Facebook’s WhatsApp changes its privacy policy on February 8th, when that happens It will start sharing some user information with Facebook, Including location, phone numbers, profile names, photos, the last time you logged in online, and more. People are now flocking to an alternative text messaging app called Signal that doesn’t collect your data.

to me ReutersDaily downloads have increased 18-fold since WhatsApp changed its privacy policy, exceeding 800,000 daily downloads. This was likely reinforced in part by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who tweeted with Signal earlier this month.

Signal, like WhatsApp, is a chat app that allows you to send messages and call friends and family using end-to-end encryption, which means your messages are more protected and not easily read by anyone, including Signal itself. It supports group messaging and other fun features that you might already use in chat apps, such as GIFs, videos, and photos. It even has encrypted group video calls, although support is limited to five people at present. It is completely free and you can use it on iPhone, Android, Mac, Windows PC and Linux devices.

Signal isn’t a huge tech company that strives to make money with your information either. It is a registered non-profit organization It depends on donations To run. The free app does not collect your private information nor does it contain any ads.

Here’s how to use it.

• Download Signal for iPhone or Male in appearance.
• Enter your phone number. This is so Signal can send you a text message and verify that you are the one using the app.
• Enter the code you received via text message.
• Click on „Register without Transfer“. If you have used Signal before, you can choose „Transfer from an iOS device“ to download your old conversations, but for the sake of this guide, we assume you haven’t used Signal yet.
• You are now at the Signal home screen.
• Click on the pencil icon in the top right to create a message.
• You can start messaging people who are already using Signal. But you may also need to click „Invite Friends to Signal“ if the contact doesn’t have the app yet. This will allow you to create an email or text message to friends and family with a link to download the app.
• Once they join, you can start chats using the same pencil icon, or create groups, like you do in WhatsApp. You’ll also see read receipts, links to send voice messages, stickers, photos, and more.

This is! You are now ready and working on Signal. If you want to use it instead of WhatsApp, you can delete your WhatsApp chats by clicking on “Modify” at the top left of the chat page. Select your messages and click „Delete.“ A copy of your messages for other users may remain in the chats you have participated in until they also delete the chats.