The president of Signal defended the app’s security after concerns arose regarding encrypted chatroom discussions among top Trump administration officials about potential U.S. military action against Yemen's Houthis.
Meredith Whittaker emphasized Signal as the "gold standard in private communications," highlighting its security benefits over Meta's WhatsApp. She noted that Signal is open-source and nonprofit, employing end-to-end encryption and privacy-preserving technology to safeguard both metadata and message content.
In both Europe and the United States, Signal has gained popularity as an alternative to WhatsApp, primarily due to its minimal data collection practices.
Data from Sensor Tower indicates that U.S. downloads of Signal rose by 16% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter, and by 25% compared to the same period in 2024.
In a February interview with De Telegraaf, Whittaker noted that Signal offers a safer alternative because WhatsApp collects metadata that can reveal who is messaging whom and the frequency of those interactions. "When compelled, like all companies that collect the data to begin with, they turn this important, revealing data over," Whittaker stated in her post on X.
A WhatsApp spokesperson responded by saying the app relies on metadata to prevent spam and safeguards against abuse. "We do not keep logs of who everyone is messaging or calling and do not track the personal messages people are sending one another for ads," the statement clarified.