Here’s why you should switch to Signal from WhatsApp

WhatsApp has recently updated its privacy policy. Its parent company Facebook sent out a notification earlier this week, directing its users to agree to the social networks’ renewed privacy policy or stop using the service. Also Read | Elon Musk becomes world's richest person; overtakes Amazon's Bezos WhatsApp’s long-term users will remember that the service pushed the envelope on security and privacy when it switched on end-to-end encrypted messaging (scrambling your messages so not even WhatsApp can read them) for all users in 2016. WhatsApp had partnered with 'Open Whisper Systems', who are the creators of the most reliable form of message encryption available today, the Signal Protocol and the Signal Private Messenger. However, the founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton quit the company citing privacy disagreements with Facebook. On Thursday, SpaceX founder and recently turned world's richest person Elon Musk tweeted “Use Signal” to his 41.6 million followers; five hours later, Signal Protocol and the Signal Private Messenger's official Twitter handle reported delays in delivery of verification codes as several users started signing up. Also Read | UK flights resumed: Air India flight with 256 on board lands at IGI Airport Signal Protocol and the Signal Private Messenger is used by journalists, activists, lawyers, researchers, dissidents, politicians, and security experts around the world. Here is why you should use Signal Protocol and the Signal Private Messenger:

• Signal Messenger LLC works under a non-profit foundation called the Signal Foundation, which was formed after Acton left WhatsApp and donated $50 million to Signal. It is not tied to any major tech companies, and can never be acquired by one. The development of the app is supported entirely by grants and donations from Signal users.
• Because of Signal’s privacy-first approach to every aspect of the app, and the fact that the source code (sort of like the ‘recipe’ to create an application) is publicly available means that experts around the world can take a look at Signal’s code and look for problems, which ensures they are fixed faster than other apps like Messenger and WhatsApp.
• Signal encrypts everything you could think of, including your profile photo, your voice and video calls, photos, attachments, stickers, and location pins. Have you ever searched for a GIF on WhatsApp? Your search terms are sent directly to GIPHY, which is also owned by Facebook. Signal works around this issue by searching for the GIF on their servers and sending it to your phone. Also Read | Twitter permanently bans Trump, suspends his team’s account
• Signal doesn’t send unsecured backups of your messages to the cloud where they can be read by anyone, including Google and WhatsApp. Instead, they are stored in an encrypted database on your phone and only you hold the key. Signal doesn’t even store your contacts on their server, using another privacy-friendly method to match you with your friends.
• Another most useful feature of Signal is that it lets you make messages disappear, something that only recently came to WhatsApp. Users can set a timer of anything between 10 seconds to a week and any messages older than that will simply vanish.

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