New Delhi: Not WhatsApp. Or Telegram. Encrypted messaging service Signal was the app of choice for two world leaders Monday when they talked about the “similar” nature of threats facing their countries.
Several global movers and shakers famously use Signal today, and that lengthening list welcomed newly-elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and beleaguered Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday.
Netanyahu, Zelenskiy now speaking via Signal – Likud
— Dan Williams (@DanWilliams) November 7, 2022
Armed with “more metadata privacy”, Netanyahu reassured Zelenskyy this week that he would give “serious consideration to the Ukrainian issue”, while Zelenskyy made a fresh pitch for closer security ties.
While Israel so far has been reluctant to join the US-led alliance’s help to Ukraine, it has recently shared intelligence about Russia’s use of drones made by its arch foe, Iran. This subject could have featured in Monday’s conversation through the app that apparently wins “hands-down as the more secure messaging service” over WhatsApp.
Also read: Not just Signal and Telegram, more apps offer ‘true privacy’ as WhatsApp popularity wanes
That’s why Signal!
Signal is called the “gold standard” among encrypted chat apps because its software coding is “open source” – meaning any one can inspect the code to verify how secure the app is.
Many top political names in the US, including top aides of former presidents Donald Trump and Barack Obama, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton have become users amid rising fears about hacking and surveillance.
Elon Musk and whistleblower Edward Snowden have both endorsed the app to avoid snooping governments.
Signal’s popularity continues to grow. Though there are no official figures, according to Google Play store, Signal has been installed nearly 100 million times from just over 10 million in 2019.
Since 2018, the app has been financially sustained by a non-profit organisation that WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton helped create. The California-headquartered app was launched in 2014 by Open Whisper Systems, a collaborative software development project to which engineers are said to voluntarily contribute their efforts.
Both Signal and WhatsApp use the same encryption protocol developed by Open Whisper Systems. But techies argue that Signal wind hands-down over WhatsApp as a more secure messaging service. It provides more metadata privacy and does not share data with third parties. Since it is privately owned and non-profit, it will likely remain the more secure option, according to this report.
In 2017, Signal had registered the largest user growth compared to Telegram and WhatsApp, especially in “corrupt countries” such as Venezuela, Nigeria, Kenya and Russia.
A report by “Business of Apps” shares more numbers that are testimony to the app’s rising acceptance — Signal had 40 million active users in 2021, most of which came from “WhatsApp’s poorly received privacy update”, and, Signal was downloaded 125 million times in 2021, a 468% increase on the previous year.
Signal, however, has had to share information with law authorities. In October 2016, the developers said a federal grand jury investigation sought a Signal user’s information. They said only limited information such as “date and time a user registered with Signal and the last date of a user’s connectivity to the Signal service” was provided.
Egypt and Iran have banned Signal in the past to curb civilian uprisings.
Also read: Signal surges after WhatsApp’s new privacy rules, but expansion comes with growing pains