In the wake of last week’s riot at the United States Capitol, which left several people dead and generated outrage across the country, the Signal messaging app has grown in popularity as users look for alternatives to social media.
Built by Swedish developer Signal Messenger LLC, Signal has reached the top of the Apple App Store and is close to the top of the Google Play Store, but it is different from Twitter or Facebook. Instead, it is a secure messaging app, similar to WhatsApp or Apple’s iMessage.
Signal allows users to send text messages, videos, audio or images with end-to-end encryption, just as they would through a normal text message. “Signal’s advanced privacy preservation technology is always on, so you can focus on sharing the important moments with the people who matter to you,” writes the app in its description.
Signal application displayed on the iPhone (Credit: Signal.org blog)
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Effectively, the message is shuffled right after it is sent, so that neither the Signal nor anyone else can read the message. Only the recipient can see the unencrypted message.
In addition, Signal, which does not store user data, according to its website, also offers a number of other privacy features, including face blur, blank notification pop-ups and ephemeral messages. All message history is stored locally on the device, signal added.
However, there is a limitation of using Signal to send encrypted messages. End-to-end encryption can be limited if one party is not using Signal, so wider adoption has been one of the application’s biggest problems.
He benefited in popularity after people like Edward Snowden tweeted about him in 2015, with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, recently telling his followers to use the service, while trying to access Facebook.
Musk also noted that he had already donated money to Signal and would donate more in the future.
Musk and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg have been famous for discussing various topics over the years, including artificial intelligence. In 2018, Musk removed the SpaceX and Tesla Facebook pages after the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
On Sunday, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey tweeted a heart emoji that Signal had risen to the top of the App Store, which drew criticism from Parler CEO John Matze.
“Yes, we were number one until the crowd of fake news on Twitter and its anti-competitive friends came after us,” wrote Matze on his social network. Parler was removed from the App Store and Play Store and lost several business partners, including Amazon Web Services, which hosted the app, its lawyers, among others.
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As Signal continues to grow in popularity, it has had some hiccups in checking for new users. Late last week, the messaging app tweeted that verification codes were delayed “because a lot of people are trying to sign in now.”
On Saturday, the problem was resolved.
On Sunday, Signal tweeted that it was breaking traffic records, citing people who don’t like Facebook’s new terms.
The signal was downloaded more than 32 million times until June 2020, but the recent increase has undoubtedly propelled that number to new heights.
Fox News contacted Signal with a request for comment.
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