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Signal targets 100-200 mn users in India: Brian Acton
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SME Times News Bureau | 13 Jan, 2021
Elated at Indians, including top entrepreneurs and celebrities, rushing
to join his encrypted messaging app Signal, Brian Acton, who co-founded
WhatsApp with Jan Koum before selling it to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
for $19 billion, aims to add 100-200 million users in India over the
next two years.
In a candid interview with IANS, Executive
Chairman of Signal Foundation Brian Acton who left WhatsApp in 2017 over
a dispute with Facebook regarding monetisation of WhatsApp -- which has
taken centerstage with the Facebook-owned app now asking users to
either abide by its new Terms of service and privacy policy or lose the
account by February 8 -- said that he is encouraged to see the massive
outpouring of support from all corners of India.
"The tweets from
thousands of new Signal users, with big voices like Anand Mahindra
among them, is just really amazing. India is a country that has always
been ahead of the curve by adopting the best technology, and it's
exciting to see it happening again," Acton told IANS.
"We are
all committed to living up to the high standards that people in India
have come to expect. We project adding 100-200 million users in India
over the next two years and look forward to supporting that growth".
Acton
left WhatsApp in September 2017 to start the Signal Foundation,
dedicated to helping people who have access to private communication
through an encrypted messaging app.
According to Acton, Signal wants people to own their own data.
"It
was founded to fulfill people's basic expectations that they won't be
tracked by private companies or the government. It uses state-of-the-art
end-to-end encryption to keep conversations secure and private. Signal
can't read user messages or listen to calls, and no one else can
either," he emphasised.
Signal is gaining immense popularity in India owing to its simplicity and focus on privacy.
"We
recently read that Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Phone Pe
co-founder Sameer Nigam and CRED founder Kunal Shah have also begun
using Signal. The signs are deeply encouraging," Acton told IANS.
People
are switching to Signal in record numbers because companies who sell
ads have a harder time focusing on the things that users actually want.
"Besides,
people are realising that the privacy they enjoy in their offline life
doesn't exist online, and they are looking for that. Signal's network is
getting wider every day, and the rate of growth is only increasing,"
noted Acton.
According to Acton, when it comes to India, "We knew
that it was going to be a very big place for Signal as we had seen
massive adoption over the summer."
"We didn't realise how quickly India was going to make the switch to try a new more privacy oriented messenger."
Acton
further added: "As we think about India's unique position globally, we
see Signal as a communication solution for everyday friends and family
connecting with each other as well as for professional settings where
people want that peace of mind knowing their business details are kept
private."
Today, from Edward Snowden to the Black Lives Matter Foundation to Melania Trump, all use Signal.
Activists
use Signal to coordinate protests, finance professionals to exchange
sensitive information, journalists to communicate with sources, etc.
"As
more and more of our lives happen online, data protection and privacy
are critical. This isn't just important for select people in select
countries. It's important for people from all walks of life and in every
part of the world. Everyone deserves to be protected. Everyone is
entitled to freedom of expression in the digital world," Acton
emphasised.
With end-to-end encryption, the content of every
communication -- a text message, a video chat, a voice call, an emoji
reaction -- is understandable only to the sender and the recipient.
If
an exchange is intercepted, by a hacker or a government agency, the
interceptor sees a nonsensical snarl of letters and numbers.
"With
Signal, there are no ads, no affiliate marketers, and no creepy
tracking. Since Signal does not collect user metadata, it cannot read
the messages that its users send. Signal keeps no call logs or data
backups," Acton said.
Signal also offers some unusual features, such as messages that disappear after a set period of time.
For
now, Signal's engineers are working on improvements, such as developing
a group video-chat feature and making the app's group chat systems more
robust.
Signal is an independent, nonprofit organisation.
"It's
not tied to any major tech companies, and it can never be acquired by
one either. Development is supported by grants and donations (much like
Wikipedia)," Acton informed.
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