SIGNAL : SAY HELLO TO PRIVACY

Author : Prashant Raikwar

Want to know about a secure messaging app that keeps all of your conversations private?

Yes, that’s right Signal. Signal is a free message app that uses end-to-end encryption to keep your messages private. When you send a message, the only people who can see the message are the recipients, not even the company that runs Signal can see what you're sending. You can use Signal to send text, photos, videos, and voice messages, as well as manage group chats. The End-to-End Encrypted Chat App Signal was launched in 2014 and became more widely used in 2019 and 2020 worldwide.

So, what does Signal offer?

All calls are made via Wi-Fi or data connection and are free of charge, including long-distance and international calls. Signal also allows users to send text messages, files, voice notes, images, GIFs, and video messages over a Wi-Fi or data connection to other signal users on iOS, Android, and a desktop app. The app also supports group messaging. However, Signal messages are only secure if both the sender and the receiver are on the app. Otherwise, you're just sending back and forth standard text messages. If you're concerned about someone accessing the Signal app from your phone, you can lock the app with the same passcode or fingerprint scan that is normally used to lock your phone. It is available for free on iPhone, Android, Mac, and PC.

The app came under the limelight when one of its biggest rivals, WhatsApp, had announced that it will soon need to share data with its parent company, Facebook. This would be used for advertising purposes. The company warned users that they "need to accept" these new terms before 8 February, otherwise their accounts will be deleted. Essentially, this is a "take it or leave it" situation.

Signal has become one of the most popular messaging apps in the world since then. Favored by tech giants, cybersecurity experts, journalists, government officials, and many more, Signal has gone from the security community's favorite secret to something that even non-tech experts are using. In short, Signal focuses on privacy first and gives you a host of tools to manage your privacy.

Did you know!

Tech business tycoon Elon Musk famously known for slinging cars into the sun's orbit tweeted on Twitter to slam Facebook's latest privacy policy updates and the highly secure WhatsApp encrypted messaging app. Instead, Musk recommended users should choose the Signal Encrypted Messaging app. Many of them blindly followed that order, and this led to a very costly mistake. They thought Mr. Musk was telling them to buy shares in a small medical device company (Signal Advance). So, they did it, without knowing what it was. By adopting the "buy now, think later" strategy, the company's share price increased tremendously. Its market value rose from about US$55 million to more than US$6 billion over a very short period. Unfortunately, they misunderstood what the chief of Tesla was trying to say.