SIGNAL App – Encrypted Messaging Big Tech & Big Brother Don’t Like

I have been using a messaging app named ” Signal ” for some time. Given today’s climate of privacy invasion by Big-Tech platforms as well as .gov, I just wanted to let you know about this.

Big-Tech & .gov Privacy Intrusion

The Big-Tech companies who have social messaging platforms do read and archive your every message. One very common messaging app is “Messenger” (for example). Most everyone has it on their phones and use it. Why? Because it’s quite convenient for communicating with someone on your contacts list. There are other popular apps as well.

However, if you are at all interested or concerned about your own privacy when messaging to someone else (be it text, voice, video), a best way to mitigate this is to use encryption. This is where the “Signal” app comes in…

Signal Messaging App – Everything Is Encrypted

EVERYTHING. It’s all encrypted when you use it. End to end. It’s all open-source, nothing proprietary. No fees. It all happens in the background and it’s so easy to use – just like “messenger”.

Signal.org is a non-profit. Look for it in your “app store” on your device.

State-of-the-art end-to-end encryption (powered by the open source Signal Protocol). It keeps your conversations secure. We can’t read your messages or listen to your calls. No one else can either. Privacy isn’t an optional mode — it’s just the way that Signal works. Every message, every call, every time.

No ads and trackers. No kidding. There are no ads, no affiliate marketers, and no creepy tracking in Signal. So focus on sharing the moments that matter with the people who matter to you.

Free for Everyone. Signal is an independent nonprofit. We’re not tied to any major tech companies. We can never be acquired by one either. Development is supported by grants and donations from people like you.

~ from Signal.org website

>> I get nothing for promoting this. I’m just putting it out there for your own privacy concerns. Why?

First and foremost, because it protects your messaging/communications/chats. Anything you send or receive while using Signal is encrypted. This makes it very hard for anyone who intercepts the data to work out what’s being said unless they are the specified recipient. Additionally, Signal doesn’t store any user data. So governments and other agencies can’t request it, and it can’t leak out.

Big-Tech gleans the subject matter of your messages and sells it via advertising and targeted ads. You’re constantly tracked. Your Big-Tech (and .gov) profile “dossier” is constantly being updated/built. None of that happens with the Signal app.

Why I Use Signal

“Hey Ken, why do you use an encrypted messaging app instead of a regular one like “Messenger”? What, are you hiding something?”

Because it kind of ticks me off… Big-Tech and Big-Brother reading and archiving normal messaging communications. Continuing to build our online dossiers. It’s none of their business what I say. Especially when speaking “privately” as opposed to commenting on a public blog, forum, or public social media platform.

We are headed in a bad direction. Our privacy, liberty, and free speech are under full assault, in part due to internal anti-American hatred and the New Left Marxist revolution. I would suggest that patriots begin using apps like Signal to keep their private electronic communications – private. Presently it’s the best option out there in my opinion.

This has been a public service announcement for bettering your personal security.

[ Read: Free Secure Private Email ]

33 Comments

    1. No. Both parties must have the Signal app.

      It’s pretty easy though – there’s an option to selectively message people in your contacts list – letting them know you have Signal – so they could download the app too if they want it.

  1. Understand that nothing is truly secure when it comes to digital comms.
    Here are some other methods for more secure digital comms.

    1. Set up a secure private email account. Give the log in to your other users.
    Write draft emails save as draft do not send. You and your users can login and view the email drafts and leave a response as a draft.
    Never send email…

    2. Obscure 10 year old games with chat mode for the game. xbox wii whatever you got. You can chat back and forth with other users playing on the same game.

    3. Face to face conversations.

    Hope this helps keep your vital comms secure and less likely to be intercepted.

    1. All true.

      Additionally, the best private email in my opinion is protonmail

      You can’t beat face-to-face. Delivering the message yourself in person. Just like the old days…

    1. You’re welcome. It’s a good app to be connected – with certain like-minded people within your contacts, for example.

  2. The only method to transfer information that can not be read or other wise be hacked (without the receiver knowing) uses a well known principal in physics known as “entanglement”. “Entanglement” lets the person receiving the information know that the transmission has been intercepted. Other wise anything can be intercepted (hacked). Entanglement – read about it.

  3. pretty sure WhatApp is end to end encryption. Correct me if I’m worng.

      1. What’sApp is owned by Facebook. It is NOT secure. IMHO Facebook has been the absolute worst creation in all of Tech…..

  4. Just downloaded the app. And guess what my son had it and a very good friend already had it on their phones. Who would have guessed, now I’m wondering why they didn’t tell me about it.

  5. I hear that “they” can’t tap into prayer either, at least I pray that they can’t .

    1. Seminole Wind,
      No they can’t tap into prayer. In fact, I have always understood that if your pray ” in the Spirit”, even Satan himself will be confounded. Peace of the Lord be with you.

  6. Sounds like a good app to have, but it saddens me to think Tech or whoever thinks they need to know everything said.I wish we could step back 200 yrs. These are indeed Orwellian times and I already regret the advancements in communications and A.I.we are headed nowhere good.mho.

    1. Encryption of any kinda is against the law on Gam frequencies. So I don’t do it atit all, but if the Fed-Gov went away I’m sure it would be used.

      But ask yourself, “what chance is there of the Bob going away”

      I would say not too much so I don’t plan for breaking the law and the chance of my Amateur call bring take away

  7. “Signal.org is a non-profit. Look for it in your “app store” on your device.”

    but google and everyone else know you downloaded it and how much you use it (metadata).

    Recommend downloading from signal.org not the app stores; probably still sending metadata to google, etc.

  8. I’m reluctant to use any kind of on-line encryption web site as you have to trust people you don’t know and we all the time hear about sites like stores, credit companies and others being hacked.

    But there is another way to pass info that is near impossible to hack.

    A few months ago I bought an Enigma Machine, it’s a slide-rule cipher encode / decode machine.

    It’s made and sold by a company in Florida. It cost $35.00 (I bought 5 of them to give out to family, Brother, Son, Sister and one for a spare) and gives you VERY Strong encryption. As long as the sender and receiver of the message has this machine and the key word or phrase they can send a pretty secure message back and forth.

    I did a lot of reading on this, If you use a One-Time-Pad for your key it’s basically unbreakable. A One-Time-Pad key can’t be broken by any computer now or a future computer. My reading / research says it would take 40-billion years to break a One-Time-Pad ( the earth is 4.5-billion years old and the Universe is 13.7-billion years old)

    The German code was broke by sloppy practice and repetitive use of keys and words. Every German message was preceded by the words “Hile Hitler. These made cracking it somewhat easier then the Germans thought.

    Here is a message I sent my Son in a text.

    Plane Text ” Give Dad a call”

    Encrypted “NAQMQZPHUVTY”

    Without the key word it’s not understandable.

    Do a search for “Enigma Slide Cipher” or the maker “Creative Craft House”

    On their web site they have a video (9-min long) of this machines use. They also have several other cipher machines and numerous other games and puzzles. All if them made out of wood in their Florida shop.

    I also bought a few other wood games from them, Backgammon being one. If you like old-style games, these games could be a good family fun night thing.

    I was watching a documentary on the German WWII Enigma Machine and this thing came up in a search.

    My brother, my Son and Myself are enjoying using this machine.
    Within a few min of using it you will have it’s use down pat.

    In Today’s electronic-world a bit of old-tech can be useful. And with text messaging and this machine / slide rule you can communicate in a very secure way that is a good blend of old and new.

    I mostly bought it to have fun with it. But I now have a notebook with my passwords, both safe codes, garage door codes, bank account codes and where I have some silver hid away.

    I gave this to my Son so he has it if needed when I pass on. He can leave the notebook laying about and no one can figure it out without the key word.

    The build quality of this machine is very good.

    1. Chuck Findlay
      You just filled a wish that I had, a way to communicate that is really private. Thank you.

      p.s. good to see your post.

    2. Chuck Findlay,
      Thanks for this post. Looks like a good tool to have in place.

    3. Chuck,
      thanks for the info!
      Haven’t posted much. Been busier than a one legged man in a butt kicking contest!
      We use a particular book for our encrypted messages. The book is the key. As long as you have the same edition book it cant be broken.
      Page number,word number.We added additional code letters too.Im thinking the machine would be quicker though.
      We have used it on our radios too.The letter codes save time as they can be set up to mean words or phrases. Using a number after the letter can give you a whole lot of info quickly.
      Example: E1 =at your location.
      B7=ETA 5hours
      E1B7 is the length of message
      Both have to have the same code sheet.
      Need to have another system if they shut down the net…

      1. BJH & CF –

        You two bring up something that has been on my mind for some time, yet I cannot find an answer. When we reach a phase when all national reporting is done by radio updates and private communications are solely done by HAM operators, what encryption strategies do you think will be employed?

        I know for the national broadcasts a statement such as “The fox is in the henhouse” can indicate to service members that D.C. has been occupied, yet the general public would have no way to decode that message since that would be a communique in their internal encryption structure. But for all of you who are HAM operators have you worked out a means to send and receive your own encrypted messages amongst yourselves that would be as secure, since others will be tuned in to your conversations? Is it something that HAM clubs have put into place and are practicing? I would assume it would have to be a book involving different frequencies for different days of the month, coupled with a variety of tools such as the one Chuck has mentioned to even have a chance at being secure, yet have not seen or heard anything from the HAM’s that I know to indicate such a plan exists. Not that I want you to lay out any specifics that could undermine it, merely just looking into whether it is being done because it got me to thinking about MSB followers.

        Ken’s got one of the broadest, most geographically dispersed audiences that I know. If this site goes down it sure would be nice to still hear an update from all the states that we are each located in. Yet to do so, we’d need HAM. But it seems we’d need some means to not have our conversations “overheard” too, given some of what may need to be conveyed. All of which would take lots of planning and time, so I doubt it would be possible. Yet still wonder if others have been working out those details amongst themselves.

        1. we have used this type of system for many years in our group.
          Obviously you have to trust the people with the code. The more people who have it the more chance it can be discovered and corrupted.
          We have a few trusted Hams across the states.
          The biggest problem will be sifting out disinformation/misinformation.
          Some folks most likely will set up nonthreatening pages and videos to send info for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear .
          Cooking,dog ,cat ,gardening pages are a few pages possibly.
          Think outside the box M’Lynn…

        2. Thank you BJH! That’s actually quite reassuring to hear that great folks are already engaged in solving how to make it work.

        3. M’Lynn,
          Just a general comment here, under FCC rules for Ham radio transmissions the sending of Encrypted messages is illegal. This is not widely enforced. But it could be in the future, and could result in losing a Ham License. Something to keep in mind if you are thinking along these lines.

        4. Minerjim,
          I wasn’t talking about encryption with Hams.I meant that we have Ham operators to give accurate information as they can from their location.I should of been more clear.
          my example was for texts or conversations. Radios used between neighbors or group members.Posts on a FB Page.
          You can work code into a casual conversation.
          It really depends how bad things get…

        5. BJH,
          Got it. Kind of like the Navajo Code Talkers would say, “Just saw a flock of Big Birds” to pass on the observation of a squadron of enemy bombers.

        6. Which was what I meant as well. A spoken phrase that would only be understandable to someone within the “MSB Club”, like “In weather news, Lauren reports the monsoon season has arrived and TMC is snowed in at the moment” to indicate that both were dealing with outsiders arriving. Only we would know what was actually be conveyed.

        7. Minerjim&M’Lynn,
          exactly right.
          We use some of those phrases here already.NRP’s 600 rolls, harsh winter,storm brewing,head on a swivel,sending prayers and other phrases used here…we know the meanings while someone new would not.
          A couple phrases we use when doing security for group members/kids over our comms in public:
          guy/woman in the blue shirt/yellow dress could use a haircut=heads up,potential threat.
          raining out=problem outside of the store we are in.
          Simple phrases the better btw…

        8. Bill Jenkins Horse I am mildly surprised you didn’t mention a duress phrase to indicate stay away I’m compromised! And a duress code for I’m personally in trouble (when they need alert assistance for trouble).

          Was handy in a Wal-Mart with my beloved just this week. Happily it resolved easily enough. The person involved “mistook” my wife for someone they were unhappy with but figured it out when I and a Wal-Mart friend showed up to chat with them.

          Even in normally polite NH folks are getting stressed.

          100 some odd days until the General Elections of Nov 3rd. More than just the President, enough Senators and such to change the D vs R ratios.

  9. I’m not staying free on-line programed & apps are all bad.

    But an internet security expert (I watched in a video interview) said “if you are not praying for the product, you are the product.

    The company has to make money somehow. If You get it for free it’s a good chance they are collecting and selling your info.

    It can hardly be otherwise as money drives all companies.

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