Apps

Secure chat app Signal weekly downloads surge 43 times after WhatsApp's privacy policy change

by Iskra Petrova

Jan 12, 2021, 6:49 AM

Secure chat app Signal weekly downloads surge 43 times after WhatsApp's privacy policy change

The secure apps Signal and Telegram are currently experiencing an unexpected hike in their download numbers as recently there was a change to WhatsApp policies, indicating the popular messaging app might share information on Facebook. CNBC reports that Signal installs have approximately reached 7.5 million globally between January 6 and January 10, according to SensorTower research. With Telegram, the situation is not much different, as the app saw 5.6 million global downloads in the same period, according to data from Apptopia.

WhatsApp has published additional information on the changes of the policy, underlining the data shared with Facebook does not include anything from personal chats or groups, and only relates to chats with businesses, and that the app still has end-to-end encryption:

We want to address some rumors and be 100% clear we continue to protect your private messages with end-to-end encryption. pic.twitter.com/6qDnzQ98MP
— WhatsApp (@WhatsApp) January 12, 2021

However, many people are still turning to Signal and Telegram, searching to replace WhatsApp as their chat app.

Even though we're still breaking records, verification codes are back in the groove. Delivery delays have been eliminated across multiple cellular providers, so things should be more ASAP when you join the app.
— Signal (@signalapp) January 9, 2021

Signal is a cross-platform encrypted messaging service that has recently seen an enormous increase in use and downloads so that the company had to add new servers to accommodate the growing number of users. Reportedly, the week between January 6th and January 10th seems to hold the record of weekly or even monthly installs in Signal's history. The app offers chat features such as groups, message reactions, and even video calls.

Here you can see a comparison done by Forbes using Apple’s App Privacy labels. It might give you a picture of the alleged data that these apps collect about you: