Sign is an encrypted secure messaging application. Think of it as a more private alternative to WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Skype, iMessage y SMS. Here's why you should seriously consider switching to Signal.
Why the sign is special
Signal is enabled for Android, iPhone and iPad. There is also a Signal desktop client for Windows, Mac y Linux. To join, all you need is a phone number. Is free.
Signal's user experience is like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and other popular chat apps. It is a messaging application with functions such as individual messages, groups, stickers, photos, file transfers, voice calls and even video calls. You can have group chats with up to 1000 people and group calls with up to eight people.
Signal is not owned by a large tech company. Instead, Signal is developed by a non-profit foundation and funded by donations. Unlike Facebook, Signal owners don't even try to make money. Signal does not attempt to collect a large amount of data about you or show you advertisements..
Although Signal has a very familiar interface, it's very different under the hood. Your conversations on Signal are end-to-end encrypted, which means that not even Signal owners can monitor them. Only people in the conversation can see them.
Signal is also absolutely open source. The source code of the client applications and the project server software is available on GitHub.
How (and because) Signal is so private and secure
All communications in Signal, including one-to-one messages, group messages, file transfers, the pictures, voice calls and video calls, are encrypted end to end. Only people involved in the communication can see them. Encryption occurs between individual devices using Signal. The company that operates Signal could not see these messages even if it wanted to. Truly created signal your own encryption protocol for this.
This is very different from traditional messaging apps. As an example, Facebook has access to everything you say on Facebook Messenger. Facebook says it will not use the content of your messages for advertising, but are you sure that will never change in the future?
Of course, some other messengers offer encrypted messaging as an optional feature. But everything in Signal is encrypted, always and by default. Signal also offers other privacy features, including self destruct messages (disappearing) which will be automatically deleted after a period of time.
Facebook Messenger also collects a lot of data about you. Most companies collect a large amount of data. Signal try not to.
Even if Signal is subject to a subpoena against you and is forced to reveal what it knows about you, the company knows almost nothing about you and your activity on Signal. Signal may only reveal the phone number of your account, the date of the last connection and the time the account was created.
Conversely, Facebook could reveal your full name, everything you said on Facebook Messenger, a list of geographic locations from which you have accessed your account, etc.
Everything in your Signal app (posts, images, records, etc.) stored locally on your phone. You can transfer data manually between devices, But that's it.
Puede crear una aplicación utilizada por muchos millones de personas que no tenga datos … Gráfico genial de @forbes Y @UKZak 🙈🙊🙉 https://t.co/gWFqyIeoZ3 pic.twitter.com/Unngddaq5M
– Sign (@signalapp) 5 of January of 2021
Why is Signal suddenly so popular?
Signal's end-to-end encryption is its great feature. This is why so many people use Signal, because they are concerned about privacy. Early in 2021, has been endorsed by everyone since Elon Musk for Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and has rocketed to the top of the Apple and Google app store charts.
But Signal didn't come out of nowhere: was founded in 2013. It is widely respected software that has long been used by privacy advocates and other activists.. Edward snowden approved sign on 2015.
Early in 2021, Signal achieved even greater general acceptance. WhatsApp is renewing its privacy policy to share even more data with Facebook, and many people clearly want to get their conversations out of Mark Zuckerberg's sight and embrace privacy.
Signal identifies you by your phone number
Although your communications on Signal are private, it is not anonymous. To sign up for Signal, need a phone number. To talk to someone on Signal, your phone number is your identifier in Signal.
That's by design: Signal is designed to be a direct replacement for SMS. When you sign up for Signal and install the app, it will ask for access to your phone's contacts. Signal securely scans your contacts to see which of them are also Signal users; just examine the phone numbers and check if those phone numbers are also registered in Signal.
Because, if you and someone else communicate via SMS, can install Signal and switch easily. If you install Signal, you can see which of your contacts you can send messages to via Signal instead of SMS. You should not ask them what their Signal identifier is, it's just your phone number. (Despite this, you can verify security numbers associated with a conversation to make sure you are speaking directly to the person you think you are. That's another useful security feature in Signal).
If you are concerned that other people you talk to on Signal have your phone number, can try register with a secondary phone number. But, realistically, if you are looking for a chat solution that does not depend on phone numbers, as an example, an anonymous chat solution that only uses usernames instead of phone numbers, so Signal is not what you are looking for.
How to get started with Signal
Signal is easy to get started. Just download the official Signal app from Apple App Store for iPhone and iPad O Google Play para Android. Go through the setup procedure to give Signal a phone number and access to your contacts. (Access to contacts is optional, but Signal is designed to work better with it).
Next, you can start conversations from the app. If you have someone in your contacts and that person's phone number is related to a Signal account, you will see that you can contact him on Signal. It is perfect.
Do you want to start talking to someone on Signal instead of a different chat app? Just ask them to download and sign up. You'll even get a notification when someone you know signs up for Signal.
You can also download the Signal desktop app for Windows, Mac or Linux from the SIgnal Foundation web portal. This will sync the messages from the Signal app on your phone to your computer. Despite this, it's optional.
RELATED: Can you use Signal without giving it your contacts?
