The Signal messaging application is experiencing an increase in new users and the demand is so high that the app has delays in sending the verification codes for new phone numbers.
And the arrival of so many new users came after the most recent change in the terms and conditions of WhatsApp and by the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk.
Within hours of WhatsApp users receiving a message about changes to the service, Musk used his Twitter account, with 40 million followers, to encourage people to try Signal.
The new privacy WhatsApp and Signal
Brian Acton, the co-founder of WhatsApp, left the company after Facebook acquired it in 2014. He created the Signal Foundation and the new messaging app. Acton assured that his departure and that of several WhatsApp founders was due to concerns about user privacy.
The Facebook-owned messaging app currently collects device ID, phone number, purchase history, approximate location, email address, contacts, messages, connections, transaction and payment data, cookies, and performance data, by its privacy policy.
If you decide to create an account on Signal, available for iOS and Android, you will need to register your smartphone number, but the app does not link your phone to your identity. According to its privacy policy, this messaging application does not collect or sell your data, but you must be over 13 years old to use the service.