JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In the wake of Facebook and Twitter cracking down on what has been deemed speech that incites violence following the attack on the U.S. Capitol, concerns being raised about WhatsApp’s privacy changes, Apple and Google removing the Parler app from their app stores, and Amazon kicking Parler off its web-hosting service, the Signal and Telegram apps are reportedly seeing downloads soar.
Both Signal and Telegram offer encryption services. The idea behind using an app with encryption capabilities is to keep prying eyes and ears from seeing and hearing your conversations.
Those services allow people to go undetected if they are trying to spread false information, but cybersecurity expert Chris Hamer says the dispersal of messages to a mass audience is what undermines encryption.
“End-to-end encryption is designed to protect you from interception between your device and your intended recipient. If you have multiple recipients, then the transmission of the message is not so much the concern as much as what happens after it’s been received, who receives it, who distributes it from that point on,” Hamer said. “The greater your audience, the greater your encryption is going to be pointless.”
In other words, the more people you allow into your online conversations, the more likely an undercover law enforcement officer is there to infiltrate what has been said or shown.
“If you don’t properly vet the people you’re sending your message to, then you’re defeating the point of encryption,” Hamer said.
A Sensor Tower representative told Business Insider that “Signal saw approximately 7.5 million installs globally from across the App Store and Google Play” from Wednesday to Sunday. CNBC reports that “Telegram saw 5.6 million downloads globally” during the same time frame, according to Apptopia.
On Monday, the FBI warned of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington, D.C., in the days leading up to the inauguration.