We all know about WhatsApp. It is the most popular messaging app in the whole world and is owned by Facebook. However, the parlance seems to be changing rapidly. Also, the tweet from Elon Musk has turned out to be a catalyst.
The whole scenario is born out of the need for better security. In this widely demanded comparison – Signal VS WhatsApp, we’ll be looking at both the Psychological catalysts and the actual shortcoming on the security front in WhatsApp messenger.
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Prelude: It all started in 2018. In February 2018, Belgium and German courts found Facebook guilty of violating various privacy laws. In the same year again, Facebook accepted that it has used the users’ data for advertising purposes. And the similar events haven’t stopped since. It isn’t just Facebook itself misusing user data against their will, Facebook has fallen prey to hackers where it lost a significant, 80Million users’ data. |
All these events have negatively impacted Facebook’s goodwill. So, this was about the psychological aspect of sudden apprehension. Now let’s move forward to specs relating directly to the app itself.
Signal VS WhatsApp Messaging App
WhatsApp is a well-known messenger. But it is being embroiled over its new Privacy Policies. Being a competitor eyeing on the large user base of WhatsApp, Signal capitalized on the opportunity by launching 8 new features to give a tough fight to the World’s Biggest Messenger.
We’ll be comparing WhatsApp and Signal App on these grounds: Ownership, Security, and Ease of Use.
List of Contents
1. Signal VS WhatsApp – Ownership:
A lot of users’ worries are born out of its ownership, its parent company, and their lookout regarding users’ data and privacy.
WhatsApp, to begin with, is owned by Facebook.inc which, as we all know, doesn’t give much regard to users’ data and privacy. Facebook is very ill-famed when it comes to managing user information. There have been a number of cases where Mark Zuckerberg owned Facebook was found misusing the user data. WhatsApp in itself does a few things that a lot of people don’t praise, we’ll talk about it in detail in the next section.
Signal, on the other hand, is owned by the non-profit Signal Foundation. Signal is co-founded by the CEO Moxie Marlinspike in February 2018. Moxie Marlinspike reportedly left Facebook “due to differences surrounding the use of customer data and targeted advertising.” Top Management’s commitment towards user privacy and security puts Signal Messaging app in a better place in people’s hearts and minds.
Hence, when it comes to ownership and the mindset of top management, your data is relatively secure with Signal Messaging App.
2. Signal VS WhatsApp – Security:
Because Security is the primary reason this war between Signal and WhatsApp has gained popularity, in this section of Signal VS WhatsApp, we’ll be seeing solely the security features of both the apps. WhatsApp and Signal both provide End-to-End encrypted messaging.
However, according to Wired, ‘Facebook, the parent company of WhatsApp, has the access to WhatsApp users’ phone numbers, IP Addresses, Mobile Network, how long the user has been using the messenger, payment data, cookies, location data, etc.’ which is a lot of information to give up.
Also, when some users decided to opt out of Facebook’s policy of using their information for advertisement, Facebook said that such users will lose access to WhatsApp itself.
Signal, on the other hand, says that it doesn’t collect user data such as their messages, groups, and other profile information. The only two pieces of information that Signal does collect are for how long the user has been using Signal App and when was the last time it was installed. Less intrusion of Signal Foundation in the users’ data and security makes it way more secure and safe than Facebook.
Also Read: Facebook Dominates Zoom With Messenger Room Feature
3. Signal VS WhatsApp – Ease of Use
Now that we have established the fact that Signal is more secure when it comes to ownership and security features, let’s move forward to considering the ease of use that these messengers provide.
WhatsApp, to begin with, is a very popular messaging app and has been around for a while. As a result, it is definitely more fun and polished to use.
Signal, on the other hand, is a new messenger. Yet it doesn’t mean that it lags somewhere in the functionality. It is just that WhatsApp looks more organized and pleasing to look at.
As we said, though WhatsApp looks cool and known, Signal isn’t bad either. Because the difference isn’t that Great, I will recognize both the Messengers equally capable and easy to use.
Looking at all three aspects of Signal VS WhatsApp, I can surely suggest using Signal as your daily messenger. I believe the user data to be more secure and private on the Signal App.
FAQs:
Is Signal More Secure than WhatsApp?
Is Signal More Secure than WhatsApp - Yes, it definitely is more secure than WhatsApp. Looking at the company’s mindset towards users’ personal data and WhatsApp’s intrusive privacy policy makes it way clearer that they will not, anytime soon, stop using users’ personal information for their own advantage.
Is Signal Better than WhatsApp?
In this article Signal vs WhatsApp, we discussed their performance in three different aspects. Is Signal Better than WhatsApp? – It Depends. Would you want to give up a bit on user interface to gain much more on privacy? If yes, then Signal is absolutely way better than WhatsApp. But if you do not want to give up on a few tiny design improvements, you should wait for a bit until Signal releases a few more updates.
Conclusion:
Though WhatsApp is one of the most popular messenger applications in the world, it certainly isn’t the most secure out of all. With Cyber-Crimes becoming endlessly dangerous, people want a more secure solution for their personal information. Hence, in my belief, Signal is definitely a better messenger than WhatsApp.
However, if you are looking for the same level of UI and everything, I would suggest that you wait for a couple of updates.
So, this was all from our end on Signal VS WhatsApp. I hope we were able to help you come to a decision of whether or not you should switch to Signal. Do let us know what you think of Signal, we love hearing your opinions. Keep Visiting TweakLibrary for more such content.
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