Deploying your own private Signal server infrastructure allows you to have complete control over your communication data. The goal of doing this "without changing it" is to use the official Signal server code exactly as it is, ensuring you maintain its renowned security and make future updates easier.
This article provides a high-level overview of the process, focusing on the key components and the critical role of cloud storage.
Why Do This?
Data Control: All user data (profiles, groups, messages) stays on your own servers, meeting strict data sovereignty laws.
Isolated Networks: Ideal for secure environments that cannot connect to the public internet.
Independence: Your service remains running even if the public Signal app is blocked.
The Key Components You Need
A private Signal deployment consists of several services that work together. You don't need to modify the code for these; you only configure them for your environment.
Signal-Server: The main Java application that handles accounts and messaging.
Signal-Contacts: A service for managing contacts within your private network.
Cloud Storage Bucket: This is crucial for storing user profile avatars and media attachments. Signal is designed to use an S3-compatible interface.
The Role of GCS and AWS S3 Buckets
A core part of the Signal infrastructure is object storage. This is where all user-generated media—profile pictures, document attachments, and media files—is stored in an encrypted form.
The beauty of deploying "without change" is that the Signal server code is already built to work with S3-compatible storage. This gives you two excellent options:
AWS S3 Bucket: The default and most straightforward choice. You simply create a bucket in your AWS account and provide the AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID and AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY to the Signal server configuration. The code knows how to use it natively.
Google Cloud Storage (GCS) Bucket: GCS is a powerful alternative. Crucially, it offers an S3 Compatibility Mode, allowing it to accept requests designed for Amazon S3. This means you can point the unmodified Signal server code at a GCS bucket by simply using the correct S3-compatible endpoint in your configuration, along with your GCS access keys.
In both cases, you are not changing the server code; you are just feeding it the correct connection details for your chosen storage provider.
Simple Deployment Steps
Get the Code: Clone the official Signal server repositories from GitHub.
Configure Services: This is where you work "without changing the code." You edit configuration files (like .yml files) to set:
Your database connection strings.
Your Redis server address.
Your Cloud Storage details: Whether it's an AWS S3 or GCS bucket, you provide the endpoint, bucket name, and access keys here.
Build & Run: Use tools like Docker and Docker Compose to build the services and run them in containers. This neatly packages each part of the infrastructure.
Modify the Client (This is the One Change You Must Make): The official public Signal app is hardcoded to talk to Signal's servers. To connect to your private setup, you must build your own version of the Signal mobile app and change the server URL to point to your domain.
Important Considerations
No Federation: Your private server is an island. Users can only talk to others on the same private server, not to users on the public Signal network.
Phone Numbers: Managing user phone numbers in a private setup is a complex challenge.
Maintenance: You are responsible for all updates, security patches, and server uptime.
By leveraging S3-compatible storage like AWS S3 or Google Cloud Storage, you can deploy a robust, private Signal infrastructure while keeping the core server code intact and secure.
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