Mar 28, 2025 11:05:00

Signal messaging app downloads surge after US government data leak scandal; downloads increase 42% in Yemen

TechCrunch has reported that Signal downloads have increased in the wake of a case in which senior US government officials were found to be using the messaging app to discuss secret military operations and accidentally invited members of the media to join the group .

Signal downloads spike in the US and Yemen amid government scandal | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/27/signal-downloads-spike-in-the-us-and-yemen-amid-government-scandal/

Signal is a messaging app that is considered highly secure, and Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence who oversees the intelligence agencies in the Trump administration, explained that 'when face-to-face meetings are not possible, we encourage the use of encrypted apps like Signal, and Signal is pre-installed on government devices.'

The head of the US intelligence agency admits that Signal is pre-installed on government devices, despite the government telling employees not to use it - GIGAZINE

by Focal Foto

However, when Michael Waltz, the White House's chief advisor, mistakenly invited Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, to a 'small group of Houthi PCs' discussing how to respond to the Yemeni militant group, the Houthi. As Goldberg watched, they discussed plans to attack the Houthis, resulting in information that could be considered classified being leaked to civilians. After the White House and intelligence agencies explained that the chats did not contain classified information, Goldberg made the contents of the chats public, with only the names of the CIA employees concealed.

The Atlantic, which is in the midst of a controversy over a case in which a civilian was invited to a US military planning Signal chat group, releases a large number of screenshots, leaving vivid records such as 'the target was seen entering his girlfriend's house' - GIGAZINE

The whole affair has been about government officials sharing military plans on a private app that is not controlled by the U.S. government, but the fact that cabinet members defended their use of Signal at public hearings has drawn attention to the security of Signal, which is end-to-end encrypted. TechCrunch reported that, citing data from Appfigures , which analyzes app store download trends, since Goldberg published the information about Signal, downloads of the app have increased 28% over the past 30 days.

On March 24, 2025, the day The Atlantic first revealed the problem, Signal downloads increased by 45% in the United States compared to the daily average over the past 30 days. In Yemen, one of the settings in the problem, downloads increased by 42%. In Yemen, Signal jumped from 50th to 9th in the ranking of 'social media apps.'

Signal has not commented on the matter.