Signal messaging app suffered outage for two days caused by exodus of WhatsApp users

Messaging app Signal is now back up after it experienced a two-day outage that affected is services. According to DownDetector.com, over a thousand users reported messages failing to be sent via the app.

The company said users might still see errors in some of their chats. Signal, however, assured that they are working on a fix in an upcoming update that would fix this problem. It added that the error does not affect a user’s chat’s security.

If you are a Signal user, the company recommends doing the following if you are experiencing problems with the app:

On Android if you see “Bad encrypted message,” tap the menu in the top-right & tap “Reset secure session.” On iOS tap the “Reset Session” button below “Received message was out of sync.” The errors do not affect chat security & will be automatically fixed in the next app update.

Signal, in case you are not familiar, is a free encrypted messaging app that offers end-to-end encryption for direct and group messages. The app has been endorsed by the likes of whistleblower Edward Snowden, Twitter’s Jack Dorsey and Tesla’s Elon Musk. Apart from messaging, users can also make one-to-one voice and video calls with the app.

The free encrypted messaging app has seen a big uptick in new users following WhatsApp’s announcement of their new terms and privacy policy last week. At the time of writing, Signal is the top downloaded free app on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store in Malaysia.

Data from analytics firm Sensor Tower showed that Signal was downloaded just 246,000 times a week before WhatsApp’s announcement. The app saw its download numbers jump up to 8.8 million the week after. 

 Many users were unhappy with the updated terms that grant Facebook control over data generated on WhatsApp. Users that didn’t accept the new terms would lose access to their WhatsApp account. 

Compared to services like Signal and Telegram, WhatsApp collects more data on users according to the privacy section of its app listing on Apple’s AppStore. There have been allegations that the service is sharing personal data to Facebook though WhatsApp maintains that all messages remain private and won’t be shared.

WhatsApp stressed that its practice of sharing data with Facebook is not new, and it was not being expanded by the new terms. Following the public outcry against it, WhatsApp announced that it would delay its new update until 15 May. The company said it intends to clear up the misinformation about its change privacy and security policy.

[SOURCE]

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