Signal exposed Facebook’s terrifying user tracking in the best possible way

Signal is a chat app for iPhone and Android that we’ve been using for years. It features the same end-to-end encryption for protecting the contents of messages like iMessage and WhatsApp and has the added benefit that it hardly collects any user data. Signal rose to prominence this year when WhatsApp’s planned privacy changes came to light. Facebook reminded users that WhatsApp would share more user data with Facebook, and that’s when millions of people downloaded Signal and Telegram. WhatsApp will remain end-to-end encrypted, but Facebook’s hunger for data is an excellent reason to move to an alternative chat app.

Later, Signal blasted security firm Cellebrite's software that law enforcement use to break into encrypted iPhones and Androids that are part of active investigations. Signal found critical security flaws in Cellebrite’s apps that had immediate consequences and potential legal ramifications.

Fast-forward to early May, and Signal exposed Facebook’s terrifying data collection practices in the best possible way. The company tried to run honest ads on Instagram that highlight Facebook’s ample user tracking practices that allow it to serve personalized ads. The ads couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Facebook is trying to convince iPhone users to let it track them online, going as far as threatening that Facebook apps might not remain free. That’s because Apple just turned on a massive privacy feature that will make it harder for Facebook to collect user data on iPhone. Unsurprisingly, Facebook’s banned Signal’s ad campaigns.