Signal stopped working yesterday after Elon Musk encouraged others to use the private messaging app after WhatsApp updated their privacy terms.

Use Signal

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 7, 2021

WhatsApp announced that it was going to share data with Facebook, the app’s parent company. But, according to UNILAD, the terms do not apply to the UK and other European users. The new update allows Facebook to access information about a user’s phone, make and model of that phone, show the user’s location, and any transactions made through the app.

Afterward, Signal had an increase in downloads that resulted in technical difficulties.

We are still working as quickly as possible to bring additional capacity online to handle peak traffic levels.

— Signal (@signalapp) January 16, 2021

According to Republic World, Signal gained about 7.5 million downloads on the apple and Google Play store between January 6-10.

Signal stated: “Millions upon millions of new users are sending a message that privacy matters.”

So how does it work? According to Signal’s terms and privacy policy, they say that they are “designated to never collect or store any sensitive information”, and that, “messages and calls cannot be accessed by us or other third pirates because they are always end-to-end encrypted, private and secure.”

To use Signal, you must be at least 13 years old, create an account by registering your phone number, agree to get text messages and phone calls with verification codes, consent to downloading and installing updates, and that you are responsible for fees and taxes on the device you use for Signal.

I went through the process and I found it easy to add friends and see who else had the app in my contact list. I was able to add friends by going through my contacts and linking them an invite within the app. From there, you can verify the person after they message you.