WhatsApp or Signal?

I use WhatsApp but have never heard of Signal so can't help you!

Hi Gwenisgreat1 — I’m told it’s like WhatsApp in the way you use it but it only works with someone else who is on Signal.

Lots of fuss about WhatsApp sharing our info with Facebook etc etc. Honestly my info in lockdown is so boring I tend to think they’re welcome! Thanks for your post!

Signal is much more secure, and your information will not be passed on to advertisers. It works in exactly the same way as WatsApp, just keeps your data out of Mark Zuckerberg's clutches.

You can move everyone onto Signal, or keep everyone on WhatsApp, but obviously not half and half.

Several WhatsApp groups I am in are thinking of changing to Signal. Amongst my family and their friends there is a general aversion to Facebook & co. But everyone would have to agree and install Signal.

I expect we shall all transition to Signal or Telegram eventually and I wish them good luck as they are fighting a huge juggernaut.

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I wish more people would switch to Signal.

Still on What's app here...no problems as far as I can see. DH has an aversion to anything Google so I expect he will want to change.

I use both. Most people I know are happy to use WhatsApp but within our immediate family we use Signal for group chats which is where I see photos of my grandchildren.

WhatsApp

Use Signal as it's completely private. I don't trust Whatsapp or Facebook.

I’m showing my ignorance here, but I thought WhatsApp was encrypted so that it was secure. What is being sold?

I use Signal on the advice of my daughter and my ex and as others have said your data is safer. I’m not a techno but I trust my ex particularly as he has always been interested in online safety issues. Anyway, Signal is pretty much the same in it’s operation.

Apparently the same goes for DuckDuckGo and Opera, alternative search engines.

I use both WhatsApp and Telegram.
Telegram is an alternative and my "techy" friends and family are on that.

I highly recommend the series Startup on Netflix, the company has to deal with just this question of privacy of data. Really enlightening.
My opinion is nothing is secure but I have nothing to hide.

I have been told by ‘techies’ that they only use Signal, but none of them has explained what it is that WhatsApp is supposedly selling. I wonder if it’s just seen to be cool to reject it.

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Signal is more secure and optimized

I have an I phone and gesso that drains my battery fastest is What's app. I have tried to clear all I can think of to reduce the battery drain, the battery is still 89 per cent but it can drain right down whilst out.
Any bright person know what I can do please.

Change to Signal if you like, but it will probably be swallowed up by someone else anyway. It's the way of the world.

As WhatsApp messages are private I also want to know how they sell data. Can anyone enlighten us, as may people here have said this.

Messages you write on WhatsApp to someone else are encrypted. It would be unreadable to someone intercepting it.

However, the mechanics of setting up the sending of a message to someone are not encrypted. The route that a messages takes through a network needs to be read by the various servers it passes through and the destination points known. The IP addresses/identifiers of your device or where you are when you send your messages are not encrypted (if you allow your location to be visible).

The data held on WhatsApp servers about traffic flows, your contact groups and frequency of communication, and their locations is valuable and can be shared with others in the FaceBook group.

Signal is supposed to be non-profit making. However, everyone in the group has to download the Signal App.