What is Signal & Who is Brian Acton?
The Signal cross-platform messaging application is known and advertised for its end-to-end encryption features, offering one-to-one and group messages, voice calls, and video calls. Users can also send files, voicenotes, images and videos in both one-to-one and group messages. Additionally, the Android version of Signal can optionally function as an SMS app in, what we’re guessing, is a similarity to the Facebook Messenger and Google Hangouts applications. The Signal app was founded and released by Moxie Marlinspike through his Open Whisper Systems project. It was initially released in July 2014 as “Signal” but was originally two communication separate platforms.
Signal was originally two separate, encrypted communication platforms: RedPhone, a voice calling app, and TextSecure, a texting program. Both of the applications were first launched by Whisper Systems in May 2010, a startup co-founded by Moxie Marlinspike, a cryptographer and computer security researcher, and Stuart Anderson, a roboticist. They also produced proprietary firewall and encryption softwares for other data types, all of which were only made available for the Android OS. By November 2011, the company was acquired by Twitter in a closed deal. Soon after, RedPhone became unavailable. Twitter released TextSecure in December 2011 and RedPhone in July 2012 with free, open-source GPLv3 licenses. Marlinspike left Twitter later and founded Open Whisper Systems (OWS) in January 2013 to continue development for the two apps.
In February 2014, he released the second version of the TextSecure Protocol with end-to-end encryption and instant messaging. By July 2014, OWS announced merging the two apps into one platform named “Signal”. Over time, they merged the two apps for Android, iOS and a web client capability as well. By March 2017, OWS was able to add a video calling feature for the mobile apps.
This is where Brian Acton, an American internet services entrepreneur, comes into the timeline. Marlinspike and Acton co-founded Signal Foundation as a 501(c)(3) non-for-profit organization in February 2018 with Acton’s self-investment of $50 Million and a mission to “develop open-source privacy technology that protects free expression and enables secure global communication” and “support, accelerate, and broaden Signal’s mission of making private communication accessible and ubiquitous.” Acton became the foundation’s Executive Chairman while Marlinspike continues as Signal Messenger’s CEO, running Signal completely as a donations-backed application.
Signal, however, would not be Brian Acton’s first messaging application that would come under his accomplishments in internet multimedia messaging platforms. Many years ago, after working with Rockwell International, Apple Inc and Adobe Systems, Acton was hired by Yahoo Inc. in 1996 and met Jan Koum, Ukrainian-American entrepreneur and computer programmer, who joined the company in 1998. Both of them left Yahoo! in September 2007, and took a year off to travel South America. Next year, they failed to get employed at Facebook.
By January 2009, Jan Koum had bought an iPhone, something that prompted Acton to realise the potential behind the 7-month-old App Store’s need for a whole new suit of apps and eventually develop WhatsApp with Alex Fishman and Koum, the latter of whom chose the name because it sounded like “what’s up”. WhatsApp was co-founded and incorporated by Koum and Acton in February 2009. In February 2014, they sold WhatsApp to Facebook for US$19 Billion, making it the buyer’s largest acquisition to date! Just four years later, Acton and Marlinspike co-founded the Signal Foundation with Acton’s investment, putting the former’s name on another famous cross-platform multimedia messaging and communications platform.
This year, Signal has seen a massive surge in users since WhatsApp’s updates in their privacy policy and data usage, driving traffic to other platforms including Signal. In fact, the world’s richest human and CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, Elon Musk endorsed the app via Twitter as well! This prompted the app to be installed by over 100k people between January 7th and 8th.
Signal can easily be downloaded through the Google Play Store, the Apple App Store or through their website if you want the desktop version for Windows, Mac or Linux!
Credit: Robert Gallagher/Forbes 2018
4 Comments
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Brian is some big guy!!
He really is!