What is Signal and why is it safer than WhatsApp and even Telegram

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We find out why everyone is now talking about the unpopular messenger before.

What is Signal

Signal is an encrypted messaging app. Basically, it's a more private alternative to WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, Skype, or iMessage.

Signal is not owned by any corporation - it is being developed by a non-profit foundation of the same name only through donations from Donate to Signal. The messenger does not try to collect data about you or display ads.

Signal feature - forced E2E-encryption ("end-to-end").

This means that no one, including Signal owners, will be able to read your messages. In the same Telegram, such encryption is enabled only in confidential chats upon request.

Signal is completely open source. The client application code and project server software are available by Signal on GitHub.

Why Signal has suddenly become so popular

This month, WhatsApp made everyone happy with an update to the privacy policy. Now the messenger will have to transfer user data to its parent company - Facebook. It is likely that he did this before, just now the corporation decided to legalize it.

Among the information that WhatsApp wants to transfer to Facebook, phone numbers of users and all other people stored in address books, names and profile pictures, messages about user statuses, including the time of the last access to the Internet, data from application logs, information about purchases, the location of the person and other "little things".

All of this information will be used by Facebook on its own and will be shared with both its own companies and third parties.

Such a flurry of criticism fell on the messenger that the developers hastily postponed the change to the agreement on May 15, vowing that confidentiality is sacred to them. But it was too late, and many users went in search of an alternative.

The Signal messenger did not appear yesterday - its development has been underway since 2013. Previously, it was very common among journalists, activists and members of human rights organizations - in general, all those for whom it is important to maintain the privacy of correspondence. But now it is growing in popularity among ordinary people who are unhappy with WhatsApp's policies.

Over the past week, Signal has acquired 8.8 million new users.

For comparison, Telegram was downloaded 11 million times over the same period, and the number of WhatsApp downloads decreased from 11.3 to 9.2 million.

In connection with these events, such well-known people as and were praising Signal, and Edward Snowden has been using it since 2015 to avoid FBI surveillance.

If you are not happy about the prospect that WhatsApp will openly transfer your personal data to some unknown person, Signal is what you need.

What Signal Can

Almost everything is the same as any other messenger. It allows you to:

• exchange messages;
• call up or communicate via video link (up to 8 participants);
• send voice messages, photos, videos, stickers, emoji;
• share contacts and your location on the map;
• create group chats (up to 1,000 people).

How Signal maintains privacy and security

All messages, group chats, transferred files, photos, voice calls and video calls in Signal are securely encrypted. They can only be seen by the participants in the conversation. Encryption occurs without the participation of servers, according to the E2EE principle - from device to device.

The Signal developers won't be able to read your messages or pass them on to anyone, even if they want to. To implement such a system, they created Signal Protocol their own Signal Protocol encryption protocol.

Some other messengers, such as Telegram, also offer E2EE, but only as an additional feature. In Signal, encryption is performed everywhere and always - except for SMS sent to contacts that are not registered with Signal (more on that below).

In addition, Signal allows you to send photos and videos to interlocutors, which disappear a few seconds after viewing, as well as blur faces on the sent pictures.

Finally, Signal can verify your contacts to make sure you are chatting with the right person. What is a safety number and why do I see that it changed? so-called security codes, which must be verified, for example, by phone or in person through a QR code. If the SIM card is moved to a new phone, the code will change.

Why Signal is better than Telegram

Signal is often compared to Telegram, a messenger whose creators also claim incredible privacy and security. But in this field, the latter still loses to its competitor.

For example, in Telegram, E2E encryption can only be enabled in secret chats where only two people are present. In ordinary dialogues and group correspondence, this feature is simply absent, the encryption is performed by the server. If the owner of Telegram needs to know what you are writing about there, he will do it. In Signal, E2EE is forced, including in group chats.

Telegram stores all your correspondence on its servers, synchronizing it between all devices. This is convenient and makes it easy to search for the messages you want. But this is not safe. Signal, on the other hand, stores correspondence only on your device, without transferring it anywhere. In addition, he fundamentally does not save the user's contact lists on his server.

This messenger is completely open source. As mentioned above, the code for Signal clients and for servers can be found on GitHub. The Telegram application code is also open, but the server software is not, and it is impossible to predict what they do with your data.

In addition, some information security researchers argue that the Signal encryption protocol is more reliable than Telegram's MTProto, although this is still a controversial issue.

It is worth considering that Telegram has been hacked in the past. A hacker under the pseudonym ne555 managed to gain access to a secret chat in Telegram, bypassing the E2E encryption.

How Signal is inferior to Telegram

Signal loses out in terms of convenience and practicality. For example, in a Telegram group chat you can have up to 200,000 people, and in Signal - no more than 1,000. In Telegram, you can transfer files up to 2 GB in size, in Signal - only up to 100 MB.

Telegram allows you to keep all your correspondence in the cloud. You can communicate in it simply from the browser if there is no client at hand. In Signal, all conversations are stored locally on users' devices, so there is no web version and is not planned.

Telegram is known for its collection of bots that can do literally anything. Signal does not have them and most likely will not, because to create them you need to give developers access to user correspondence, and this is a huge security hole. There are no analogues of Telegram channels in Signal either.

Finally, Telegram just has a prettier interface, lots of stickers and customizable background images. However, the Signal developers plan to do at least not worse, add the same stickers, including animated ones, the "About me" field, backgrounds for chats, and so on.

Things to keep in mind when signing up for Signal

When registering, your phone number is required, so you are still not anonymous with it. The user number is his identifier, as in the same Telegram. This is done so that the program can find who in your contact list is also using Signal.

If you are not satisfied that you need to give your interlocutor your phone number in order to write off with him, then you can try to register in the messenger using a temporary number. The HOW TO USE SIGNAL WITHOUT GIVING OUT YOUR PHONE NUMBER instruction on how to do this was written by information security specialist Mika Lee. However, this is not an easy task.

You can also use Signal by simply not giving it access to your phone's contact list. In this case, the interlocutors will have to be added to the messenger by entering their numbers manually.

Please note that if you lose your phone number, your correspondence will be lost.

Signal also suggests using it as the default application for SMS and MMS. Previously, it allowed them to be sent encrypted. It looked like this: you pass the key to your interlocutor, and he uses it to read your messages. And any outside observer, including a mobile operator, would see nonsense instead.

Now this function has been abandoned, because this is how the operator will find out who, with whom and how often they correspond. However, another application spun off from Signal - Silence. Here it is able to encrypt SMS and MMS.

Download Silence →

How to use Signal

Signal is available for Android, iPhone and iPad. There are also desktop clients for Windows, macOS and Linux - for the latter, however, there are only DEB format packages. You only need a phone number to register. The app is completely free.

After installation and registration, like any other messenger, Signal will ask you to create a PIN to encrypt messages. You won't need to enter it every time, but it will allow you to restore contacts and other data if you reinstall the application. Signal will not be able to reset your PIN if you forget it.

You can't just install Signal on your computer and enter your number.

You will need to scan the QR code from the PC screen with a phone with the client already installed there. The messenger can be installed simultaneously on only five devices - this is also a limitation necessary for security. You cannot use Signal under one account on two mobile phones at the same time.

During setup, Signal will scan your phone book and show if any of your contacts are already using the messenger. If you don't want to trust your contacts to anyone, you can opt out. The numbers will have to be entered manually, but this way you will definitely not risk your phone book.

After installing Signal, you can use it like a regular messenger. Keep in mind that he knows how to send not only encrypted messages, but also regular SMS. An open padlock icon is displayed next to unsecured messages. It is also possible to send the interlocutor an offer to also install Signal and continue the correspondence already in a protected form.

Download Signal for Windows, macOS and Linux →

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