How to Make Sure Your Private Signal Messages Aren't Still Lurking on Your Phone

Your private messages sent through the Signal messaging app might not be as hidden as you think -- even if you delete the app. Reporting by 404 Media this week found the FBI was able to extract messages from inside an iPhone's notification system, long after the user had deleted the privacy-focused messaging app. 

In July 2025, a group of people set off fireworks and vandalized property at the ICE Prairieland Detention Facility in Alvarado, Texas, an incident that resulted in one police officer being shot in the neck and nine people being arrested and charged with domestic terrorism. It was revealed during the trial, 404 Media reported, that the FBI was able to extract Signal private messages, which were used as evidence, from an iPhone's notification database. 

An FBI special agent testified that the Signal app ...