Signal Labs: are “Starred messages” and these six other features coming to Signal?

25 Maggio 2026 09:43 CEST

Signal is continuously working on new features to further improve the app. This happens both publicly and behind the scenes. In addition to public beta features, Signal introduced an internal “Labs” environment in March 2026, where pre-release features are tested. In this article, we take a closer look at Signal Labs and which features may be coming to Signal in the future.

What is Signal Labs?

Labs contains pre-release features that are only available to internal testers. This allows the Signal team to test new ideas more quickly without rolling them out directly to a public beta. The Signal codebase emphasizes that these features are all in various unfinished states. Some still require further development, final design work, or cross-platform compatibility (iOS, Android, Desktop) before they can be released.

Unlike most beta features, it is therefore uncertain whether and when these Lab features will be released. However, the fact that Signal is actively working on and testing them internally suggests they may be rolled out at a later stage.

Only the Android version of Signal currently includes Labs features, so the descriptions below apply specifically to Android. In practice, new features are often tested on Android first due to its more flexible development and testing environment. Once features are officially released, Signal aims to make them available across all platforms.

At the moment, there are seven features in Labs. Below we describe their current state. As mentioned, these features are experimental and may still change significantly over time or even be removed entirely.

Starred messages

One of the most interesting Lab features in Signal’s codebase is “Starred messages” (GitHub commit 48374e6). This allows you to mark specific messages so you can easily find them later. Once you star a message (long-press message > context menu > Star), a star icon will appear in the message bubble. All starred messages can then be found via a new option in the three-dot menu in the chat list. In individual chats, they can be accessed via “Starred messages” in the chat settings. Of course, you can remove the star at any time.

Messages will only be able to be starred for yourself, and others will not be able to see that you have marked a message. The ability to mark specific messages as favorites is a highly requested feature among users, so we hope Signal continues to work on it soon.

If you want to highlight a message for both yourself and others in the chat, you can already use the pinned message .

Story archive

Another Lab feature is a Stories archive. Normally, stories disappear automatically after 24 hours, both for you and for your contacts. However, sometimes it can be fun or useful to look back at your own stories later. GitHub commit e7d1db4 shows that Signal is working on this feature.

As it currently appears, a new option called Archive will be added to the story settings. If you enable this option, your sent stories will be saved after they leave the active feed.

Il codice sorgente indica anche che potrai scegliere per quanto tempo conservare le tue storie: per sempre, un anno, sei mesi o trenta giorni.

Potrai anche ordinare l'archivio in base alla data di creazione, dalla più vecchia alla più recente o viceversa. Inoltre, le Storie possono essere rimosse manualmente dall'archivio, una alla volta o selezionandone più di una contemporaneamente.

Individual chat plaintext export

Signal recently added the ability to export your full chat history on Android and Desktop (Settings > Chats > Export chat history). These exports are available in a machine-readable JSON format.

Internally, Signal is testing the ability in Labs to export individual chats and groups as well, but in a plain text (.txt) format (GitHub commit 2b163a9). In chats and groups, a new option will be added to the three-dot menu in the top-right corner. You will be able to export chats with or without media.

Exporting chats makes it easier to store and review conversations outside the app, for example for archiving purposes. Of course, it is important to store these exports securely and not share them with others.

Incognito mode

A notable Lab feature is an incognito mode (GitHub commit b62b5ea). When you long-press a chat or group in the chat list, an option will appear to open it in incognito mode. Messages will not be marked as read and no read receipts will be sent.

On iOS, a similar feature already exists, but it works differently. On iPhone, long-pressing a chat only shows a preview of the latest messages without sending read receipts. The Labs incognito mode is more advanced and will allow you to scroll through the entire chat without letting others know you’ve read the messages. Unlike the iOS preview, this is a full reading mode rather than a quick preview.

Incognito mode is especially useful if you normally have read receipts enabled but want to temporarily disable them for a specific chat or group. If you want to disable read receipts for everyone, you can already do so via Settings > Privacy > Read receipts.

Group suggestions for members

Internally, Signal is also testing group suggestions (GitHub commit 9de75b3). When you create a new group and select exactly the same members, existing groups with those members will be suggested.

This helps prevent duplicate or unnecessary groups. By tapping a suggestion, you can immediately open the existing group and continue the conversation there.

Improved search function

Behind the scenes, Signal is also working on an improved search function. The search field will include a new filter button (GitHub commit 7253aaa).

This will allow you to search within a specific date range and/or filter by author name, making it easier to find older messages or specific conversations.

Suggestion to lower raised hand

The final Lab feature is a prompt (toast notification) to lower your raised hand when you are speaking in a group call (GitHub commit b6f9852). This helps prevent your raised hand from staying active while you are already speaking.

Disponibilità

As mentioned, all features described above are currently available only internally and are not yet accessible to regular users or public betas. They are in different stages of development and in many cases still require further refinement or cross-platform support.

Although it is uncertain whether and when these features will be released, Labs provides an interesting glimpse into the new functionality Signal is working on behind the scenes.

More new features

In addition to Labs features, Signal is developing more new functionality. Check the news section on our website regularly for updates. For an overview of already released features and major changes, you can visit our release pages for Android, iOS e Desktop.