- Published Date: April 8, 2025
Signal vs WhatsApp in 2025: Which One Protects Your Privacy Better?
In an increasingly digital world where data breaches, surveillance, and online tracking are everyday worries, messaging privacy has become crucial. Two leading apps in the realm of encrypted messaging—Signal and WhatsApp—are frequently compared for their privacy features. Both platforms assert that they safeguard user communications through end-to-end encryption, but just how do they measure up in 2025?
Let’s take a closer look in a friendly and informative comparison that will help you determine which platform offers better protection for your privacy in 2025.
A Quick Overview: Signal and WhatsApp
Signal
Signal is an open-source messaging app created by the non-profit Signal Foundation. It has garnered significant acclaim from privacy advocates, cybersecurity experts, and even whistleblower Edward Snowden. Signal employs its own Signal Protocol to ensure end-to-end encryption, safeguarding users' communications effectively.
WhatsApp, owned by Meta (previously known as Facebook), is one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, boasting over 2 billion users. It employs the Signal Protocol for encryption; however, being part of a broader ecosystem that includes Instagram and Facebook raises concerns regarding data sharing practices.
1. Encryption: The Core of Privacy
Both Signal and WhatsApp use the Signal Protocol for end-to-end encryption. This means that only the sender and receiver can read the messages—nobody in between, not even the app providers.
Signal
- Default end-to-end encryption for all messages, voice, and video calls.
- No backups to the cloud unless encrypted locally.
- Secure group messaging with sealed sender technology.
- No ads, no trackers.
- Also uses end-to-end encryption, but:
- Cloud backups (Google Drive or iCloud) can be a weak point unless encrypted.
- Meta can access certain metadata (who you talk to, how often, IP address).
- Recently, WhatsApp has enabled encrypted backups, but it’s optional.
Verdict: Signal offers more robust encryption and fewer weak points due to its limited metadata collection and no integration with third-party cloud services.
2. Metadata: The Invisible Trail
Metadata is data about your data. Even if messages are encrypted, metadata like timestamps, contact info, or frequency of communication can reveal a lot.
Signal
- Collects almost no metadata.
- Stores only the last connection timestamp (rounded to the nearest day).
- No logs of who you talked to or for how long.
- Developed to minimize data retention by design.
-
Stores metadata such as:
- User phone numbers
- Contact lists (if permission is granted)
- Device and usage data
- IP addresses and location info
- Shares some data with Meta companies, depending on your region (especially outside of the EU).
Verdict: Signal is the clear winner when it comes to metadata minimization.
3. Ownership & Business Model
Signal
- Owned by a non-profit (Signal Foundation).
- Funded through donations and grants.
- Has no financial incentive> to monetize user data.
- Owned by Meta, a tech giant that profits from targeted advertising.
- While WhatsApp itself doesn’t show ads (yet), its parent company has a long history of monetizing user data.
- Concerns over cross-platform data sharing with Facebook and Instagram have been ongoing.
Verdict: Signal’s non-profit structureand funding model align better with privacy values.
4. Features vs. Privacy Trade-Offs
In 2025, messaging apps must strike a balance between offering modern features and preserving privacy.
Signal
- Has steadily added new features: stories (with optional view count), disappearing messages, voice notes, stickers, and reactions.
-
Offers privacy-preserving alternatives, like:
- Blur faces in photos.
- Incognito keyboard.
- Screen security (blocks screenshots).
- Relay calls (to mask IP address).
- No ads, no status tracking, no online indicators unless you choose to enable them.
- Rich feature set: communities, stories (Status), payments, business tools, and more.
- Offers disappearing messages, encrypted backups, two-factor authentication.
- However, many features are tied to your identity, phone number, and often require permissions that increase data exposure.
- The WhatsApp Business API allows businesses to interact with users, which can raise privacy red flags if not properly managed.
- Verdict: While WhatsApp has more features overall, Signal provides a better balance of usability and privacy.
5. Transparency & Open Source
Being open source means anyone can inspect the app’s code for security flaws or intentional backdoors.
Signal
- Fully open source: app code and Signal Protocol are available on GitHub.
- Regular security audits.
- Transparent about updates and changes.
- Uses the Signal Protocol (open source), but WhatsApp’s app itself is not open source.
- Some security researchers worry about potential backdoors or undisclosed data collection.
- Meta’s transparency is often questioned.
Verdict: Signal’s open-source nature gives it a big trust advantage.
6. Group Messaging & Communities
In 2025, both platforms offer robust group messaging features, but the privacy levels differ.
Signal
- Group messages are end-to-end encrypted.
- Admin controls, mention tags, group invite links.
- No visibility to anyone outside the group.
- Encrypted profile names and group titles.
- Group messages are also encrypted.
-
Recent additions like Communities give admins more power, but:
- Group info and participation may still be visible to Meta.
- Business accounts in groups could link activities to marketing efforts.
Verdict: Signal continues to maintain a privacy-first approach to group messaging.
7. User Control & Customization
How much control do you have over your data, messages, and privacy settings?
Signal
- Highly customizable disappearing message timers (per chat)
- You can block screenshots, turn off read receipts, and hide your online status.
- Minimal permissions requested.
- Can set your profile to be visible only to contacts.
- Offers some privacy controls: you can hide last seen, status, and profile picture.
- Still, online status visibility and read receipts have more limited flexibility.
- Data collection permissions (contacts, media, usage) are broader.
Verdict: Signal gives more granular control over your privacy settings.
8. Government Requests & Censorship Resistance
Privacy isn't just about companies—it’s also about resisting overreach from governments.
Signal
- Stores minimal data, so can’t comply with most data requests.
- In 2024, Signal launched domain fronting for anti-censorship, allowing users to bypass restrictions in countries like Iran and China.
- Legal requests usually return “no user data available.”
- Being part of Meta, it’s more susceptible to government pressure.
- Past reports show WhatsApp has provided metadata in certain law enforcement cases.
- More vulnerable to bans and network-level censorship.
Verdict: Signal is the more resilient option under censorship and surveillance regimes.
Which One Should You Use?
- If your priority is maximum privacy, anonymity, and data minimalism — go with Signal.
- If you're looking for a convenient messaging platform with wide adoption and don’t mind some privacy trade-offs — WhatsApp is still solid, especially if you enable encrypted backups and manage your settings carefully.
Either way, staying aware of your privacy options is half the battle. Keep your apps updated, use strong passwords, enable two-factor authentication, and consider privacy not just as a feature—but as a lifestyle choice in the digital age.
