Who’s coming to Signal?

We rely on digital platforms daily—to communicate, search, and make payments. But that trust is beginning to falter. Since Meta announced on January 7, 2025, that it would stop working with independent fact-checkers while continuing to collect data on WhatsApp users, discomfort has been growing. How much control do we still have over our digital lives? And do we stay on these platforms, or do we seek alternatives like Signal?

For a long time, we believed that digital technology merely facilitates our lives—that it is a neutral tool, an indispensable backbone of our daily routines. But in reality, platforms are not passive services; they shape our behavior and determine who holds power over information and communication. WhatsApp feels like an inevitability, but behind the screen, Meta decides how data is collected and used. The question is not just whether we still trust WhatsApp, but whether we accept the concentration of power among big tech companies.

That concentration is enormous. Meta, Google, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft dominate the digital ecosystem. In an academic journal, media studies professor José van Dijck describes this system using the metaphor of a tree: the roots are the infrastructure—servers, software, and data centers. The trunk consists of major platforms like search engines and social media. The branches? These are the apps we use daily. But the entire tree is controlled by just a few companies. This has consequences for privacy, the economy, and even democracy.

Technology goes through a process of development before it becomes fully embedded in our daily lives. This is well illustrated by the so-called technology pyramid. The pyramid consists of seven layers. At the very bottom is the ‘Envisioned’ stage—a phase where technology is still just an idea, a dream. Think of time travel: we can imagine it, but it doesn’t exist yet. At the very top is ‘Naturalized’. In this stage, technology has become so natural that we hardly think about it anymore. Like cooking—the idea that we heat our food before eating it.

WhatsApp also finds its place in this technology pyramid. The app is widely accepted, but with the rise of Signal, a shift seems to be occurring. Signal is climbing toward ‘Accepted’, while WhatsApp is increasingly being questioned and may be descending in the pyramid. This shows that technology is never static—it constantly evolves based on societal values and priorities.

Alternatives like Signal are gaining ground in the pyramid and tree, and switching to them is more than just a practical choice. It reflects a growing preference for a messaging app that prioritizes privacy and carefully handles user data. WhatsApp seems aware of this shift: the app sends reassuring messages about privacy and tries to retain users. But the question remains—will that be enough to restore trust?

So, what will you do? Will you stay on WhatsApp, or are you switching to Signal?