The basic idea of Signal Messenger is to provide secure encryption for instant messaging. The messenger used to have a reduced design, but Signal now has a new look and many new functions. Now a story mode is to be added, which works similarly to the competitor WhatsApp.
The signal messenger is considered a real alternative to Telegram and WhatsApp. Unlike its competitors, Signal relied on secure end-to-end (E2E) encryption for all messages right from the start and does not store any data on its own servers. Now the developers are announcing beta testing for sharing stories in the instant messaging service on a Messenger community board.
Signal stories disappear automatically
According to Signal’s lead developer, Greyson Parelli, users can share images, videos and text for 24 hours. In addition, the stories are end-to-end encrypted. This means that Signal does not know what information the stories contain. To further protect privacy, users can share the stories in two different ways. On the one hand, they can be displayed by default to all contacts and people with whom a one-to-one chat is available. On the other hand, there is also the possibility of a user-defined list of friend contacts and signal groups. But be careful with groups with which a story is shared! Anyone in a group can share, react to, and reply to these.
If you don’t like the stories function, you can disable it completely in the settings. However, there is one disadvantage – users cannot see stories from other people.
Did Signal copy WhatsApp?
The basic features of the signal stories function are strongly reminiscent of the competitor WhatsApp, which has a similar function as a status message. There you can also share pictures, videos and GIFs with your own contacts.
The fact that Signal is appearing more and more professionally despite its non-profit background is partly due to the investment of 42 million euros by WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton. He donated the money to the Signal Foundation, which he founded with Signal inventor and crypto-anarchist Matthew Rosenfeld after leaving WhatsApp in 2017. Possible parallels between the services are therefore always possible, since Acton, a long-standing veteran of the programmer scene, is on board.
Also read: Messenger Telegram should get a paid subscription
Signal as a secure messenger alternative?
Data protectionists are happy to recommend Signal because the messenger works according to the zero-knowledge principle. This means that Signal cannot release any data that is only available in encrypted form. In a blog entry, those responsible revealed:
Signal does not have access to your messages, chat list, groups, contacts, stickers, profile name or avatar (…)
Blog post about a search warrant on Signal user data, Santa Clara County, USA.
Of course, this does not mean that a user is completely anonymous because Signal requires a valid cell phone number to use it. Existing data is at least not used profitably. Because Signal does not use advertising, affiliate marketing or tracking. The messenger is therefore dependent on donations and has established a corresponding function. While Signal has inherited an element of its competition with the Stories feature, its non-profit background makes it unique. Signal’s most famous supporters are NSA investigator Edward Snowden and Tesla boss Elon Musk, both of whom recommend using Signal.