Signal Messaging App

Signal is a cross-platform centralized encrypted messaging service developed by the non-profit Signal Technology Foundation and its subsidiary, Signal Messenger LLC. The app’s origins date back to 2010 with the launch of TextSecure and RedPhone by Whisper Systems, a startup co-founded by Moxie Marlinspike and Stuart Anderson. After a brief acquisition by Twitter, Marlinspike founded Open Whisper Systems in 2013 to continue developing secure communication tools, ultimately merging them into the Signal app in 2014.

In 2018, Marlinspike partnered with WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton to establish the Signal Technology Foundation, which is headquartered in Mountain View, California. The foundation was initially funded by a $50 million loan from Acton to ensure the project remained independent of corporate interests or advertising models. Unlike many tech giants, Signal is a non-profit entity that prioritizes user privacy through the Signal Protocol, an end-to-end encryption system that has become the industry standard. Because it is a software product, its "manufacturing" or development is rooted in the United States, where its core engineering and leadership teams are based.