‘Encryption is deeply threatening to power’: Meredith Whittaker of messaging app Signal

The woman in charge of the secure communication channel remains implacably opposed to the disease' of surveillance - and concerned about the sharing of personal data

Meredith Whittaker practises what she preaches. As the president of the Signal Foundation, she's a strident voice backing privacy for all. But she doesn't just spout hollow words.

In 2018, she burst into public view as one of the organisers of the Google walkouts, mobilising 20,000 employees of the search giant in a twin protest over the company's support for state surveillance and failings over sexual misconduct.