Signal (2014)
| Developer | Signal Technology Foundation |
|---|---|
| Release Year | 2014 |
| Category | Mobile applications |
| Platforms | Windows |
Signal lives not as a product, but as a principle: a non-profit foundation, open source clients and servers, no advertising and data trading, content based on donations. End-to-end encryption is always included for everything — messaging, calls, video, groups — and the Signal protocol turned out to be so successful that it was licensed by WhatsApp and other messengers. The key difference from them is metadata: the service fundamentally tries not to know who spoke to whom and when, so there is almost nothing to provide upon request. There are disappearing messages, screenshot blocking, and the app is locked. Users pay for this convenience: there is no cloud history, transferring to a new device requires manual actions, and registration used to rely heavily on a phone number (now it can be hidden behind a nickname). The app is free and available on Android, iOS, and desktop systems.
Program card in the MegaInet.art catalog — reference information. Files are not distributed. Actual data: Wikidata (CC0).
