Signal, a new messaging application seeks to dethrone Whatsapp and Telegram. Although it has been in existence for many years, it has recently experienced an increase in registered users. The main reason is the privacy promised by this application, far superior to that offered by Whatsapp and even Telegram.
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This application is making headlines because many prominent personalities are using it, such as Elon Musk or Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.
Like other applications, Signal allows you to send individual or group messages, image files and videos. It is the method of communication used by activists and hackers, who favor privacy-centric applications.
A curious detail about this application is that it began to be popular in 2020, after the protests generated by the George Floyd case. People started to look for alternatives to communicate in a more secure way and Signal was one of these options.
What is Signal and what features does it offer?
It is a messaging application that is characterized mainly by the privacy it offers. It was created in 2014 and has almost 40 million users. It allows you to send messages, make video calls or voice calls, but the main feature is privacy. This is with respect to messages but also to the data it collects from users. Unlike Whatsapp and Telegram, Signal only collects the user’s phone number. In comparison, Whatsapp collects phone number, contact numbers, name, email, location and device information.
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Another interesting feature of Signal is that it is an open source application, so security protocols can be easily verified. Although it does not have as many customization tools as Whatsapp, it does offer interesting features. Some of them are message scheduling, disappearing messages, stories, incognito keyboard, marking messages as unread or files to be viewed only once, among others.
Based on its popularity, Signal has invested in a larger infrastructure to support users who want to download it.
Why is Signal a secure application?
The security offered by Signal is the reason why more and more people are choosing it. All communications within the application are end-to-end encrypted. In fact, Signal’s encryption protocol is the one later adopted by other messaging applications such as Skype or Whatsapp itself. Encryption of messages means that only the people who engage in the conversation can see the messages.
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It is also a secure application because it stores virtually no user data. If there is any formal request for information from Signal about the people who use it, they simply do not have any data to give.
The reason for this is because Signal is a non-profit organization. It is funded by private investors, so it has no reason to store user information.
The Signal app can be downloaded from the Play Store for Android or the App Store for Apple.
