TRY EXPRESSVPN WITH SIGNAL
What Is Signal & Who Owns It?
Its owned by non-profit organization the Signal Technology Foundation.
The Signal Technology Foundation was founded by Moxie Marlinspike and Brian Acton.
How Does Signal Protect Your Privacy?
End-to-End Encryption (E2EE)
Signal uses end-to-end encryption to keep your messages private.
The encryption leverages several sophisticated security techniques.
This ability makes current cryptographic methods vulnerable.
This transparency is really important for a few reasons.
By making its code available to all, Signal also builds trust among users.
The open-source nature of Signal also allows developers and security experts to contribute to its continuous improvement.
Third-Party Audits
Signal has undergone multiple security audits by independent third parties, both formal and informal.
Most of these audit reports are freely available online, and any issues raised by them were quickly addressed.
Transparency Reports
Signal discloses all legal requests it receives for user data on its website.
Signal actually posts the PDF of each subpoena they receive and the response they send back to the government.
Safety Numbers
This feature helps you verify the identity of the person youre chatting with.
you could compare these numbers at any time to verify they match.
it’s possible for you to check the number by meeting in person or by another secure method.
This may happen if they get a new phone or re-install Signal.
But it may also indicate suspicious activity if it happens frequently or unexpectedly.
Call Forwarding
When turned on, all of your calls will be relayed through Signals servers.
Disappearing Messages
The Disappearing Messages feature deletes sent and received messages after a set amount of time.
Note that this wont stop someone from copying your message or taking a screenshot of it before it disappears.
Its also a great way to keep your conversation history clean.
This is a great feature if you oughta send sensitive media and dont want it to remain on record.
Registration Lock
Registration Lock prevents anyone from registering your phone number with Signal without your Signal PIN.
On Android phones, this feature also prevents your gear from taking screenshots of the Signal app.
And on Android phones, you’re able to manually lock Signal.
What Data Does Signal Collect?
Signal collects very little information.
It cant access messages that you send and calls that you make because of end-to-end encryption.
Its Privacy Policy says it can only access information that you provide.
Notably, this includes your phone number, which is required for registration (its basically your username).
But it doesnt include your profile name or picture this information is also end-to-end encrypted.
It also doesnt have as many features as its competitors.
But only Signal and Telegram are open-source, which means anyone can inspect their code for vulnerabilities.
Where Signal really stands out though is its commitment to privacy.
In fact, Signal logs almost no information about you beyond what is strictly necessary to operate its services.
You may also appreciate that there are no ads, trackers, or affiliate marketers on Signal at all.
Additionally, Signal has a very clean record.
Signal was compromised once in 2022.
However, this incident doesnt mean that Signal isnt secure.
Also, no data was leaked as part of the attack.
Additionally, Signal has a feature that, if enabled, could have prevented this whole incident.
That said, Signals security isnt flawless.
Is Signal safer than WhatsApp?
Yes,Signal is safer than WhatsApp.
Both Signal and WhatsApp have end-to-end encryption and both have useful features like disappearing messages and view-once media.
In contrast,Signal is owned by a non-profit organizationand collects the bare minimum of data from its users.
Can the Signal app be hacked?
No app is 100% unhackable, and this applies to Signal as well.
In fact, there was oneincident in 2022 when Signal was compromised.
That said, no data was leaked the attackers werent able to see the victims conversations or contact lists.
it wasnt Signals security that cracked either, but its service provider, Twilios.
Last but not least, the attack could have been foiled if the victims had enabledSignals Registration Lock feature.
Does Signal sell your data?
No, Signal doesnt sell, rent, or monetize your data.