Switching to Signal isn’t as easy as you think
Privacy is an important concern when it comes to choosing a messaging application. The choices are many, starting from WhatsApp, Facebook messenger to Telegram and Signal. The fact that most of the mainstream applications like WhatsApp being less private is making a dent in the customers trust.
Recently, WhatsApp announced their new privacy guidelines which clearly states that the company will sell user data to Facebook to show ads that are relevant to users. Around the globe, people started protesting on Facebook (pretty ironic) against the new privacy rules by WhatsApp, but there was not even a single change in the policy.
That’s when the new messaging app came into picture.
Signal
Signal is a simple messenger application, the speciality of Signal is its privacy features and its open-source. To put it very simple, people like Elon Musk, Edward Snowden and Jack Dorsey (CEO of Twitter) use Signal to communicate privately.
Signal runs completely on donations and their high level of encryption even in media transfer is making it absolutely safe.
Here’s a reason: I use it every day and I’m not dead yet. – Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden publicly said this statement which clearly gives everyone the idea that Signal is extremely safe to run private chats and file transfers. No one’s monitoring and your privacy stays with you.
Even though Signal saw a big surge in downloads and traffic due to the WhatsApp privacy problem, the growth didn’t last much.
You’re not ready
Yes, it’s you, me and everyone who use apps like WhatsApp, Messenger etc who are not ready to completely switch to Signal. We would switch to Signal if all our important friends are using it.
Well, that’s what explains a usable messaging app. It’s a place where you’ll find your friends, family members, colleagues and even your clients in case if you’re running a business. It’s very difficult to move from a such a platform to a new one considering the effort.
So in such cases, we the people compromise the privacy and that’s exactly the power we give to the giants like Facebook.
Well, a lot of governmental bodies are monitoring and controlling their power, but nothing has been realised to a point where the users actually feel private and that definitely needs a change.
Next Time
WhatsApp and Messenger apps aren’t bad, in fact they helped us and still keep helping us stay connected. In fact the new privacy policy was a chance for the people to take that power in their hands and switch to a more private app, but it didn’t happen. So it’s probably the next chance and no one knows when that is.
It’s good to stay connected, but selling your privacy is also a big concern. The hope is that one day the giants will bring a good system that will respect the user privacy like their boast on their ads right now.
