Signal had approximately 7.5 million installs from the App Store and Google Play worldwide between Thursday and Sunday, more than 43 times the installs it received in the past week, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.
Encrypted messaging services such as Signal have gained popularity in recent years as people are increasingly concerned about protecting their private information. However, this particular bump in Signal usage comes in the wake of confusion over an updated terms of service from Facebook’s encrypted messaging service WhatsApp.
Signal also received support from several of Silicon Valley’s biggest names last week, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
The jump in new Signal downloads also followed the Washington DC riots and passed by Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOGL) to cut ties with Parler, the social networking service favored by members of the far right. Telegram, another encrypted messaging app, said on Tuesday that it had attracted 25 million new users from around the world in the past 72 hours, bringing the total active user base to 500 million.
Signal’s massive spike in traffic caused some outages. Thursday, Signal
tweeted that verification codes for new user logins can be delayed “because so many new people are trying to join Signal right now (we can barely register our excitement).” The problem was solved over the weekend.
“We currently have a record number of downloads for the Signal app around the world,” Signal employees said in a Reddit post on Friday.
What is happening with WhatsApp?
WhatsApp started notifying users last month about its updated terms of service and privacy policy, which people must agree to in order to continue using the app after February 8.
Many users expressed concern about a section of WhatsApp’s privacy policy that states what user data is collected and shared with parent company Facebook, which has a troubled reputation for protecting user data.
All private messages between individuals and most businesses on WhatsApp are protected by end-to-end encryption, which means the app cannot see or share them with Facebook (users are notified before chatting with a business where messages do not end- to-end). -end encrypted). But WhatsApp does collect other user information, such as how and when someone uses the app, and user device information such as IP addresses.
WhatsApp’s privacy policy states that user information it collects may be shared with other Facebook companies “to help operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support and market our Services and their offerings.”
However, according to the company, these data sharing practices are not new.
Here’s what’s changed: WhatsApp’s privacy was last updated worldwide in 2016. At the time, it offered WhatsApp users the option to opt out of sharing data with Facebook, an option that was only available for a short time. In this latest update, the reference to that now expired opt-out option has been removed.
The most important update to the policy concerns WhatsApp business users. It reveals that companies do that Using WhatsApp to talk to customers may choose to save logs of their conversations on Facebook hosting services.
“The update does not change the way WhatsApp shares data with Facebook and does not affect the way people communicate privately with friends or family, wherever they are in the world,” a WhatsApp spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the company “remains deeply committed to protecting people’s privacy.”
In short: after acceptance of the new terms and conditions, no additional WhatsApp user data will be shared with Facebook than before. Unless you made use of the opt-out in 2016.
WhatsApp has attempted to clear up confusion about the updated policy, including by publishing an FAQ about its privacy practices.
Why Signal?
While the policy is not new, the dust has drawn attention to WhatsApp’s data sharing practices with Facebook, which many people may not have read before clicking “ agree. ” That may encourage users to disembark, with Signal proving to be the most popular alternative.
Signal is another free app that offers encrypted messages, calling and video chat. “Encrypted” means that the contents of messages are encrypted until they reach the recipient and that no intermediary can view them. The app is operated by the non-profit Signal Foundation, launched in 2018 with the help of WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton, who left WhatsApp and Facebook the year before.
Acton said in a 2018 statement announcing the foundation’s launch that Signal aims to “build sustainable technology that respects users and does not rely on the commoditization of personal data.”
Amid the hustle and bustle of new signups is Signal
roll out new features similar to the ones on WhatsApp, such as background backgrounds for chats and an “about” section for user profiles. And a new one
Apple (AAPL) policies that require apps to label with their privacy practices in the App Store can make it easier for users to compare the policies of different messaging apps.
Signal did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the rush of new filings.
The app has received a number of high-profile recommendations.
Tesla (TSLA)Musk on January 7
tweetedTo: “Use signal.”
Twitter (TWTR) CEO Jack Dorsey
retweeted it, and later
Posted an image of Signal at the top of the App Store chart, with a heart next to it.
Also former NSA contractor Edward Snowden
retweeted Musk’s message, adding the message: “That’s @signalapp, for those who don’t speak Elon.”
While their tweets didn’t mention Facebook or WhatsApp, both Musk and Dorsey had previously criticized the social media giant.
However, some people were apparently confused about Musk’s advice. Shares of Signal advance (SIGL) – a small Texas-based tech company unrelated to the messaging app – rose more than 6,000% in the days following Musk’s tweet, before dampening on Tuesday.
Signal, the messaging app, posted a cheeky tweet about the confusion, saying, “Is this what stock analysts mean when they say the market is giving mixed signals?”
