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Signal memo sheets to print

Three single A4 page sheets taken from the Signal groups guide: member, arrest or compromised group, organising roles.

Do not fill them in

These sheets contain no names, numbers or places: do not write any on them. Activist names and the fallback point are to be memorised, not written down. Avoid a shared workplace printer, which often keeps a print log.

Sheet 1: member of a Signal group

  • Nothing illegal in writing: no calls to violence or damage, no threats, even as a joke. Anything sensitive is said in person, without a phone.
  • No voice messages: your voice identifies you. Write instead.
  • Links: delete everything after the ? before sharing.
  • Photos: blur faces. No real names, addresses or screenshots.
  • No live location: a meeting place is given in person.
  • Need help? Name one person. Emergency: 15 or 112, not the group.
  • A doubt about someone: HR, in private. Never an accusation in the group.
  • Never share the link or QR code of an airlock group, a trusted group or a sub-group. Only the public group's link is shared.
  • Memorise, without writing it down: the activist name of your secretary or an HR member, and a fallback point agreed in person.
  • Role label: only a protest role (medic, legal…), never an organising role.

Sheet 2: arrested, phone lost, compromised group

If you are arrested or lose your phone

  1. In police custody, name nobody: you have the right to remain silent, and nothing obliges you to talk about others or your groups.
  2. Tell HR as soon as you can, in person or through a comrade: you will be removed from the groups as a precaution, nothing personal.
  3. Recover your account on another phone (number and PIN), then delete unknown linked devices.
  4. At the debrief, say everything: phone taken, unlocked, code given, time out of your sight. It is not a fault.

If you are removed from a group

  • Don't panic: it is often a precaution.
  • Do not leave a group yourself if it seems compromised: wait for instructions.
  • Do not create a replacement group; go to the fallback point or contact HR.
  • Only accept an invitation from a keyholder or a secretary you know; if in doubt, check in person.

If the group is compromised

  • Someone is taken away or loses their phone → precautionary removal, immediately.
  • Stranger in the group, leak, serious doubt → "compromised group" procedure: if you know where the leak is and it is removed, the group continues; otherwise, you move out.

Sheet 3: organising roles

Roles rotate; nobody holds every role, and no group brings together all the key people.

Role Does Does not
Recruiter Talks about the movement, points to the public group and airlock groups Vet; vouch for their own recruits; note anything about them
Secretary Coordinates the meeting, vets when conditions are met, cleans the airlock group and adds HR Vet without a voucher; add to the trusted group; keep an attendance list
HR Second check, add to the trusted group, receive doubts, decide removals in pairs, within a short delay after a preventive pause Run airlock groups; decide a removal alone
Keyholder Watches over the group's settings (at least two per group), flags odd arrivals to HR Add someone who has not been vetted; go on an action with their keyholder phone
Moderation Reminds people of the charter, deals with issues in private Accuse someone in the group

For details, see the Signal groups guide and its pages: member, recruitment, running the groups and compromised group.

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