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Elon Musk goes to Twitter to tell people to stop using Messenger and start using Signal

The Signal app doesn’t collect any data on you, unlike Messenger and WhatsApp.

Signal app blurred background

Tech bro and CEO of multiple high-profile companies, Elon Musk, told his almost 42 million Twitter followers to go use a more secure messaging app, Signal. The reason? It appears to be the change in Facebook’s privacy policy, which now means more data is being shared between Facebook and WhatsApp.–

The short exchange started with Musk sharing a meme about Facebook’s role in the chain of events that culminated in the attempted coup at the Capitol last week. Musk has often been critical of Facebook in the past, deleting the company Facebook accounts for both SpaceX and Tesla, and sniping with CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Twitter and other public platforms.

The new privacy policy now allows Facebook and WhatsApp to access personal information like phone numbers, interactions on the platform, information about the mobile devices that have been signed into the programs, and IP addresses. You have to accept the new privacy policy as a WhatsApp user, or your account will get disabled.

Read More: What is Signal and how do you sign up for it?

You can see the amount of shared information from both Facebook’s Messenger and WhatsApp in the image below, along with how much data popular services iMessage and Signal also share. Signal shares absolutely nothing, not even phone number, and all messages sent on the service stay encrypted so they are private even if someone gets ahold of your mobile device.

Signal has had security issues in the past, like a worrying vulnerability that made it possible to track the device being used by simply calling its Signal phone number. The company did patch that quickly, but any security hole in an app billed as secure is worrying to users.

Have any thoughts on this? Are you thinking about making the switch to Signal? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere. His hobbies include photography, animation, and hoarding Reddit gold.

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