FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages

#1

Post by 01-_- » Fri, Apr 10, 2026, 11:29 AM UTC

FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages
9to5mac.com

Re: FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages

#2

Post by frizlab » Fri, Apr 10, 2026, 11:48 AM UTC

Aren’t notifications supposed to be encrypted for Signal?

Re: FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages

#3

Post by dewey » Fri, Apr 10, 2026, 11:55 AM UTC

frizlab wrote: post #2

Aren’t notifications supposed to be encrypted for Signal?

[dead]

Re: FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages

#4

Post by shantara » Fri, Apr 10, 2026, 11:56 AM UTC

frizlab wrote: post #2

Aren’t notifications supposed to be encrypted for Signal?

iOS stores the previously displayed notifications in an internal database, which was used to access the data. It’s outside of Signal’s control, they recommend disabling showing notification content in their settings to prevent this attack vector

Re: FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages

#5

Post by etiam » Fri, Apr 10, 2026, 11:58 AM UTC

Also discussed yesterday, in https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47703573

Re: FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages

#6

Post by makosdv » Fri, Apr 10, 2026, 11:58 AM UTC

frizlab wrote: post #2

Aren’t notifications supposed to be encrypted for Signal?

You can choose what to show in the notification and there is an option to include the message, so I'm guessing that allowed some unencrypted incoming messages to be read.

Re: FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages

#7

Post by chasil » Fri, Apr 10, 2026, 12:00 PM UTC

First, a critical setting for Signal users:

"Signal’s settings include an option that prevents the actual message content from being previewed in notifications. However, it appears the defendant did not have that setting enabled, which, in turn, seemingly allowed the system to store the content in the database."

Second, how can I see this notification history?

Re: FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages

#8

Post by frizlab » Fri, Apr 10, 2026, 12:02 PM UTC

makosdv wrote: post #6

frizlab wrote: post #2

Aren’t notifications supposed to be encrypted for Signal?

You can choose what to show in the notification and there is an option to include the message, so I'm guessing that allowed some unencrypted incoming messages to be read.

Sibling comment explains. The notification does arrive encrypted and is decrypted by an app extension (by Signal), however, if the message preview is shown, it is stored unencrypted by iOS. It is that storage that is accessed.

Re: FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages

#9

Post by butvacuum » Fri, Apr 10, 2026, 12:04 PM UTC

makosdv wrote: post #6

frizlab wrote: post #2

Aren’t notifications supposed to be encrypted for Signal?

You can choose what to show in the notification and there is an option to include the message, so I'm guessing that allowed some unencrypted incoming messages to be read.

it seems iOS will drop previews into an unencrypted section. which, Is how I expected iOS notification previews to work without unlocking the phone

Re: FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages

#10

Post by lenerdenator » Fri, Apr 10, 2026, 12:07 PM UTC

There needs to be a bit more "group chat" control in Signal messages, wherein you could enforce certain settings for certain chats regardless of the phone settings. You could have group chats that would enforce not showing more information in the notifications, while others would still allow it.