How Signal works

A Signal session is short, voluntary, and in person. Here is exactly what happens between the moment you start and the moment the signal fades.

1. 01

   Choose what you want to signal

   Pick a duration — 15, 30, or 60 minutes — and write a short, plain-text intent. The intent is not a profile and it is not stored after the timer ends.

2. 02

   Tap “I’m here”

   Tap to start the session. Your phone reads an approximate location exactly once and uses it to publish your intent into a coarse radar cell of roughly one kilometre. The exact point is not stored or transmitted.

3. 03

   Stay visible temporarily

   Stay visible for the duration you picked. Other active participants in the same radar cell see your intent with whole-meter distance and a quantized direction. They cannot pin where you are.

4. 04

   See nearby signals

   See what other people nearby are open to. Tap Stop, or wait for the timer to run out — either way, the session ends and the signal is gone.

Explore the radar →