WhatsApp began notifying users last month of its updated terms of service and privacy policy, which people must agree to in order to keep using the app beyond February 8. “We are currently having a record level of downloads for the Signal app around the world,” Signal staff said in a Reddit post Friday. On Thursday, Signal tweeted that verification codes for new user sign-ups might be delayed “because so many new people are trying to join Signal right now (we can barely register our excitement).” The issue was resolved over the weekend. The huge spike in Signal’s traffic caused some glitches. Telegram, another encrypted messaging app on Tuesday said it had attracted 25 million new users from around the world in the previous 72 hours, bringing its total active user base to 500 million.

(GOOGL) to cut ties with Parler, the social networking service favored by members of the far-right. The jump in new Signal downloads also followed the riots in Washington D.C. Signal also received endorsements last week from several of Silicon Valley’s biggest names, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk. However, this particular bump in Signal’s usership comes in the wake of confusion over an updated terms of service notification from Facebook-owned encrypted messaging service WhatsApp. Signal had about 7.5 million installations globally from the App Store and Google Play between Thursday and Sunday, more than 43 times the installations it received during the previous week, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower.Įncrypted messaging services like Signal have gained popularity in recent years, as people are increasingly concerned with safeguarding their private information. 1 spot on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store’s top free apps lists this week.

Users have flocked to encrypted messaging app Signal by the millions in recent days - bringing it to the No.

Signal messaging