The Signal app has gained massive traction owing to concerns over WhatsApp’s new privacy policy, and a report by app analytics firm Sensor Tower suggests that Signal has clocked 24.6 million downloads in India from 14-17 January 2021.
A survey conducted by community social media platform LocalCircles has revealed that 36 percent of WhatsApp users have reduced their usage of the app drastically, whereas 15 percent of users are likely to stop using the app completely. Following backlash from users, WhatsApp has decided to delay the deployment of its privacy policy by three months.
LocalCircles’s survey received over 24,000 responses from WhatsApp users based in 244 districts of India.
The survey has also revealed that 24 percent of WhatsApp users were considering switching over to other app alternatives such as Signal and Telegram. While 91 percent of the users have decided not to use the payment features, citing concerns that WhatsApp might share payment and transaction-related data with Facebook and third parties.
WhatsApp alternatives, Signal and Telegram, reported 1.3 million and 24,000 downloads, respectively, between 1 January and 5 January, heading to growth by 9,483 percent and 15 percent in Signal and Telegram, respectively.
On the other hand, WhatsApp saw a huge drop in its downloads by 35 percent from 6 January to 10 January. Meanwhile, the Government of India on Tuesday, 19 January, wrote to the CEO of WhatsApp, Will Cathcart, asking the messaging platform to withdraw the proposed changes to its privacy policy for Indian users, ANI reported.
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