What is Signal?
What is Signal?
If you’re not familiar with Signal, it is a free instant messaging app with a heavy focus on privacy. It is a product of the Signal Foundation, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The app is built on open-source software (meaning anyone can scrutinize the source code and test it for security purposes), and is entirely funded by grants and donations.
There are no ads, affiliate links, or any kind of tracking when you use the app. It is also not tied to, even indirectly, any major tech company. As such, concerns about data sharing are much less of an issue.
Signal is available on Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS. It’s one of the best encrypted messaging apps in the world right now.
What is WhatsApp?
WhatsApp is the world’s most popular messaging app, used by billions of people. It encrypts communication on both ends, but since it is owned by Facebook, there are quite a few privacy concerns.
WhatsApp doesn’t show any ads, and just like Signal, you don’t need to pay anything to use WhatsApp. WhatsApp also offers added features for business accounts.
Signal vs. WhatsApp – Which has the bigger user base?
Signal has more than 40 million monthly users, according to its website. Signal is most popular with privacy-focused people, including journalists, activists, governments, cybersecurity experts, and high profile tech leaders like Twitter CEO Jack Dempsey and Tesla’s Elon Musk.
How WhatsApp stacks up: With more than 2 billion monthly users, WhatsApp has a much bigger user base. It is far more likely that the people you want to chat with are already using WhatsApp. This makes it easier to adopt WhatsApp and instantly start messaging your friends and family (rather than convincing them to add another app to their life).
Signal vs. WhatsApp – Which has more features?
Signal lets you send text or voice messages, photos, files, contacts, locations, and make voice and video calls to other Signal users, all using Wi-Fi or cellular data. You can add stickers and GIFs to chats, too.
You can also customize Signal’s appearance with a variety of themes, chat colors, and wallpaper, and add a status to your description that is visible to anyone chatting with you.
How WhatsApp stacks up: WhatsApp has long provided all these options, so both are on an even keel.
Is Signal safer than WhatsApp?
WhatsApp and Signal both use the same encryption protocol developed by Open Whisper Systems. This protocol is open-source and peer-reviewed, making it trustworthy. While they use the same encryption, Signal has a number of security advantages over WhatsApp:
Metadata protection
When you send out a message or a photo, you are also sending out metadata. Metadata includes information about who the message is sent to, when the message was delivered, and more. While the content of messages is protected by end-to-end encryption, this metadata—information about the message—is not. If encryption is a lockbox, metadata is the postage label taped on top of it. Even without opening the box, you can already learn a lot by reading the label.
WhatsApp does not protect metadata. This means third parties may see information about the messages. In contrast, Signal developed a technology for protecting metadata called Sealed Sender. This technology hides information about the sender and the recipient, so even the postage label is unreadable.
Data sharing
In addition to the messages and the metadata, messaging services can also collect information stored on your phone. This information includes your phone number, contacts, avatar, location, media, and device details. There is a major difference between how WhatsApp and Signal treat this information.
WhatsApp stores encrypted media and forwarded messages on its own servers. It also collects information on your usage habits such as how often you use the app and how much time you spend chatting with each contact. According to its privacy policy, third-party service providers can access this information. Signal, on the other hand, only requires a phone number. They will not attempt to link the phone number to an identity.
Company ownership
Another important factor to consider is which company owns the messaging service. Meta (formerly Facebook) owns WhatsApp. If WhatsApp’s privacy policy is any indication, they will integrate the app with other services owned by Meta. This involves sharing of information in order to help them customize and market their services.
On the other hand, Signal is owned by the Signal Technology Foundation. It is a registered non-profit organization that is run on user donations. One of the founders, Moxie Marlinspike, was Twitter’s head of cybersecurity. He developed Signal’s end-to-end encryption protocol, which was later adopted into popular messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Skype, and Facebook Messenger.
Which messaging app is most secure?
Between WhatsApp and Signal, Signal wins hands-down as the more secure messaging service. While both use end-to-end message encryption, Signal provides more metadata privacy and doesn’t share your data with third parties. Since Signal is privately owned and non-profit, it will likely remain the more secure option in the near future.
That said, we aren’t necessarily recommending that you stop using WhatsApp. Admittedly, its end-to-end encryption is still a highly respected standard of privacy protection.
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