People don't value privacy until they lose some semblance of it -- often leading to catastrophes. And people in Egypt are forced to use less-private channels of communication, because the country's government insists on blocking Signal, a messenger app so amazingly good at keeping conversations private, it provides a level of watertight security that the likes of Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp and Google Allo can only?dream of.
Even in June this year, Haryana-based RTI activist Sudhir Yadav tried to get encrypted apps like Signal banned from India in the interest of national security, only for the Supreme Court to dismiss his petition. So why exactly is Signal putting governments and concerned citizens ill at ease? Why is this app with just over 1 million Android downloads (which is literally nothing compared to Whatsapp's 1 billion monthly active users) making surveillance agencies nervous? Why are countries like China, Turkey and Iran against encryption in private chats?
Because if there's one thing that the Signal Private Messenger does exceptionally well it is to keep private encrypted messages completely private -- there's no room for ifs and buts here.?Earning even US whistleblower Edward Snowden¡¯s approval, developed by Open Whisper Networks, a team of security-focused developers who believe in ¡°making private communication simple¡±, Signal is truly making cutting-edge end-to-end encrypted messaging a reality for everyone on an Android, iOS device and desktop PC.
For starters, Signal Private Messenger lets two or more people exchange messages that are completely encrypted and secure from one point to another. When you type a message to a friend who¡¯s also on the Signal app, your message is scrambled beyond recognition with a very strong encryption technique as it leaves your phone and is only decrypted when it reaches your friend¡¯s Signal app for him or her to see. With Signal¡¯s advanced cryptographic ratcheting encryption technique, no one else can see the encrypted message in transit, making it absolutely private and secure.
What¡¯s more, the end-to-end encryption technique deployed by Signal to secure text messages, images, videos and VOIP calls is so awesome, even Facebook Messenger adopted Signal¡¯s highly secure messaging protocol. Not just that, but Google Allo¡¯s incognito mode also makes use of Signal¡¯s secure protocol. And WhatsApp has fully integrated Signal¡¯s end-to-end encryption technique into its messenger as early as April 2016.
If you can¡¯t take a hint, clearly Signal¡¯s doing something amazing on securing private messages that¡¯s making Facebook, Google and other messaging apps sit up and take notice. In fact, in October 2016, a bunch of security researchers from Oxford University actually found Signal¡¯s encryption protocol to be cryptographically sound, giving the secure communication app their official thumbs up.
While Signal¡¯s protocol is used by bigger, more popular messaging apps for secure communication, Signal (the app) actually goes several steps ahead than the likes of Facebook and Google. When it encrypts outgoing messages and decrypts incoming messages, the secure key used to do so is stored locally on the user¡¯s app -- and not centrally on a server that it maintains. Even when the app tries to check for friends in your contact list that has Signal installed, the server communication is completely encrypted using TLS. Furthermore, Signal has built-in-mechanisms to detect man-in-the-middle attacks and innovative ways of ensuring everyone¡¯s private messages through its app and protocol actually remains private. No one else can see them than the intended parties, not even Signal itself. And that¡¯s a good trend to set.
Apart from all of that high faulting secure technical jargon, what¡¯s fundamentally great about Signal Private Messenger is that it¡¯s a great app with a simple, easy-to-use interface. Don¡¯t believe us? Try it out on Android, iOS or your desktop browser. Signal¡¯s interface is plain and simple and there¡¯s an appealing minimalism to its current avatar.
You can talk with one friend or multiple friends (in a common group) at the same time, do voice calling, send and receive images and videos. What¡¯s great, Signal has a disappearing message feature that lets you automatically erase a sent message within 5 seconds to one week of the recipient reading it. No record of that message is kept anywhere -- not on end user devices or on Signal¡¯s servers. Disappearing messages truly disappear on Signal!
Also, turn off notifications alert for now, because Open Whisper Networks makes use of the phone¡¯s OS to trigger alerts -- so Google on Android, Apple on iOS -- so information on who¡¯s messaging you may not be completely secure as Google and Android may capture the notification information.
Granted, Signal is JAMA (or just another messaging app), and there are already plenty of them installed on our phones. Why then should we care about Signal Private Messenger?
That¡¯s a valid argument. And by their own confession, Open Whisper Networks are treating Signal Private Messenger to highlight the building blocks of a robust, intrusion-free, totally end-to-end encrypted messaging solution and not really focusing on driving downloads. Also it¡¯s meant to allow people who want to keep their conversations private a free, open source alternative to do that.
Yes, privacy is the unfortunate roadkill for all of us who¡¯re busy travelling 24x7 on the internet highway, and people still unknowingly sacrifice it in the quest for digital access and inclusion. But it doesn¡¯t have to be that way, and Signal illustrates that notion pretty well.
State-sponsored censorship in countries like China, Turkey and Egypt (where Signal is being actively blocked) is a dangerous trend that¡¯s threatening the very open, fundamental fabric of the internet in the world. Digital surveillance branded around in the name of national security can¡¯t come at the cost of citizen¡¯s privacy. Signal Private Messenger tries to preserve this fundamental sentiment, arguing that our private messages should be ours alone. No one should be snooping in on them without our consent.
But what if terrorists start using Signal? By one report, jihadists are actually using Signal to stay one step ahead of the law. This changes the game, forcing us to confront and reconcile two opposite sides which cannot exist together -- privacy and surveillance. But that¡¯s a topic for another time.
For now, at least, while privacy continues to bleed at the roadside, waiting for some much needed first aid, let¡¯s at least try to savour it for what it¡¯s worth through apps like Signal, yes?