What is Signal?
Signal is a free, open source, privacy focused messaging and voice calling application.
Users can send
secure messages over Wi-Fi or 4G networks or conventional text
messages. Users can also send files via Signal.
Which Operating Systems?
Signal is available for both Android and iOS devices and is thus one of the most accessible privacy focused apps available. It can be downloaded from Google Play Google Play and Apple’s App Store Apple's App Store.
How Is Signal Funded?
Signal is developed by Open Whisper Systems, a collaborative project funded by way of donations and grant money.
How Does Signal Keep Data Safe?
Signal allows users to send encrypted instant text messages as well as make secure phone calls – no one besides the parties involved in the conversation can read or hear the conversation, nor can anyone edit the data as it is transferred. Everything is encrypted from point A to point B.
Signal does not
store message data on its servers. This eradicates the ability for
data to be stolen and for messages to be decrypted at any point. A US grand jury subpoena displayed how little data Signal keeps on its
users:
1) Time of account
creation
2) Date of last
connection to Signal’s server
Signal has a
disappearing messages systems (not on by default). Any conversation
can be configured to delete sent and received messages after a
specified period of time. The configuration applies to all parties of
the conversation, the clock begins countdown from the time that each
recipient has read a copy of the message.
Signal
has the added advantage of not being owned by either of the big two
data mining behemoths as is the case with Whatsapp (Facebook) or
Google’s Hangouts.
Signal’s
code is open source and available for independent review.
Disadvantages?
The one major criticism of Signal is the lack of a desktop application, something that competitor Wire does have. Unfortunately, Wire stores more user data than is necessary for a privacy focused app and is thus an inferior product to Signal.
Another criticism of
Signal is the fact that its data is hosted in the USA as opposed to
Europe where data privacy laws are stronger.
Minor issues have
been raised about the source of some of its funding, with suggestions
made that US government funded donations have the potential to
compromise Signal's/OWS' ethos (and user base).
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