Snowden’s Preferred Messaging App Signal Now Available On Android

Data retention laws in Australia are in full swing. For those of us who value our privacy and want to encrypt our messages and calls can get the Signal app, which has just been released on Android. The app has been endorsed by the world’s most famous privacy activist Edward Snowden.

Signal was formerly known as TextSecure on Android OS, which was used for sending encrypted SMS and MMS. But the app’s creator Open Whisper Systems decided to pull the plug on TextSecure as it wanted to move away from SMS and MMS encryption and onto a messaging platform that uses data-only.

It had already released Signal for iOS, which only uses data for messaging, so releasing the app on Android was the logical step for the company. Features of RedPhone, an app that allows for encrypted calls to be made, have been integrated into Signal for Android as well.

To send encrypted messages through the app, both the sender and receiver need to have Signal on their devices. The same thing applies to encrypted calls.

Former NSA contractor turned whistleblower Edward Snowden has been quoted as saying that he uses Signal everyday. He has previously said that the public should use anything made by Open Whisper Systems to safeguard their privacy when using devices for digital communications.

If you still don’t trust Signal, you can view the open source code on GitHub to verify Open Whisper Systems’ protocols and implementations.

You can get Signal on Android over on the Google Play Store.

[Via Open Whisper Systems Blog]


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