Privacy aligned Messaging app signal Flew up in the Dutch app in the Dutch app last month and was often at the top than the most downloaded free app on iOS and Android in all categories, per data from several app tracking platforms Like sensor tower.
The app has experienced popularity over the years, often in response to response Modifications of guidelines for competitors such as WhatsApp or Geopolitical events. This is because Signal has made a name for itself as a privacy-it is operated by a non-profit foundation (albeit in the USA) and not as a private company that focuses on monetizing data. Signal also follows minimal metadata.
In 2025 it is not surprising that a new US president who is capable of the warm hug of Big Tech President Trump’s anger attracted anger.
But what is particularly striking this time is the importance of signal in a very specific area of
In Interview with Dutch Zeitung de Telegraaf last week, signal president Meredith Whittaker It was found that the number of “new registrations” in the Netherlands was a factor of 25 this year, although it is not clear how exactly the period for this data is.
When asked why the Netherlands have recorded such growth, Whittaker pointed to a combination of factors: “Awareness of privacy, distrust of Big Tech and the political reality in which people can see how vulnerable digital communication can be,” said Whittaker.
Data that TechCrunch provided by App Intelligence company available Apple The increase of the charts signals in the Netherlands. According to the data, the signal on January 1 took 365th place among the iPhone apps in the Netherlands in the Netherlands and did not appear in the list of top overall apps. Then, from January 5, it began to climb the ranking and reach the top position until February 2.
The signal fell into the lead in the weeks in between and spent about half of the February on the summit – including daily since February 22nd. The Apppfigendes estimates that the downloads in Apple and Google were spent in December 2024 by 99,000 to 99,000 to 99,000 to 23,000 to 23,000 to 23,000 to 23,000 years.
While part of this growth is due to lower saturation than in other markets, the persistent position of the app at the top is noteworthy compared to similar neighboring markets in a similar size.
“No other markets come close in the Netherlands in terms of growth between December and February,” Apppfigige told Techcrunch.
For comparison: Belgium has grew by more than 250%since December, Sweden by 153%and Denmark by 95%.
Why could one signal what a Redditor could experience as “as” classified “?Mass adoption moment”In the Netherlands?
Clear signal
Step back to ZengerSenior Policy Advisor at Dutch Digital Rights Foundation FreedomSaid, although it is difficult to determine a certain reason, he is not surprised.
The recent developments in the United States have seen The big platform providers Compliance with the new Trump administration, and this has conducted an important public and media debate. Europe’s trust in the technology of huge private US companies has become a focus in this debate.
“Like many others, the Dutch are very dependent on the infrastructure of extremely dominant technology companies, mainly from the USA,” Zenger told Techcrunch. “What this means and the risks resulting from it have been demonstrated nicely in the past few weeks. As a result, the public debate in the Netherlands was relatively sharp. Where in the past this problem was ‘discussed’ only at the level of ‘discussed’Which immediate messenger should I use?“I now have the feeling that we also have the debate on higher levels:”We should get rid of this dependency. ‘”
In this context, the public could connect the dominance to the abuse of data protection. With companies like Meta are regular examined And Fine Signal may seem the smaller evil through the data protection practices: it is based in the United States, but is operated by a non -profit organization, which the encryption of both the news content and the Metadata around them.
Vincent BöhreDirector at Dutch Privacy Organization Privacy firstalso indicated increased reporting on the media and a broader change in public opinion.
“Since Trump was re-elected in the United States a few months ago, there have been a lot of” musk “by Trump and (Elon) in Dutch and European mainstream media, including the Bashing of American Big Tech companies that now seem to support Trump.” Articles in which X (formerly Twitter) and Meta have been criticized everywhere in Dutch media. Dutch public opinion has led: Even people who have never really taken care of privacy and security on social media have suddenly been interested in alternatives to privacy. “
Intent signal
While the Netherlands are only a market of 18 million people in a European population of more than 700 million, the increase in adoption could signal a wider trend on the continent, especially if governments are trying to reduce data protection regulations.
Apple, for example, recently End-to-end encryption drawn From iCloud in Great Britain to the fight against government efforts to install a back door.
Speak at Rightscon 25 This week in Taiwan, Whittaker confirmed Signal’s unshakable attitude towards privacy.
“The position of Signal is very clear- we will not decrease, falsify, falsify or otherwise disrupt the robust privacy and security guarantees on which people depend on.” Said Whittaker. “Whether this disorder or backdoor is called the client side or the removal of the encryption protection from one or the other characteristics, similar to Apple, in the UK.”
Separated in Interview with The Swedish public service broadcasting SVT, Whittaker, said the signal would not comply with a proposed Swedish law according to which messaging app manufacturers would have to save messages.
“In practice, this means asking us to break the encryption that is the basis of our entire business,” said Whittaker. “We ask ourselves to store data, our entire architecture and we would never do it. We would rather leave the Swedish market completely. “
Techcrunch turned to a comment, but hadn’t heard anything at the time of publication.
