Signal not working? You’re not alone (Jan. 15)
Recognition: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
- Signal not working for you? You are not alone as the service experienced a significant outage today.
- At the time of writing, there are still many people around the world who cannot access the service.
- The server outage likely has to do with the fact that a ton of new users come onto the platform when they run away from WhatsApp.
If you tried texting someone using Signal today, you may have encountered some problems. No, it’s not your phone – it’s the service itself. Millions of people around the world have had problems at the same time as the app’s servers appeared to be overloaded.
Connected: The five best encrypted messaging apps for Android
Reports of malfunctioning signals are still coming in, but according to DownDetector, the worst seems to be over. If you still cannot access the chat app, unfortunately you will have to wait a little longer for the server to get back on its feet.
While we’re not sure why this particular failure occurred, Signal did Make clear that there is a huge influx of new users. The surge in adoption is not least due to people running away from WhatsApp after this Facebook-owned service updated its privacy policy.
Goodbye WhatsApp, hello signal
We’ll have to wait for the company to give us an official reason why a lot of people have found Signal not working today. However, it is certain that WhatsApp’s exodus has something to do with it.
Facebook announced last week that it had updated WhatsApp’s privacy policy. With the update, the social networking giant can get user data from WhatsApp for their own use. This caused a public outcry and many people immediately stopped using the platform.
See also: How WhatsApp shares your data with other Facebook brands
Lots of people likely hiked to Telegram which is more popular as a signal. However, a recent tweet from Elon Musk touted Signal as a good option, and users have pounded this app’s servers pretty hard.
It will likely be rocky for a while during this transition, but Signal should be back up and running very soon.
