![]() ![]() Signal can also only be registered on one mobile device at a time, but you can link Signal to Signal Desktop. It also has a dedicated client for Linux users. Signal: Signal is supported on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac OSX. Chat history is deleted when you sign in to a new account unless users have created a backup. You also cannot use the same WhatsApp account on multiple devices as the account is tied to the device. To use WhatsApp web, user’s phones must be on, with a consistent connection. WhatsApp: WhatsApp has support for Android, iOS, web, Mac, Windows and Windows Phone. Image credit: BBC News How do WhatsApp and Signal features compare? Platform support The app’s COO Aruna Harder states that ‘as a non-profit, we simply need to break even’ in response to worries about whether the app would be able to maintain its business model with increasing user numbers. Signal did not want to become a media company that amplifies content and advertising in the way Facebook does. CEO Moxie Marlinspike stated that Signal is ‘ organized as a non-profit because we feel like the way the internet currently works is insane’. Where Facebook’s business model is based on making profits through advertising, Signal is supported by grants and donations. Signal is supported by the non-profit Signal Foundation, which was set up in 2018 by Moxie Marlinspike (SignalMessenger CEO) and WhatsApp founder Brian Acton, who left the company in 2017 after worries about the introduction of targeted advertising and commercial messaging into WhatsApp. With testimonials on its website from Edward Snowden, internationally renowned security technologist Bruce Schneier, and CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey, Signal presents itself as a mobile messaging company that holds privacy and security at its core. Related article: How Safe is Facebook? What is Signal? Due to this loss of faith in Facebook, space has opened in the market for alternative messaging apps to grow their user base. This was something that Facebook had previously said it would not implement. In 2017, action was taken against Facebook by European regulators for the company’s sharing of WhatsApp users’ phone numbers with Facebook for advertising purposes which was in breach of data protection regulations due to the opt-out nature of this permission. Many users are now more concerned about how much of their personal data is being collected and used by Facebook and shared with third parties. This incident is compounded by the fact that Facebook has come under scrutiny in recent years, particularly after the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018. The BBC reported that in the week after WhatsApp announced the change, Signal was downloaded 8.8 million times worldwide, compared with 246,000 times the week before. Due to unclear wording and misinterpretation by readers, this announcement was met with a massive backlash as users feared more of their personal information would be collected by WhatsApp and shared with its parent company Facebook.Īs a result, millions of messaging app users sought to download alternatives which saw an increase in downloads for applications like Telegraph and Signal. On 4th January 2021, WhatsApp announced changes to its privacy policy which, if not accepted by the 8th February, would lead to the deletion of users’ accounts. So, is Signal a more secure and private alternative and can it really provide strong competition to the mobile messaging giant that is WhatsApp? What caused people to move away from WhatsApp? In the wake of the announcement of changes to WhatsApp’s privacy policy, alternative messaging app Signal leapt to the number one spot in the app store in 70 countries and has seen continued growth since. However, with data privacy becoming a greater concern, users have been seeking alternative messaging services which they believe prioritise online security. ![]() With more than 2 billion users in over 180 countries worldwide, WhatsApp is the most popular communication platform on the planet.
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