Signal, like another secure messaging app, Telegram, has
seen its popularity soar recently amid the fallout from the Capitol riot.
A recent privacy update from WhatsApp, which is owned by
Facebook, has helped drive demand for Signal and Telegram, according to the
Associated Press.
On Saturday evening Signal explained that its service has
been restored following a demand-related outage.
"Signal is back!" it tweeted. "Like an
underdog going through a training montage, we’ve learned a lot since yesterday
— and we did it together. Thanks to the millions of new Signal users around the
world for your patience. Your capacity for understanding inspired us while we
expanded capacity."
Signal is back! Like an underdog going through a training montage, we’ve learned a lot since yesterday — and we did it together. Thanks to the millions of new Signal users around the world for your patience. Your capacity for understanding inspired us while we expanded capacity. pic.twitter.com/cRNV8kVtdF
— Signal (@signalapp) January 17, 2021
However, in a subsequent tweet Signal noted that some users
might see errors, but added that this will not affect the security of their
messages.
"As an unfortunate side effect of this outage, users
might see errors in some of their chats," Signal wrote. "This does
*not* affect your chat's security, but you may have missed a message from that
contact. The next Signal app updates will fix this automatically."
On Android if you see "Bad encrypted message," tap the menu in the top-right & tap "Reset secure session." On iOS tap the "Reset Session" button below "Received message was out of sync." The errors do not affect chat security & will be automatically fixed in the next app update. pic.twitter.com/dgLGLZS3zB
— Signal (@signalapp) January 17, 2021
On its website, Signal touts the ability for users to
"share without insecurity," noting that it uses end-to-end encryption
to keep messages secure. "We can't read your messages or listen to your
calls, and no one else can either," it says.
According to data from app analytics specialist Apptopia,
Signal was ranked number 10 on its list of most popular free apps on the iOS
App Store as of Jan. 16, 2021, and Telegram was at number 4. Signal was ranked
number 1 on Apptopia’s list of free apps on the Google Play store with Telegram
in second place.