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Signal Sees Its Downloads Double After Scandal
The recent scandal surrounding The Atlantic’s editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg being added to a group chat with high-ranking officials in the Trump administration has had an unexpected consequence for encrypted messaging app Signal – a significant surge in downloads. According to app intelligence provider Appfigures, Signal saw a 26% increase in downloads on the day the news broke, followed by a massive spike of 193,000 and then 195,000 downloads just two days later.
Typically, the app sees an average of 95,000 daily downloads. This unprecedented growth is attributed to the increased visibility and awareness Signal has gained due to the controversy. The old adage “all press is good press” seems to have played out in this scenario as thousands of new users are likely introduced to the app for the first time.
It’s worth noting that Appfigures has been tracking the impact of the scandal on Signal’s app from day one, previously reporting a 28% increase in downloads across iOS and Google Play on the Monday when the news initially broke. The country with the highest percentage increase in downloads was Yemen, with a remarkable 42% surge.
The Trump administration has dismissed the incident as non-serious, stating that “war plans” were not shared through the encrypted chat app. However, The Atlantic later published full message threads revealing officials discussing the time, location, and weapons to be used in the attack.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/31/signal-sees-its-downloads-double-after-scandal/
