Signal, an end-to-end encrypted privacy messenger app, has a flood of new users after Tesla CEO Elon Musk told his Twitter followers to use the app.
The massive wave of signups to the Signal messenger caused the delay of sending verification codes; that needed to activate the account. Signal has taken Twitter to share its excitement and the status that they are working on it.
Verification codes are currently delayed across several providers because so many new people are trying to join Signal right now (we can barely register our excitement). We are working with carriers to resolve this as quickly as possible. Hang in there.
— Signal (@signalapp) January 7, 2021
There are basically two reasons that caused the surge in new user signup for Signal; one is definitely Elon Musk and his tweet.
Use Signal
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021
And the other could be WhatsApp’s new terms and privacy policy update. It is not a new practice that WhatsApp is doing, but the privacy update grabbed several eyes and headlines. The concern is over the users that they have no chance of keeping their WhatsApp separate from Facebook. I mean Facebook, a company with a bizarre history of data privacy.
Elon Musk, on Thursday morning, tweeted a meme that explains the data his company can collect.
Ya don’t say. Reminds me of this timeless classic … pic.twitter.com/Gq1wayoTIr
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021
What’s in the new WhatsApp privacy policy
“As part of the Facebook family of companies, WhatsApp receives information from, and shares information with, this family of companies,” the new privacy policy says. “We may use the information we receive from them, and they may use the information we share with them, to help operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support, and market our Services and their offerings.” You can read the complete policy here.
Why Musk suggesting Signal Messenger? Is that safe?
The reality is both WhatsApp and Signal provide free end-to-end encrypted messaging. That means only the sender and recipient can read the messages. Even the provider, such as Facebook, can not read the content of your messages.
However, Facebook is a vast business focusing on mining people’s data that helps for ad targeting. Whereas the Signal is run by a non-profit organization. It refused the venture capital funding to prevent financial profit from driving its focus. The app has also received endorsements from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
So that’s been it. Thank you for reading, and do share the article if you get a bit piece of information. Also, keep an eye on this space for more relevant updates. Stay safe and privacy secured. We hope to see you around.
