Earlier this month, Facebook issued an ultimatum to users, telling them that they have about a month to agree to the company’s new and updated privacy policy, or to stop using the application altogether. Many users do not realize that this only affects how other companies (enterprises) can contact users. Instead, they download alternative products such as the super secure Signal Messenger and the less secure (but feature-rich) Telegram.
Within a week after the WhatsApp policy was strongly opposed, Signal continued to set off a wave of anti-WhatsApp sentiment, with downloads exceeding the 50 million mark.it Recently added WhatsApp features include “About” section, chat background and animated stickers. However, a new report by The Verge now suggests that Signal may face withdrawal from its own employees in the direction of the application’s development, and fears that it may be used for dangerous and harmful purposes.
read more: Signal adds more WhatsApp features, saying privacy should not be “delayed” or “confused”
The report quoted former Signal employee Gregg Bernstein (Gregg Bernstein), who left the organization out of concern, and pointed out that Signal did not consider establishing policies on identifying and blocking problematic users from the platform. According to him, the creator of the app has responded to an employee that if people (for example, far-right extremists) start abusing Signal, the non-profit organization will respond, which makes people worry that there is no appropriate strategy to deal with Potential abuse.
Signal’s founder Moxie Marlinspike told The Verge that because the app is designed in such a way that employees cannot see the content of any messages on the Internet, no specific content strategy is required. He also said that Signal neither amplifies content through algorithms like social media networks, nor does it provide a large number of amplification opportunities. Marlinspike may refer to features found on WhatsApp or Telegram, such as broadcast lists or multiple message forwarding-features not currently provided by Signal.
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According to the report, employees are also concerned about the development of app features that they think might be abused by users, such as in-app payments (which may be anti-monitoring and privacy-friendly), and allowing users to register apps without phone numbers, please Choose a username.
The latter is an extremely widely requested feature in applications that used to usually require a phone number-this makes it difficult for users with sensitive needs to communicate securely, or just talk to random strangers or acquaintances without sharing your phone number with them. So far, no examples have been found involving fascist or far-right organizations or other dangerous groups that use Signal in public.
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Marlins Parker also said that although it is important for him not to “be killed by a signal in order to establish a false neutrality between the good and the bad”, he will hire an employee to engage in policy, trust Issues related to safety.