Signal messaging app faces global outage days after adding millions of users

The cross-platform messaging app Signal faced a global outage on Friday, just days after it was downloaded by millions of new users. Users around the world reported that they were unable to send messages on the mobile and desktop apps. The company said on Twitter that it was experiencing technical difficulties and that it was “working hard to restore service as quickly as possible.” Since Facebook-owned rival WhatsApp unveiled its new privacy terms last week, Signal has garnered tremendous interest from new users.

Signal said it had added new servers and additional capacity at “an all-time high” every day this week without interruption. “But today has exceeded our most optimistic forecast. Millions upon millions of new users are sending a message that privacy is important. We appreciate your patience,” the messaging app tweeted. He added that he was working to bring the service back online.

“We are making progress towards bringing the service back online. Privacy is our top priority, but adding capacity is a close second right now,” the image of the tweet added here. It is estimated that in India Signal has been downloaded by almost 3 million users. WhatsApp said on Friday (local time) that it decided to postpone a privacy update due to “misinformation that worries” people, the company said.

“We are now pushing back the date on which users will be asked to read and agree to the terms. No one will have their account suspended or deleted on February 8. We will also do a lot more to eliminate misinformation. on how privacy and security works on WhatsApp. We will then gradually move on to people to review the policy at their own pace before new trade options become available on May 15, ”the blog post read. This follows an increase in public concerns about a threat to their right to privacy.

The New York Times reported that since the privacy update was announced, many users and some media have interpreted the notification as a marked change in WhatsApp’s data sharing practices, mistakenly believing that the business could now read people’s conversations and other personal data. The concerns have led people to switch to other messaging services such as Signal and Telegram. This week, Signal became the # 1 app in India, one of WhatsApp’s biggest markets, on Apple and Android phones, the NYT said.

Earlier this month, a lawyer in Delhi filed a plea claiming that the update to WhatsApp’s privacy policy violated the right to privacy and sought to order the Center to set guidelines in the exercise of its powers under the relevant articles of the Information Technology Act and the Constitution. from India to ensure that the Whatsapp Respondent does not share any data of its users with any third party or with Facebook and its companies for any purpose.