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The Signal messaging app became unusable for many people in mainland China this week, stifling one of the last widely used messaging apps that could send and receive encrypted messages in the country without a virtual private network.
The government’s apparent move to block Signal intensifies its dominance over public and private speech in China, where many social media applications and messages, including Facebook, Twitter and, more recently, the popular social audio platform Clubhouse, have been banned.
Signal users in mainland China started reporting problems on Monday night with sending and receiving messages in the app. The use of a virtual private network, or VPN, a tool that allows Internet users to bypass China’s elaborate web filtering system, solved these problems, which led users to conclude that the application had been blocked in China.
Some have also reported problems with registration, another common censorship practice that affected the Clubhouse last month, where users cannot sign up with their phone numbers because the verification text code is never received.
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The problems started on Sunday and included registration and network blockages, said a person familiar with the matter. China’s Cyberspace Administration, the country’s Internet regulator, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A visitor to a mall uses his phone near a large screen showing the closing session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing on Thursday, March 11, 2021. (AP Photo / Ng Han Guan) ((AP Photo / Ng Han Guan))
On Tuesday, China’s Foreign Ministry referred a question about the apparent ban to the relevant department, but said that the internet in China is open and the government manages the internet according to the law.
The signal uses end-to-end encryption, which prevents third-party access to communications between the sender and the recipient. It includes features like disappearing messages and media and has been promoted as a tool for secure and private communication. Similar encrypted messaging apps, like Facebook Inc.’s Telegram and WhatsApp, are also inaccessible in China without a VPN.
The signal grew in popularity last year among Chinese users after the United States government said it would ban WeChat, China’s most popular messaging app, operated by Tencent Holdings Ltd. Downloads also increased in Hong Kong after lawmakers passed national security legislation, suppressing pro-democracy protests.
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WeChat uses client-to-server encryption, which gives Tencent full access to data between senders and recipients. The application is ubiquitous in China and largely a necessity for everyday life through its messaging and payment services. He is also known for his censorship of sensitive issues, such as political criticism or during the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.
In February, Chinese censors blocked the Clubhouse after the app started gaining momentum in the country and led to discussions of sensitive topics generally restricted in China, such as the treatment of Uighur Muslims in China or protests in Tiananmen Square.
As in the case of the Clubhouse, some saw the loss of Signal as inevitable because of China’s expansive censorship apparatus and increasingly tight control over its Internet users.
“It has always been a surprise that Signal has lasted so long, since the purpose of the application is to facilitate encrypted communications,” said James Griffiths, author of “The Great Firewall of China: How to Build and Control an Alternative Version of the Internet. “
Yaqiu Wang, a Chinese researcher at Human Rights Watch in New York, said that Signal was the latest encrypted messaging app that she could easily use to securely connect with friends and activists in mainland China.
Although Signal can still work with a VPN, they have become more difficult to access in China in recent years, after China tightened the rules on the tool. At least hundreds of VPNs have been removed from app stores, while VPN users and providers have faced fines.
“All of these are indications that it will be increasingly difficult for people to speak confidently about sensitive issues,” said Wang. “I really care about communicating to people within China.”
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While there has been no clear catalyst for the apparent ban, some experts have speculated that Signal’s recent popularity among users on the continent may have contributed.
According to research firm Sensor Tower, downloads of Signal on iOS, Apple’s operating system, had been gaining momentum in China last year, before dropping in February and March. Signal installations reached a monthly high in August of 52,000 after the WeChat ban in the U.S. was announced and increased again in January, with around 49,000 installations.
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Still, Signal users in China are a fraction of those on WhatsApp or Telegram, according to data from Sensor Tower. Signal downloads on iOS reached a total of around 510,000 in China, compared to 9.6 million WhatsApp installations and three million Telegram installations.
The signal was also blocked in Iran in January. The company said it launched an alternative solution to this network block and is exploring other ways to circumvent the ban.