It鈥檚 an encrypted messaging app for group chats with family, friends and colleagues 鈥 and, if you鈥檙e the United States government, for planning military strikes with the vice president of the United States, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency and the secretary of defence.
Signal has taken centre stage after The Atlantic revealed this week its editor in chief was inadvertently added to a group chat on the app in which members of聽U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration planned strikes on the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The story has quickly consumed the United States media, occupying front pages from New York to Los Angeles. The drip-drip continued Wednesday, when 鈥 minus the name of a CIA officer mentioned in the chat 鈥 that revealed specific strike details were shared 31 minutes before the first U.S. warplanes launched, putting American soldiers at risk.
- Tara Copp The Associated Press
The White House has sought to downplay what critics are calling a stunning and cavalier security breach. 鈥淭his entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin,鈥 White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt .
So what, really, is Signal and the ongoing “Signalgate” scandal?聽
What is Signal?
Signal, run by a non-profit, is available on iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux and sells itself as a 鈥渟imple, powerful and secure鈥 messaging app with an 鈥渦nexpected focus on privacy.鈥
It says it has end-to-end encryption, meaning the company and others can鈥檛 read user messages or listen to calls.
In recent days, Signal has shot to the top of the app store charts in North America. On Wednesday morning, it was ranked 18th on the Apple store in Canada and 13th in the U.S.
How secure is Signal, really?
While it promises total privacy and is more secure than conventional texting and many messaging apps, Signal can still be hacked.
A day before the strikes in Yemen, the U.S. Department of Defense warned its employees about the app鈥檚 vulnerabilities 鈥 specifically that Russia was trying to hack the app, according to the Associated Press.
And days after the strike, the Pentagon internally told its employees that Signal had 鈥渧ulnerabilities鈥 from Russian professional hackers using Signal鈥檚 linked devices features to spy on conversations, . Another 2023 memo obtained by NPR warned against using Signal for nonpublic information.
- Tara Copp The Associated Press
In a , Signal said these warnings have 鈥渘othing to do with Signal鈥檚 core tech,鈥 but are a 鈥渨arning against phishing scams targeting Signal users.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a flaw in our encryption or any of Signal鈥檚 underlying technology,鈥 the company posted. 鈥淧hishing attacks are a constant threat for popular apps and websites.鈥
The company said it remains the 鈥済old standard for private, secure communications.鈥
How does the U.S. government use Signal?
According to the Associated Press, the Biden administration allowed some officials to use Signal on their White House-issued phones 鈥 but told them to use it sparingly. An official told AP that Signal was usually used to tell officials when they were away from the office to check their inbox for classified messages.
What did the Trump administration share on Signal?
Trump鈥檚 national security adviser Michael Waltz added Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to chat titled 鈥淗outhi PC small group鈥 鈥 which included Vice President JD Vance, secretary of defence Pete Hegseth, CIA director John Ratcliffe and national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard, among others.
Goldberg revealed in that he was added to the chat and was a fly on the wall as top U.S. officials planned a strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen. The texts revealed a split between Trump and Vance, with the vice president saying he thought launching the attack then was a 鈥渕istake,鈥 and later revealed specific attack plans.
鈥1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package),鈥 Hegseth sent in a message at 11:44 a.m. 鈥1345: 鈥楾rigger Based鈥 F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME) 鈥 also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s).鈥
What has the reaction been?
While the White House is asserting no classified information was shared on Signal 鈥 and Hegseth has asserted he did not reveal 鈥渨ar plans鈥 on the app 鈥 the revelations have absorbed Washington this week.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said it was 鈥渙ne of the most stunning breaches of military intelligence I have read about in a very, very long time鈥 and called for a full investigation.
- Jill Lawless, Emma Burrows And Nicholas Riccardi The Associated Press
Roger Wicker, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he is 鈥渧ery concerned鈥 about the breach and would be looking into it.
House speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, said the officials in the chat were 鈥渢rying to do a good job鈥 and it would be a 鈥渢errible mistake鈥 if they faced consequences.
With files from the Associated Press.
