The recent change in its policies by WhatsApp has led to an outcry against the instant messaging app. For over a decade, WhatsApp has single-handedly ruled the instant messaging space which also increased users’ dependency on the platform. The latest update which details how WhatsApp collects and shares data has clearly not gone down well with the users, a lot of whom have now started to migrate to other platforms such as Telegram and Signal.
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-owned app’s privacy policy.
About 8,10,000 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, Email Address, Contacts, Coarse Location, Device ID, User ID, Advertising Data, Purchase History, Product Interaction, Payment Info, Crash Data, with its parent Facebook 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 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 percent decline in daily installs on Sunday compared with Wednesday, was downloaded by nearly 1.2 million users on Jan. 10, according to Apptopia.
