New controversial Whatsapp terms result in increase of Signal, Telegram demand


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LONDON (Bywire News) - The update to WhatsApp's terms of service has caused some controversy on social media, causing a drastic increase in the demand for the messaging app's competitors, Signal and Telegram. 

Whatsapp announced its new terms on Wednesday, which essentially asked its users to allow Facebook Inc, WhatsApp's parent company, as well as, any of its subsidiaries to collect their user data, including location information. 

Following the "accept our data grab or get out" approach on Twitter, privacy activists encouraged current WhatsApp users to switch to competitor apps like Telegram and Signal, which uses the same encryption technology as WhatsApp. 

Signal saw its notoriety drastically increase on Thursday when it was publically endorsed by social media mogul and billionaire, Elon Musk, as well as, the CEO of Twitter, Jack Dorsey.

According to a report by, Sensor Tower, a data analytics firm, in the last two days over 100,00 users downloaded Signal, while Telegram saw an estimated 2.2 million downloads across both Apple App Store and Google App Store.

In comparison, new WhatsApp downloads decreased by 11%  in the first week of 2021 alone. Having said that, the app still saw an estimated 10.5 million downloads, as stated by Sensor Tower. 

(Written by Klaudia Fior)

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