After the controversies on WhatsApp’s updated privacy policy stormed the internet, many users headed towards Signal as their preferred messaging app. WhatsApp’s privacy policy was altered to allow various business platforms to access WhatsApp users’ messages. When WhatsApp sent the notification about the upcoming privacy policy it faced huge controversies by its users that led the company to postpone it.
The notification came with a deadline which said the users can not access WhatsApp if they did not agree to the new service policy by 8th February. Popularity for other messaging apps like Signal and Telegram soon started to increase.
The platform gained almost 2 million users in only 12 hours. The app took a giant leap for the first rank in many app stores. According to a report, there are now more than 40 million users of Signal globally. Another app Telegram also experienced the same. It gained almost 90 million users only in the month of January.
Signal Expresses Concerns For The Increasing Users
While it is definitely good news to gain so many users in so little time, Signal employees have some concerns regarding it. According to them, the increasing number of users is making it difficult to maintain security. The employees think that the new features can be misused by extremist groups for insinuating and provoking violence.
If the social media app fails to detect and remove harmful content on its app, it may lead to bigger problems. The encrypted messaging feature has been a great gift for journalists, activists, and ostracized groups. The encrypted messages shared on these groups cannot be disclosed by Signal itself. The messaging app also allows users to create links easily where 1,000 people can be added.
While the Signal officials are quite confident about their privacy policy and security, the sudden growth of users in the messaging app is making them reconsider their security systems.
