Is Signal the New Whatsapp?

*downloads immediately*

WhatsApp’s days might just be numbered. The Facebook-owned platform that reigned as the world’s leading instant messaging app just announced its newest privacy policy, and let’s just say—it’s pretty controversial. 

“Privacy and security is in our DNA,” read the application’s website in 2016. That seems to have come to an end, according to its latest privacy policy update, which will allow its parent company Facebook to have access to user-data. 

Users were prompted to the new conditions via an in-app notification this week, and criticism quickly followed. Tech mogul Elon Musk joined the parade, tweeting ‘Use Signal’ on Sunday. Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey followed up with a retweet. As a result, WhatsApp saw a 7 percent decline in downloads. Signal, on the other hand, gained over 800,000 new users that day. 

Head of WhatsApp Will Cathcart tried to clear the air, tweeting that the app’s end-to-end encryption remains, and that neither Whatsapp nor Facebook can see users’ private chats. 

It’s important for us to be clear this update describes business communication and does not change WhatsApp’s data sharing practices with Facebook. It does not impact how people communicate privately with friends or family wherever they are in the world,” he wrote.  

But it might be too late. Signal is already topping app store charts around the globe. That’s because the application does not store any user data. According to reports, the application also has a history of declining any and every demand for its data. It’s even been declared “the most secure messaging app”.

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