Messaging service Signal has announced that it will be removing support for SMS from its app "soon".

Signal, which allows people to send and receive secure messages with people across platforms, hasn't said explicitly when we should expect SMS support to be removed from its Android app. However, a tweet from the company also suggested that users will have "several months" to get their messages out of the app if they want to. They'll be able to export those messages to another app for safekeeping, so long as that app supports message ingestion.

In announcing the move, Signal said that the move was part of an initiative that will see Signal "prioritizing security and privacy," adding that the removal of SMS support will ensure that people don't find themselves stuck with unexpected text message bills. It'll also allow for a clearer user experience for people who use the app, Signal said.

In its current state, the Signal Android app lets people send messages over its own network as well as standard SMSes via their carrier. That's something that isn't possible on iPhones, with this decision also ensuring feature parity between the two apps.

Signal might be taking one feature away, but it's at least adding one more. The company is now beta testing Instagram-like stories in its app for the first time.