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Although Signal was not very well known as WhatsApp, it has earned its place as one of the most private and “secure” messaging services out there so far, as the app is only with a team of 30 people, the app has managed to gain a user base that is growing constantly, and in this period was its founder, Moxie Marlinspike, decides to step back to find his next replacement.
As Marlinspike himself explained through a statement, after ten years of working on the app, he made the decision to resign his position and announced that it would be Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp, who would take over temporarily, serving as an “interim” CEO while an official replacement is found. .
In the letter, Signal’s outgoing CEO explains and shares that for the first six years of the project he had to act alone, writing all the Android and server code, as well as being the only person “on call for service” which meant carrying his computer in Sometimes, I find myself sitting alone on the sidewalk in the rain late at night trying to diagnose service deterioration.”
The Signal landscape has changed dramatically over time, with Signal now having a team of 30 people including engineers and designers, according to specialist media tech techcrunch, the messaging service averages 40 million monthly users.
With the announcement, Marlinspike explained, “I will continue to remain on the Signal Board of Directors, committed to helping demonstrate Signal’s mission from this role, and will transition as CEO over the next month to focus on finding candidates. Please call if possible to be you!”
To help with these transition assignments, it will be Brian Acton, co-founder of WhatsApp and a member of Signal’s board of directors who will serve as CEO of the company although not permanently, as Acton has volunteered himself for the temporary position while another candidate is found.
Who will lead Signal will be one of the creators of WhatsApp and has been one of the most vocal critics of the evolution of the instant messaging service Meta, since he left the company in 2018, through which Acton encouraged their social networks to delete Facebook.
Acton also sparked controversy in his remarks, because in 2018 he stated in an interview with Forbes that he regretted selling WhatsApp to Facebook, a sale that closed for $19,000 million, “I sold the privacy of my site users. (…) I made a choice and waived “I live with him every day,” he said at the time.
It should be noted that Signal gained popularity when, at the beginning of 2021, it announced changes to its privacy policies, which caused the discontent of millions of people who migrated temporarily or permanently to other services such as Telegram and Signal, despite the fact that WhatsApp tried to clarify those new measures. , arguing that it would not affect end-to-end encryption on messages, and the controversy raged for months.
Although WhatsApp is still a pioneer in the field of messaging, Signal has proven itself as a serious alternative for users who are concerned with the security and privacy of their chats.
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