The CEO of Signal on the explosion of the app

Everyone talks about Signal, everyone installs Signal, but why? A question that many are asking themselves, hearing about the application for the first time. The service, mainly dedicated to messaging and calls (including video), has taken hold in recent weeks after WhatsApp has imposed on users the obligation to accept the new terms in order not to be excluded, in a way that is at least initially unclear and disputed between the others also by the Privacy Guarantor.

Signal, the CEO speaks

The first version of Signal was launched back in 2014, but only more recently has the app become popular thanks to the development carried out with open source mode, the use of advanced features for the protection of information such as end-to-end encryption and above all for the business model adopted that eliminates any form of advertising or tracking: anyone who wants can contribute to the project tto with a donation, but is never asked to put his hand to the wallet. It is available in versions for smartphones, tablets and computers. So CEO Brian Acton describes the growth recorded in the last period in an interview with TechCrunch.

The smallest of events led to the greatest of results. We are also thrilled to be able to participate in discussions about online privacy and digital security by seeing people switch to Signal as an answer to questions on these issues.

| 40 countries and on Play Store in 18 countries. Statistics collected from third-party analyzes indicate a shift from 20 million to almost 30 million from January 6 to 10.

It is a great opportunity for Signal to shine and give people a choice, an alternative. It was a slow fire for three years, followed by a huge explosion. Now the rocket has started.

This is not the only alternative to WhatsApp that is benefiting from the trend: the same goes for Telegram which on Tuesday announced that it had welcomed over 25 million new users in just 72 hours (there are 525 million active on a monthly basis).

A curiosity: Brian Acton is today not only the CEO of the Signal Foundation that takes care of the project, but he was one of the co-founders of WhatsApp (together with Jan Koum). Sometimes, fate.

Source: TechCrunch