Here’s How Secure Messaging App ‘Signal’ Plans to Rival WhatsApp

Signal’s encryption have formed the basis of security for WhatsApp and now the company wants to compete with it.

WhatsApp is the world’s most-used chat app.

(Photo: The Quint)

WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world, with over 2 billion users on the platform. But most of you might not be aware the Facebook-owned app is not the most secure messaging platform, that laurel belongs to another chat app called Signal.

The platform uses the same end-to-end encryption that Whatsapp has incorporated, courtesy the Signal Foundation. And now, after earning its tag as the secure platform, Signal is all set to compete with WhatsApp and look to attract users with a slew of new features that have become popular over the years.

For this, Signal is using help from WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton, who invested $50 million into the Signal Foundation in 2018, after leaving the comforts of working on WhatsApp at Facebook. These funds will now help Signal challenge the monopoly of WhatsApp in the segment and target the masses, for which it has built a team of developers over the past two years.

So how does Signal plan on becoming cooler without compromising user data and not sharing them with other companies?

Making Chat Apps Secure For All

As per a new report via an interview on the Wired, Signal will now look to become user-friendly, which has not been the focus on the Foundation till now.

After all, making changes to support an animated sticker is complex on the platform, as the developers will have to tweak the encrypted keys of the sticker packs to work on the app without risking the security of the user.

Signal wants to become popular and multi-dimensional as Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger but keeping the security of the users in check, giving them assured privacy.

In addition to this, people can make voice calls in a fully encrypted format, without sharing their details with the company. This feature has made Signal the go-to platform for activists, privacy experts and cybersecurity professionals across the globe.

Signal even allows Groups to be created, allowing members to be added or removed, without the company knowing about their identities. Using Acton’s resources and expertise in building WhatsApp, Signal will be hoping to become a major force in the messaging arena very soon.

Encryption has been widely talked about for years.(Photo: iStock)

No wonder Acton is excited about the chance to create another mass-centric product. “I’d like for Signal to reach billions of users. I know what it takes to do that. I did that," says Acton. "I’d love to have it happen in the next five years or less."

After spyware intrusion has been reported in WhatsApp through a vulnerability, and Facebook finding it hard to clean up its act, Signal could help users move in the direction of having their data on the internet secure.