Signal rolling out Stories feature for Android and iOS users

Instant messaging app Signal has introduced Stories for Android and iOS users. Stories will allow users to create and share videos, images, and texts with their friends on the app that will automatically disappear after 24 hours of posting. The company also plans to release the feature for desktop users soon.

Signal users can also choose to opt out of Stories by going to Settings, Stories, and selecting Turn off Stories. Once opted out, users can not share Stories on Signal or view other people’s stories. The choice to turn off Stories is not shared with anyone, and friends won’t know that the user has opted out of seeing their updates.

According to the company, Stories are end-to-end encrypted, and only people the user has selected can view their Stories. Signal Stories will automatically disappear after 24 hours. However, users can manually delete their Stories anytime. Similar to read receipts in chats, users can enable or disable view receipts for Stories via the Settings menu.

Users can also send Stories to existing group chats. Further, users can share stories with smaller subsets of people by creating a custom story. It is also possible to manually hide stories from specific people. Users can choose who can view their Stories by going to Settings, Stories, and selecting My Story.

Stories are available for Android and iOS users on the latest version of the Signal app. Users can download or update the app from Google Play Store for Android devices and Apple App Store for iOS devices.