Why You Need a Privacy-First Messaging App Like Signal in 2025

In 2025, privacy isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a necessity to protect yourself from the next wave of digital authoritarianism.

January 30, 2025

Governments, corporations, and bad actors are watching everything. Your messages, your location, your contacts—data is the new oil, and you’re the oil field. If you’re organizing, protesting, or even just having a conversation you don’t want in some government database, you need to be using a privacy-first messaging app. And not just any app—you want Signal. Accept no substitute, as they say.

Big Brother Has Upgraded

Surveillance has evolved. AI-powered facial recognition is standard in city cameras. Phone companies track your every move. Social media platforms harvest your private messages. Even “secure” messaging apps that claim end-to-end encryption (*cough* WhatsApp) still collect metadata—who you talk to, when, and how often. And having access to this metadata is just as powerful as having access to the message itself.

Meanwhile, governments worldwide have been ramping up their war on encryption. The UK’s Online Safety Act, Australia’s anti-encryption laws, and the U.S. push for backdoors in messaging apps mean that mainstream platforms are compromised. Apple’s iMessage? Google Messages? Good luck trusting any of them when governments have them on speed dial.

Signal: Built for Our Privacy-Compromised World

Signal isn’t just another messaging app. It’s designed for the very world we live in—a world where our privacy is under attack 24/7.

Signal features:

  • Real End-to-End Encryption: Not just for texts, but for voice and video calls. Not even Signal’s servers can read your messages.

  • No Ads, No Data Harvesting: Unlike Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or Telegram, Signal doesn’t mine your messages to serve you targeted ads or “recommend” content.

  • Disappearing Messages: Set your messages to self-destruct on a timer. If your phone gets taken by police or government authorities, there’s nothing left to find if and when they’re able to gain access to it.

  • Sealed Sender Technology: Even Signal doesn’t know who’s messaging who.

  • Open Source & Independently Audited: You don’t have to trust Signal—you can verify its security. The code is public, and experts constantly test it for vulnerabilities.

Why This Matters for Political Organization

If you’re protesting, organizing, or engaging in activism, you are a target. Law enforcement isn’t merely monitoring public posts—they’re infiltrating group chats, tracking movements, and pulling phone records. If you’re using a weak messaging app, you’re handing them everything on a silver platter.

Look at what’s happened in recent years:

Think it won’t happen to you? Think again. If you’re on WhatsApp, Messenger, or even Telegram, your messages are not safe.

Signal isn’t just about “hiding” something. It’s about protecting yourself from the next wave of digital authoritarianism.

The WhatsApp and Telegram Problem

WhatsApp pretends to be private. But guess what? WhatsApp is owned by Meta (Facebook), one of the biggest data-harvesting corporations on the planet. It collects metadata, backs up chats to the cloud (where they’re accessible to authorities), and complies with government requests for data.

Telegram? They’re not much better. Despite its edgy reputation, Telegram doesn’t have default end-to-end encryption. Group chats? Totally unencrypted. If law enforcement or a hacker were to gain access to Telegram’s servers, they get your messages, too. Just because Telegram says they you’re protected doesn’t mean they won’t change their minds with when served with the right subpoena.

Signal, on the other hand, encrypts everything by default and stores nothing. Your data isn’t a liability because it doesn’t exist.

Stay Safe in 2025 (and Hopefully Beyond)

Using Signal is just the first step. If you’re serious about privacy and security, here’s what else you should do:

  • Turn Off Cloud Backups: If your messages are stored in Google Drive or iCloud, they’re accessible to authorities. Your brain is your best backup, however fallible it might be.

  • Enable Disappearing Messages: No logs means no evidence.

  • Use a VPN: Hide your IP address and location.

  • Lock Your Phone the Old-School Way: Biometrics (like Face ID or thumbprints) can be forced. Use a strong passcode instead.

  • Use a Burner Number: If you can, don’t sign up for Signal with your real phone number. Services like MySudo or a prepaid SIM can keep your real identity separate from your Signal identity. Most recent smartphones allow more than one SIM or eSIM, use that to your advantage.

  • Beware of Infiltrators: Always assume someone in your chat could be a snitch until they prove otherwise. Verify all identities before sharing any sensitive information.

Privacy Is Power

They want you to believe privacy is dead. That you have nothing to hide. That surveillance is “for your safety.” But here’s the truth: Privacy is freedom. Privacy is the difference between an oppressive state and a free society. Between living openly and living in fear.

Every movement that has ever fought for change—from civil rights activists to whistleblowers—has relied on secure communication. In 2025, that means using Signal.

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Download Signal from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Encrypt everything. And stay safe out there.