Recent intrusive changes in the privacy policy of WhatsApp (including the sharing of never before seen amounts of unencrypted user data with the parent company Facebook) have prompted a mass exodus of WhatsApp users to the secure and open-source alternative Signal. I have been hoping for a change like this for years. I wrote a non-technical blog post about the problems with WhatsApp in detail, comparing the advantages and disadvantages of other messaging apps as well.
I’m not particularly keen on directing my friends to an app that needs their phone number, is based in the US and is neither decentralized nor distributed. If the age of Signal does come about, I will not be taking part.
Signal is not the perfect solution, no, but until the 2 billion users on WhatsApp switch to XMPP, IRC, Element/Riot or other options, we can still wait. The truth is that I’m glad that a small portion of people are starting to realize the importance of privacy, and I’m happy about that. Now they need to be taught that there is not just a single alternative to WhatsApp.