Is There an App to Analyze Signal Messages for Abuse or Threats?
Reviewed by Jacob Reed, founder of Verity ·
Short answer
Signal has no export for chats, and its account data download doesn't include messages, so screenshots are the practical record. Scroll through the whole conversation, keep the date labels in view, and let each screenshot overlap the one before. Verity reads screenshots in your browser without uploading them, shows you every message to check and correct, then flags patterns such as threats, gaslighting and blame-shifting.
If disappearing messages are on, the chat deletes itself on a timer. Take the screenshots before the messages go.
Step 1: take screenshots that keep everything
- Open the chat and scroll up to the start of the part you need.
- Take a screenshot, then scroll so the last message or two are still on screen, and take the next one. The overlap lets the pieces be joined without gaps or repeats.
- Keep the date labels in view where Signal shows them; the times of the messages are worked out from them.
- Keep the screenshots as they are: don't crop them or mark them up, and keep the originals on your phone.
Why Signal leaves you with screenshots is in saving Signal messages for court, and what Signal keeps is in how long Signal keeps messages.
Step 2: read the screenshots for patterns
Pick the screenshots in Verity with Read my screenshots. It finds each message bubble, reads the words on your device, tells your side from theirs by where the bubble sits, joins the overlapping screenshots, and then shows you every message to check before anything is scored, so a misread word can be fixed. Then it:
- Flags patterns, such as threats, gaslighting, blame-shifting, contempt and demands for replies, each shown with the messages around it.
- Numbers every message in date order, to read on screen for free or print as one PDF, with every time marked as approximate.
From screenshots, Verity offers the Standard report or the numbered list, not the Detailed report: the times are estimated, and a screenshot is a weaker record than an export.
What to check before you upload screenshots
- Where they go. Signal is built so nobody else can read your messages. Prefer a tool that reads the screenshots on your own device; you can test that by turning the internet off after the page loads (how).
- That nothing is missing. Gaps between screenshots look like missing messages. Overlap each one with the last.
- Your safety. Screenshots land in your photo library, and many phones copy that to the cloud. If someone else can see your photos, move the screenshots somewhere private.
What a pattern check can't do
It reads words and timing. It can flag a joke as an insult, miss cruelty that is politely worded, and it can't say what anyone meant or whether a court will rely on it. Photos, voice messages and calls are not read, and messages that disappeared before the screenshots can't be brought back. Our methodology page sets out what Verity measured and where it falls short.
Where does Verity fit?
The free preview shows the patterns found and one flagged message in full, and lets you read every message on screen, numbered in date order. Paid options are one-time: every message numbered in date order ($19), or the Standard report quoting the flagged messages with their dates, grouped by pattern ($99). More on screenshots in analyzing text message screenshots; for apps that do export, see WhatsApp and Telegram.
This is general information, not legal advice. We make Verity, so weigh what we say about it accordingly. Signal is not affiliated with Verity. If you are in danger, call 911; the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.
Check your Signal screenshots free
Try the sample first, or pick your screenshots. They are read in your browser and are not uploaded.