After WhatsApp announced some major changes to its privacy policy, Elon Musk – the world's richest man – urged his followers to take their messaging elsewhere.
In a tweet on Thursday, the Tesla chief executive simply said: "Use Signal". The messenger app is an alternative to WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger and, following the updates to WhatsApp, will offer users more privacy surrounding their personal data.
The prompt from the entrepreneur, who made his name and fortune through upcoming technologies, was enough for people to not only make the switch, but to attempt to cash in on the under-the-radar app before its users skyrocketed.
On Saturday, the Signal app tweeted a graph showing a flurry of people had invested in the Signal Advance app since Musk's comment. However, the messaging platform said that app was not related.
"Is this what stock analysts mean when they say that the market is giving mixed Signals?" the tweet said. "It's understandable that people want to invest in Signal's record growth, but this isn't us. We're an independent 501(c)(3) and our only investment is in your privacy."
Signal has since shot to the top of the app store in many countries around the world, including India, Hong Kong, France, Austria and Germany.
WhatsApp’s new privacy policy asks users to share personal information with its parent company – Facebook – or have their accounts deactivated.
Users are being told about the updated privacy policy through an in-app alert, which directs them to agree to the new conditions. For now, users can opt to ignore the alert. However, that will not be the case after February 8.
"After this date, you'll need to accept these updates to continue using WhatsApp," the alert reads. Users can visit the app's Help Centre if they prefer to have their accounts deleted, it added.
A deeper look into the app’s new terms includes an abstract of how WhatsApp intends to share user information with Facebook.
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Mr Musk unveils a new all-wheel-drive version of the Model S car in Hawthorne, California, in 2014. Reuters -
Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Getty Images -
Mr Musk with music producer Quincy Jones. AFP -
The wealthiest person in the world with a worth of $274.3 billion, Mr Musk was named 'Person of the Year' by 'Time' magazine in 2021. Getty Images -
Focus on Mr Musk's taxes grew last year as Tesla achieved a rarefied $1 trillion in market value. Reuters -
The billionaire has hit back, saying he does not draw a salary from either SpaceX or Tesla, and pays an effective tax rate of 53 per cent on stock options he exercises. AFP -
Then US president Barack Obama speaks to Mr Musk on a tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, in 2010. Reuters -
Mr Musk during a television interview after Tesla's initial public offering at the Nasdaq market in New York, in 2010. Reuters -
With former wife Talulah Riley at the 2011 Orange British Academy Film Awards in London. Getty Images -
With Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe after a test drive of the Tesla Model S P85D in Palo Alto, California, in 2015. Reuters -
Mr Musk during the 67th International Astronautics Congress in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2016. EPA -
From left: SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk, Corning chief executive Wendell Weeks, then US president Donald Trump and Johnson & Johnson chief executive Alex Gorsky during a meeting at the White House. AFP -
Mr Musk and former wife Grimes at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, in 2018. AFP -
Mr Musk leaves a court in New York City, in 2019, after a hearing in a lawsuit brought against him by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Getty Images -
A prototype of SpaceX's Starship spacecraft is seen before Mr Musk gives an update on the company's Mars rocket Starship in Boca Chica, Texas, in 2019. Reuters -
Mr Musk at the construction site of the Tesla Gigafactory in Gruenheide, near Berlin, Germany, last year. EPA -
Dancing onstage during a delivery event for Tesla's China-made Model 3 cars in Shanghai. Reuters -
Mikey Day as a lawyer, Cecily Strong as a judge, and host Elon Musk as Wario during the "Wario" sketch on NBC's 'Saturday Night Live', in May. Getty Images -
Mr Musk with Armin Laschet, CDU party federal chairman and prime minister of Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia, talk during a tour of the plant of the future foundry of the Tesla Gigafactory in Grünheide, near Berlin, Germany. Getty Images
“As part of the Facebook family of companies, WhatsApp receives information from, and shares information with, this family of companies,” the policy reads.
“We may use the information we receive from them, and they may use the information we share with them, to help operate, provide, improve, understand, customise, support and market our services and their offerings.”
However, it seems that chats within the app will not be shared with Facebook – at least, not yet. As the chats are encrypted, neither Facebook nor WhatsApp can view conversations even if they wanted to.
The kind of information that will be shared across the platforms is likely to include phone numbers, mobile device information, IP addresses, diagnostic data, profile pictures and names.
The updated policy will also allow the company to also gather information about a phone’s hardware, such as battery level and service status.
