Signal faces technical problems after influx of new users

Following an influx of new users in the last week, Signal, which is a free encrypted messenger service and rival to Facebook, has been experiencing technical difficulties. 

Millions of new users have now downloaded the app. However, many have experienced problems with sending messages on mobile and desktop. 

Additionally, earlier in the week, the app said it was struggling to accommodate the high number of new users and was struggling to provide verification codes to log in. 

The company said in a tweet, “Signal is experiencing technical difficulties. We are working hard to restore service as quickly as possible.”

Why are consumers switching to Signal?

A large number of consumers are choosing to leave WhatsApp following the recent scandal and concerns over its new privacy policies. 

There’s been a lot of discontent over the updates, which mean users must share their data, including their IP addresses, phone number and name, information about the make and model of phone, and payments and financial transactions, with Facebook if they want to continue using the service. 

Because of this, alternatives like Signal and Telegram have received much more attention than users. A lot of users have already downloaded one of these options. 

According to Sensor Tower, an analytics company, there were over 246,000 extra downloads of Signal globally the week after Facebook announced the changes to its policies. During the following week, this rose to 8.8 million additional downloads. 

During this period, downloads of WhatsApp reduced dramatically, with global downloads going from 11.3 million to 9.2 million in the week after the announcement. 

How to check if Signal is down

Going forward, Signal users can see if the service is down or having difficulties by checking: 

1. Signal’s website

Consumers can check the status of the app by checking the companies website for official updates and the latest information about any outages. 

2. Social media

Another way to check the app’s status is by checking the company’s social media accounts. Its Twitter account, in particular, is a great place to get updates. 

3. Downdetector

Alternatively, users can use Downdetector to get updates on any problems on the app. This is a free service that includes real-time reports from other users experiencing issues.