Signal: Secure messenger leads Finland's download charts
The messenger service Signal, which focuses on security and data protection, is growing rapidly. This is shown by the download charts of several countries.
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The messenger Signal is currently enjoying particular popularity in Finland, Denmark, and the Netherlands. This is evidenced by the download charts of the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store in Finland and Denmark, as well as a recent social media survey conducted in the Netherlands.
In the Google Play Store, Signal currently leads the Finnish download charts in the communication category, ahead of Telegram and WhatsApp. In Apple's App Store, Signal currently holds third place in the Social Networking category in Finland. Telegram holds fifth place here, while WhatsApp ranks far behind in tenth place.
In the Danish Play Store, Signal is currently in fourth place in the communication category, ahead of Telegram and behind WhatsApp – the application currently holds second place there. However, at the beginning of January, Signal is said to have temporarily overtaken WhatsApp as the most popular app in the communication category of the Play Store. This is reported by the information portal for the messenger service AboutSignal. At that time, Signal also held third place in the Social Networks category in Denmark in Apple's App Store. Currently, Signal is in fourth place there, ahead of Telegram in sixth place.
Netherlands: Signal overtakes Telegram
In the Netherlands, the secure messenger service Signal has apparently overtaken its competitor Telegram. This is according to a study recently published by the Dutch market research agency Newcom. According to the survey, Signal now has 2.3 million users in the Netherlands, while Telegram has 2.1 million. Nevertheless, WhatsApp remains the most used messenger service with 13.8 million users. According to Newcom, 93 percent of Signal users in the Netherlands also use WhatsApp.
At the beginning of last year, the president of the Signal Foundation, Meredith Whittacker, had already reported on the messenger's strong growth in the Netherlands in an interview with the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. Whittaker cited the growing awareness of data protection, distrust of large technology corporations, and geopolitical realities that exposed the vulnerability of digital communication as reasons for the increase in popularity.
Signal is one of the most secure messengers on the market. Not only individual chats are end-to-end encrypted within the service. Group chats are also encrypted using the Double Ratchet algorithm, which was introduced by Signal and has since become the standard. Furthermore, Signal has introduced Sealed Sender, a system that makes it impossible for Signal servers to attribute senders and recipients. The messenger also does not analyze the phone numbers of its users contained in the smartphone's address book.
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