Signal sees meteoric rise in daily installs as people look for WhatsApp alternatives

Federal Signal

11/01/2021 19:56

Jan 11 (Reuters) - The number of new users installing
messaging app Signal every day is on track to cross 1 million,
putting it closer to levels seen by larger rival WhatsApp,
following an update to the Facebook Inc-owned  FB.O  app's
privacy policy.
    About 810,000 users globally installed Signal on Sunday,
nearly 18-fold compared with the download numbers on Jan. 6, the
day WhatsApp updated its privacy terms, according to data from
research firm Apptopia.
    WhatsApp's new privacy terms reserve the right to share user
data, including location and phone number, with its parent
Facebook Inc  FB.O  and units such as Instagram and Messenger.
    Privacy advocates have questioned the move citing Facebook's
track record in handling user data, with many suggesting users
to migrate to platforms such as Telegram and Signal.
    To cope with the number of new users, Signal said on Sunday
it had added more servers to handle the traffic. Up until
recently, the non-profit app was largely used by journalists and
human rights activists looking for a more secure and encrypted
mode of communication.
    WhatsApp, which saw a 7% decline in daily installs on Sunday
compared with Wednesday, was downloaded by nearly 1.2 million
users on Jan. 10, according to Apptopia.

 (Reporting by Eva Mathews and Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru;
Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
 ((eva.mathews@thomsonreuters.com))