Who owns Signal? How secure is this app? What are the differences between Signal and WhatsApp? These are some of the search terms that began trending on Google after the United States faced one of its most embarrassing national security moments. Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was mistakenly added to a Signal group where top officials from Donald Trump’s administration were discussing confidential plans to launch airstrikes in Yemen against Houthi rebels.

The conversation, which took place just hours before the offensive, was shared via the Signal app, a secure messaging platform that had previously been relatively unknown outside of tech and security circles.

The incident, confirmed by the National Security Council as an “apparently authentic” message thread, sparked widespread public interest in the app.

What is Signal app?

The Signal app is a free messaging platform that allows users to send text messages, make voice and video calls, and create group chats with up to 1,000 people. Its standout feature is that it offers end-to-end encryption by default—meaning neither the company, nor third parties, nor even governments can access the content of conversations.

Unlike other platforms such as Telegram, where encryption must be manually activated and is not available in group chats, Signal protects all messages from the outset. It also allows users to enable automatic message deletion, a function considered crucial in high-security contexts.

Is Signal more secure than WhatsApp?

The Signal encryption protocol is open-source and has been adopted by other platforms like WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta. This has earned trust among cybersecurity experts, who consider Signal to be “the gold standard” in private communications, as stated by Meredith Whittaker, president of the foundation that maintains the app.

Many experts agree that the Signal app offers one of the highest levels of security available to the general public. However, even the best technology can fail if used incorrectly—as demonstrated by the incident involving the journalist who was added to the group by mistake.

During the Biden administration, certain officials were permitted to install Signal on government-issued phones, but its use was restricted to logistical functions such as notifying colleagues about classified messages sent via more secure means. The concern is not just technical but also legal: messages sent through Signal cannot easily be retrieved through public records requests, raising transparency concerns in government operations.

ALSO READ: Who is Jeffrey Goldberg, the Atlantic editor who mistakenly received Donald Trump’s war plans?

Who owns the Signal app?

Answering the question who owns Signal requires understanding its unconventional structure: Signal is not owned by a traditional company, but by a nonprofit foundation. Its name is the Signal Technology Foundation, and it was established in 2018 with the goal of keeping technology accessible, ethical, and free from commercial interests.

The foundation was co-founded by Brian Acton and Moxie Marlinspike. Acton, one of the engineers who co-founded WhatsApp, donated $50 million to launch the Signal Foundation after leaving Meta (then Facebook) due to disagreements over how user privacy was being handled.

Marlinspike, for his part, is a renowned security researcher who had already been working on encrypted messaging solutions since 2010.

Who is Brian Acton?

Brian Acton was born on February 17, 1972, in Michigan. He is a high-profile programmer who worked at Yahoo for over a decade before co-founding WhatsApp with Jan Koum. In 2014, they sold the app to Facebook for $19 billion. However, in 2017, Acton left the company due to conflicts over user data practices.

A year later, he channeled part of his fortune—estimated by Forbes in 2018 at over $7 billion—into a new project that would reaffirm his commitment to privacy: Signal. Acton is currently the executive chairman of the Signal Foundation, from where he drives the ethical development of the app and its sustainability through voluntary donations.

Who is Moxie Marlinspike?

Moxie Marlinspike is an enigmatic name in the world of cybersecurity. Although it’s a pseudonym, his influence is real: he served as head of security at Twitter and founded Whisper Systems, the company that developed the TextSecure and RedPhone apps, predecessors to Signal. In 2013, he founded Open Whisper Systems and worked with Trevor Perrin on the development of the Signal Protocol, the encryption standard now used by WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Google Messages.

Marlinspike has received multiple recognitions for his work, including the Levchin Prize for cryptography and a grant from the Shuttleworth Foundation. His mission has been clear from the start: “to protect users’ communications from any form of surveillance or interception.”

Although Marlinspike stepped down as CEO of Signal in 2022, he continues to influence the project’s technical direction, and his legacy remains a cornerstone of the app’s radical commitment to privacy.

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