A signal is one observed fact about a borrower: a loan they took, a repayment they made, a default the network recorded.
Signals are reconstructed from the public lending communities: the bot-tracked subreddits, historical archives, and lender reports. A search for a handle returns every signal held about that person, in one record.
By default Signals shows warnings: the things that should give you pause. Switch to records mode when you want the full research view: every loan, repaid and unpaid, with dates and sources.