Signal down due to huge user influx; company working on a fix

Since WhatsApp introduced its new privacy policy update, many people have started shifting to alternate apps like Telegram and Signal. Such a huge influx was not expected by Signal, which is now facing connectivity issues. The issues started cropping up at 8:30 PM IST on January 15, with users reporting about the global outage on the site status tracker, DownDetector and multiple social media platforms.

Taking a look at the numbers, Signal was downloaded over 17.8 million times over the past seven days. (Image: DownDetector)

The app continues to face connectivity issues according to DownDetector, at a smaller base than when the issues started coming up. We at BGR.in were able to confirm this on our personal devices as well.

The company on its official Twitter account has acknowledged the issue and stated that it has been adding new servers and extra capacity at a record pace. (Screenshot)

The app homepage currently shows a red banner stating, “Signal is experiencing technical difficulties. We are working hard to restore service as quickly as possible.”

The company on its official Twitter account has acknowledged the issue and stated that it has been adding new servers and extra capacity at a record pace. However, this was the largest day for the company as it exceeded its most optimistic projections.  It stated that “millions upon millions of new users are sending a message that privacy matters.”

We have been adding new servers and extra capacity at a record pace every single day this week nonstop, but today exceeded even our most optimistic projections. Millions upon millions of new users are sending a message that privacy matters. We appreciate your patience.

— Signal (@signalapp) January 15, 2021

It since then at regular intervals has been posting that it is working on getting the service back online, while at the same time adding capacity to handle peak traffic levels.

We are still working as quickly as possible to bring additional capacity online to handle peak traffic levels.

— Signal (@signalapp) January 16, 2021

Taking a look at the numbers, Signal was downloaded over 17.8 million times over the past seven days. Brian Acton, Signal Foundation co-founder stated that the expansion in recent days had been “vertical”.

In related news, WhatsApp just announced that it is extending its privacy policy acceptance deadline from February 8 to May 15. It said that there is a lot of misconception around this, and it will slowly address it to all users making them feel comfortable that their data is safe.

from BGR India https://ift.tt/35LcJiO
via IFTTT