What is Signal and why is it trending?

The Signal app on Saturday tweeted and clarified that Signal Advance and Signal app are two different companies.

After messaging application WhatsApp updates its privacy policy this year and revealed more on its data-sharing policy with Facebook, Signal has been trending on all social media platforms as more and more people are talking about it. Meanwhile, the stocks of Signal Advance, which has nothing to do with Signal, the one which is trending, surged 527% on Thursday and another 91% on Friday.

After WhatsApp updates its policy, people are discussing Signal app, which was created by Signal Foundation, set up by former WhatsApp co-founder Brien Acton who left WhatsApp in 2017. (Reuters representative image)

The Signal app on Saturday tweeted and clarified that Signal Advance and Signal app are two different companies.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who dethroned Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person, asked his followers on Twitter to join Signal, which is an alternative to texting apps like WhatsApp, Facebook messenger etc.

> Signal has been there since 2014. Its tagline is 'say hello to privacy'.

> Its service is end-to-end encrypted like WhatsApp.

> It is available for iPhone, iPad, Windows, Mac and Linux.

> The app was created by Signal Foundation which was set up by former WhatsApp co-founder Brien Acton who left WhatsApp in 2017.

> Signal is free to use and has similar features like WhatsApp.

> However, it does not allow to back up chats to Google Drive or iCloud.

> It does not allow groups to add people automatically unless the individuals give their assent.

> And not only in the United States, in India too the app gained in overnight popularity, as confirmed by this tweet by Signal.