Delete WhatsApp? Signal Is Top Free App On Android And iPhone Right Now

This was truly unexpected. Privacy-centric messaging app Signal has managed to garner a ton of love and now has become the number one app on the Apple App Store in the ¡®Free Apps¡¯ category as well as on Google Play Store.

Google Play Store/ Apple App Store

The sudden rise in popularity of Signal secure messenger app is primarily due to several users from WhatsApp switching to the platform after the messaging app recently updated its privacy policy.

As per the updated privacy policy, it stated the kind of data it will now be sharing with its parent company Facebook, which didn¡¯t sit well with many around the world, and resulting in many to look for alternatives. And it looks like most people picked Signal.

One of the major factors that have contributed to the rise in popularity of Signal is the recommendation by the world's richest person, Elon Musk, who did this through his Twitter handle when chaos surrounding the updated terms and privacy policy of WhatsApp started to unfurl.

In case you didn¡¯t know, Signal has been created by the co-founder of WhatsApp, Brian Acton. He started working on Signal after he left Facebook in 2017 when CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg were working on monetising WhatsApp, which Acton was strictly against.

The app doesn¡¯t store or track any user data to showcase ads and earns its revenues. Instead, it keeps things running with the help of donations and fundings.

Reuters

However, it's not just Signal that has seen the spike in popularity. Telegram is another messenger touting privacy and end to end encryption which has seen a sudden spike in the number of users. Telegram has claimed the second spot in the ¡®Free Apps¡¯ category, whereas on the Play Store, the app is in top 10, at the eight position.

Did you make a switch to some other messenger? Which one was it? Tell us in the comments below.