Updated:
Readtime: 4 min
Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here.
The Signal Gaff
According to reports, Musk was likely referring to Signal, the encrypted messaging service and WhatsApp alternative. It comes as news breaks surrounding the beleagured Parler app, which was revealed to have been embroiled in a data breach, following some contentious ties to the failed Capitol Building Coup. In fact, accoring to Gizmodo, a group of hackers have successfully archived “99 per cent” of the site’s public contents, which hacker @donk_enby said includes a trove of “very incriminating evidence of who participated in the Capitol raid”. For Musk fans who took the tweet as an invitation to jump on Signal as an alternative, they missed the mark entirely. The platform is developed by a non-profit, the Signal Foundation and is not a publicly traded company, meaning fans who rushed to purchase a piece of the pie found themselves clambering for shares in a totally different enterprise. Hilariously, shares of ‘Signal Advance’, a completely unrelated technology component manufacturing company headquartered in Rosharon, Texas skyrocketed after the tweet early on January 7.According to Quartz, prior to Musk’s tweet, shares of Signal Advance hadn’t climbed above 60 cents. Due almost entirely to investor confusion, the stock closed at $3.76 on Jan. 7, and $7.19 on Jan. 8. Momentum continued to swell even further yesterday, pushing the closing price to $38.70, an increase of 6,350% over three trading sessions.
That figure has returned to normality slightly in the hours since, buoyed by a sense of regret and an overwhelming sense of buyer’s remorse. Nevertheless, fans of the South-African billionaire and current world’s richest man title holder, find themselves returning to the initial question – What is Signal? The real Signal app, not the manufacturing company, we mean.
Where Do I Join Signal?
While Elon’s misconstrued promotion may have had some unexpected results, the app is actually very useful and offers, at a glance, far greater levels of security and encryption. Signal is free to use, with no ads, trackers, or price for uploading or transferring files between users. They are an entirely independent nonprofit that isn’t tied to any major tech companies, and they can never be acquired by one either. If this sounds like the secure messaging app for you, you can download the app for both Apple and Android devices with the link below. Signal (iOS) Signal (Android)Signal Messaging App FAQs
Put simply, Signal is a simple, powerful, and secure messenger app. Signal started to gain traction after Elon’s tweet, but the app has earned the spotlight to showcase what a fully end-to-end encrypted communication app is made of.
Signal, it’s an entirely independent nonprofit that isn’t tied to any major tech companies. They can never be acquired by one either, so you don’t have to worry about privacy policies influencing your security.
As of January 12th 2021, the richest person in the world is Elon Musk.
For a deeper dive, head to our ultimate guide: Oscar-Winning Filmmaker Takes on Elon Musk in New Documentary.
Comments
We love hearing from you. or to leave a comment.