Durov: Deleted Signals Aren’t Gone-Privacy Exposed

by

In the dim glow of screens, Pavel Durov mutters of danger that clings after the message vanishes, as if the air itself keeps a ledger of our words.

  • Durov warns that push notifications may preserve data long after chats and apps are erased, like a stubborn echo in a deserted factory.
  • Reports say investigators retrieved deleted Signal messages from iPhone notification logs in a criminal case, a shabby reminder that nothing truly vanishes.
  • Interest in decentralized messaging grows as bans, unrest and internet restrictions jolt open channels and wallets of communication.

These words arrive on the heels of reports that investigators plucked deleted Signal messages from the memory of notification logs, renewing the quarrel over metadata, device storage, and the tools we pretend safeguard our privacy.

Durov argued that push notifications can lodge message data on a device outside the encrypted chat itself. He warned that the risk persists even when previews are off, because the silent legions you correspond with may leave default settings as their dowry.

“Turning off notification previews won’t make you safe if you use those applications, because you never know whether the people you message have done the same,” he wrote.

He tied that argument to privacy settings, which hinge on choices made by both sides of a conversation, a chess game played with no kings-only pawns and the cold lamp of code.

Signal report draws wider attention

Durov cited a report first published by 404 Media. The report said the FBI accessed deleted Signal messages from notification logs stored on an Apple iPhone used in a criminal case.

The affair reveals how investigators can reach data surrounding messages, even when the content remains shrouded by end-to-end encryption.

Moreover, the reports renew focus on metadata, notification storage, and other traces left by apps and operating systems. Encrypted content stays safe in the depths, but the scaffolding around it-storage, logs, caches-tells of our habits.

That debate also stirs interest in decentralized tools that promise less centralization. Developers of such platforms argue that local storage, routing methods, and network design determine how much remains after messages are sent or deleted.

Decentralized apps gain users during bans

Interest in decentralized messaging and social platforms has grown since 2025 as bans, upheavals, and internet shut-offs gnaw at traditional channels. Exploding Topics data cited in the report showed online search interest in decentralized social media platforms rising 145% over five years.

The report also points to Bitchat, a Bluetooth mesh messaging app that works without the internet. It claimed more than 48,000 users in Nepal downloaded the app during a social-media blackout in September 2025, while Durov notes that Telegram bans in Iran pushed users toward VPNs rather than state-backed services.

Read More

2026-04-12 09:56