecurity and privacy. Now it’s time for the latest to arrive, as Signal finally picks up the ability to schedule messages scheduling — which has been
Conspicuously absent from Signal up until now, message scheduling has been a staple of rival encrypted messaging app Telegram since September 2019. It’s better late than never, as the adage goes, and the app is now playing catch-up, letting you type in your desired message and set it to be sent at any given date or time. The feature appears to be live for the bulk of users, and we’ve been able to give it a try. The company’s phrasing implies that this ability is limited toAndroid devicesfor now, with web and iOS versions potentially getting it at a later date.
What’s interesting about this latest addition is that the UI interaction to schedule a message is eerily similar to how message scheduling works onTelegram. Users need to long press the send message button for scheduling options to pop up, which in Signal’s case, opens up three presets (presumably depending on the time of the day) followed by aPick Date & Timeoption for precise control.
Signal’s new message scheduling options (left); Telegram’s implementation (right)
Meanwhile, Telegram users can schedule messages and do a couple of other things after long pressing the send button, such as sending the message the next time someone comes online, or sending it quietly. The developers at Signal could argue that this is the easiest way to implement message scheduling on the app, and it’s admittedly hard not to do it without coming across as ripping off a rival app’s feature.
Frequent users of Signal will welcome the addition of message scheduling, or as Signal puts it, “Write now, send later.” And while we’re happy to see it arrive, other highly-requested features like custom usernames haven’t made it to the app yet. While the edit message button made a brief appearance on Signal beta for Android v6.24last month, it has now vanished as planned and is expected to make a return over the next two months or so.
