Towards the end of July 2014, OWS first released Signal as the iOS version of RedPhone. This represented the second version of their TextSecure Protocol, now known as the Signal Protocol.

In February 2014, OWS integrates instant messaging and end-to-end encrypted group chat functions into TextSecure. Moxie Marlinspike leaves Twitter in January 2013 to found Open Whisper Systems (OWS), a collaborative open-source project focused on the further evolution of the TextSecure and RedPhone apps. On the 18 th of July, 2012, RedPhone was released as free and open-source as well under the same GPLv3 license. One month later, on December 20 th, 2011, TextSecure was released as a free and open-source piece of software under the GPLv3 license.

Shortly thereafter, RedPhone was made unavailable, which drew heavy criticism from the public due to the app’s relevance in the field of humanitarian aid. 2011įamed social media platform Twitter acquired Whisper Systems in November 2011. You might recognize Moxie’s name as a co-founder of the present-day Signal Foundation which administers the Signal messaging app. Whisper Systems was an enterprise mobile security startup founded by Stuart Anderson, a roboticist, and Moxie Marlinspike (real name Matthew Rosenfeld, a security researcher.

The former was an encrypted voice calling app, while the latter consisted of an encrypted texting program. The origins of the Signal messaging app can be traced back to May 25, 2010, when a now-defunct company by the name of Whisper Systems launched beta versions of RedPhone and TextSecure. Then, I’ll go over the app’s encryption protocol and privacy policy to help answer the most pressing question at hand: is Signal secure? Stay tuned until the end to find out, and don’t forget to check out this article’s section on actionable tips that will help you boost your cybersecurity while using Signal. Friends, family, and followers received recommendations to create accounts left and right, leaving us to wonder: what is Signal? And even more importantly, is Signal secure? Before diving into the technical details, I’ll have a brief look at the app’s history that spans over a decade. Everyone from Elon Musk to Edward Snowden has been talking about Signal these days.

Signal secure messaging