So it seems this is an iOS vulnerability rather than a Signal vulnerability, kind of.
this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2021
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Privacy
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Yeah, signal doesn't purport to do anything special to protect your messages on your device. If the device is somehow unlockable and your messages aren't deleted, they are accessible. It's a bad headline.
This is like when Cellebrite claimed they could read Signal messages from a phone, pretending this was somehow notable. It's FUD.
Accurate and what I came here to comment.
/thread
It's such a clickbait title, they're calling out Signal due to the massive turn to Signal from WhatsApp lately but really they'd be able to access anything without a passcode, it's not a Signal flaw.
This is why you should encrypt your phone as well.
I guess this is why you can add a pass code to open the app then.
As others have said, this is clickbait.
e: I found this which answered my question. In short: the safest option is to completely turn off the phone.
iPhones in AFU mode [...] required physical access and were costly to do
All iPhones have encrypted file systems (as long as it has a passcode, which I think is mandatory now).
~~iPhones can disable their biometric scanners and require a passcode by pressing the power button five times. Anyone know if this also takes the phone out of AFU mode? AFU mode according to this is when the phone stores its encryption keys in memory.~~