Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

Signal becomes No. 1 app after reaching 1.3M downloads Monday

Signal becomes No. 1 app after reaching 1.3M downloads Monday

Similar private messaging app Telegram reached No. 2 on the App Store and Google Play

Private messaging app Signal held its position from Monday into Tuesday as the No. 1 free app on both the App Store and Google Play.



The app garnered about 1.3 million global downloads on the App Store Monday, according to app data and analytics website Apptopia.

"We estimate Signal has been installed 63.1 million times in its lifetime. Signal has been breaking its own daily download records since Saturday," Apptopia Insights vice president Adam Blacker told FOX Business.


Signal is an encrypted messaging app, meaning that the company cannot access any messages or calls made by users on the app.

"These types of shifts in messaging and social networking apps are not unusual," Amir Ghodrati, director of market insights at app analytics company App Annie, said in a statement. "Due to the nature of social apps and how the primary functionality involves communicating with others, their growth can often move quite quickly, based on current events."

He added that "users consistently spend more time in messaging apps than in social media apps; 67% more time on average as of H1 2020. Messaging apps that provide privacy features saw the greatest engagement growth in H1 2020. These apps saw on average 30% more active users than the alternatives."

On Jan. 4, Signal ranked No. 750 in overall U.S. downloads, according to App Annie. The number continued to jump until the app reached No. 1 in overall U.S. downloads on Sunday.

The app has benefited in popularity after people like Edward Snowden tweeted about it in 2015, with Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently telling his followers to use the service, while simultaneously taking a shot at Facebook.

Encrypted messaging app Telegram also surged to the No. 2 position among free apps on both Google Play and the App Store Tuesday.

The two apps have come into the limelight recently after some people using the Facebook-owned encrypted messaging app WhatsApp expressed concern with a privacy update set to roll out in February and first announced in October.


The buttons of Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Messages and other apps on the screen of an iPhone.


The update stated that businesses communicating with WhatsApp users through the app, via phone or by email "can see" what users are "saying and may use that information for its own marketing purposes, which may include advertising on Facebook" if users opt to sharing that information.



WhatsApp later clarified the update in a January message, saying Facebook will not have access to any of its users' private messages or calls.

"We want to be clear that the policy update does not affect the privacy of your messages with friends or family in any way. Instead, this update includes changes related to messaging a business on WhatsApp, which is optional, and provides further transparency about how we collect and use data," the app said in a blog post.

WhatsApp ranked No. 27 and No. 21 in overall U.S. downloads on Jan. 3 and Jan. 7, respectively, until it hit No. 38 on Sunday.

WhatsApp said Facebook will not have access to its users' private messages or calls, shared locations, contacts or groups. Users can also set their messages to disappear if they so choose.

Big Tech companies have made a number of policy changes and updates since Wednesday's Capitol riots in an effort to quell violent or conspiratorial rhetoric on their platforms, causing uncensored social apps like Parler, Gab, Signal and Telegram to see surges in downloads.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
×