By now all of us have heard the name Signal for at least one time. We are hearing that people are switching from WhatsApp to Signal after WhatsApp announced the new privacy policy for the users. According to this new privacy policy, some of the users’ data in WhatsApp will be given to the parent company, Facebook. This became a big concern as privacy matters to the users when they are using a personal messaging app. So, here is everything you need to know about Signal and how secure it is, and should you too move from WhatsApp to Signal?
What is Signal?
Signal is a messaging app similar to WhatsApp where the messages are end-to-end encrypted. The security system of the Signal app is very strong and the code is accessible to all since it is an open-source application which any independent programmer or expert can view and contribute from time-to-time. Signal also claims that it does not collect any user data like contact details, messages, profile information, etc. There are only two details that Signal collects and those are how long Signal has been installed in someone’s phone and the last date of installation.
Like WhatsApp, the Signal app is available on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux. After downloading and signing up in Signal via phone, you can connect it to your Windows or Mac. Once linked with your PC, you can chat from your computer even if the phone is switched off.
Now, the question of the hour is why people are shifting from WhatsApp to Signal?
Why are people switching from WhatsApp to Signal?
A wave of fear rose among the WhatsApp users last week when a pop-up notification came on WhatsApp that it may share some of the user data with Facebook. This notification came with a yes or decline option to agree to the new privacy policy in WhatsApp. Since then a strong migration movement of the WhatsApp users to other messaging apps like Signal and Telegram increased gigantically. Telegram is mostly preferred for group chats while WhatsApp users are installing Signal for its highly secure system. If this migration continues, it will weaken the strength of big tech companies like Facebook and WhatsApp. A chain of messages has been spread that says Facebook could read the messages of WhatsApp users which increased the tension and fear among individuals. Though WhatsApp tried to reach out to people that they couldn’t see the encrypted chats or calls, it seemed like damage control.
Users are growing on Signal
Signal is witnessing the biggest number of new users in the past two years. Last year, Signal witnessed a download of 50,000 per day which rose to 1.3 million users on Monday alone. Among the new users, Signal said that India is one of the biggest areas from where most of the new users are coming in. After the news of privacy concerns broke out on the net last week, Signal became the top app in 70 countries for iOS users and in 45 countries for Android users. (The New York Times)
On the other hand, with the rising popularity of end-to-end encrypted messaging apps like Signal, it becomes hard for the government or similar authorities to investigate crimes. It becomes a safe hiding place for the criminals as law enforcement authorities can’t play any strong part in this. Louis Grever, head of the Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies, said that these encrypted platforms “does allow groups that have an ill intent to plan behind the curtain.” So, the pros and cons of these highly encrypted messaging platforms have become a hot topic of debate for everyone.
Brian Acton, Founder of Signal and WhatsApp
Signal was created by an American cryptographer called Moxie Marlinspike which today is a part of the Signal Foundation. Signal Foundation is a non-profit foundation that was founded in 2018 when Brian Acton, the former co-founder of WhatsApp, loaned initial funding of $50 million to build this foundation and became the co-founder of Signal.
Privacy policy of WhatsApp
With the growing concern among WhatsApp users, the company has answered and cleared all the queries of the citizens. WhatsApp said that though the privacy policy of WhatsApp has been recently updated that does not affect the end-to-end encrypted chats among your friends and family. This new privacy update is especially for the business messaging in WhatsApp which is both optional and provides full transparency on how they collect the user data.
WhatsApp has made it loud and clear that neither WhatsApp nor Facebook can read out messages or hear our calls. WhatsApp doesn’t share our contact with Facebook and they cannot see our shared location as well. What WhatsApp is doing is providing an option for the business accounts to use a secure hosting service from Facebook. And, at times some data can be used for marketing purposes on Facebook. You can always know more if you check out the privacy policy website of WhatsApp.
Experts view on WhatsApp privacy policy
Many experts after studying WhatsApp’s new privacy policy have said that misinformation has been spread. Pranesh Prakash, Affiliated Fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project has said that the new privacy policy of WhatsApp concerns business interactions thus giving new ways to handle transaction and payment data. He further said that privacy has been more tightened after Facebook acquired WhatsApp as the company willingly decreased its power to access chats and calls to identify business content.
So, now it is up to the users to choose the right app based on security concerns, privacy, and convenience. They shouldn’t decide by paying heed to the misinformation and rather get informed about it from genuine sources.
Annasha Dey is an NIT student, who apart from studying engineering is also a content writer. She has a great interest in photography, writing, reading novels, and travelling as well. She is a foodie who loves socializing and hanging out with her friends. She is also a trained Kathak dancer and a big fashion enthusiast. Dey also loves watching TV series, which includes F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Big Bang Theory. To be a better writer she prefers to read more