Signal Messaging Platform Restored after Surge Prompts Outage
upstart writes in with an IRC submission:
WhatsApp changes: Signal messaging platform restored after surge prompts outage:
Messaging platform Signal says it has resolved technical problems which have hampered its service over the past few days, after seeing a rush of new users.
On Friday, some users reported messages failing to send on both the mobile and desktop apps for several hours.
The company has seen a huge uptick in interest since its rival WhatsApp unveiled new privacy terms last week.
It urged users to continue with the service and report any further problems.
Both Signal and Telegram, another free-to-use encrypted messaging app, have benefited from discontent sparked by WhatsApp's updated terms and conditions.
[...] According to data from analytics firm Sensor Tower, Signal was downloaded 246,000 times worldwide in the week before WhatsApp announced the change on 4 January, and 8.8 million times the week after.
In India, downloads went from 12,000 to 2.7 million. In the UK, they leapt from 7,400 to 191,000, and in the US from 63,000 to 1.1 million.
On Wednesday, Telegram said it had surpassed 500 million active users globally. Downloads jumped from 6.5 million in the week starting 28 December, to 11 million during the following week.
During the same period, WhatsApp's global downloads shrank from 11.3 million to 9.2 million.
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