The privacy-focused messaging app, Signal, is currently looking for a new CEO as its founder Moxie Marlinspike steps down from the helm after almost a decade.
Whatsapp’s co-founder, Brian Acton, a member of the Signal Foundation board, will serve as the interim CEO as the company searches for a permanent replacement.
Moxie Marlinespike will continue to be on the Signal board but will be transitioning out of his role as CEO over the next month and continue searching for a permanent replacement “for the next decade of Signal”.
In the announcement, Marlinespike explains that Signal has come a long way from where it was four years back when he was writing all the code, answering calls, developing the product and managing things. Now, Signal is home to 30 employees, including engineers, designers, support staff and the leadership.

“Signal has grown in adoption and popularity around the world even faster than I imagined. People increasingly find value and peace of mind in Signal (technology built for them instead of for their data) and are increasingly willing to sustain it,” Moxie Marlinspike announced on Monday. “Every day, I’m struck by how boundless Signal’s potential looks, and I want to bring in someone with fresh energy and commitment to make the most of that.”
Signal has grown significantly since the whole encryption data privacy debacle that dragged Whatsapp’s name through the mud in early 2021. Marlinspike, for one, has been vocal about privacy and security vulnerabilities not only on other social networks or messaging apps but also spying software.
Signal has also been working towards adding new features such as encrypted group calls and payments and improving the user interface to compete with Whatsapp and Telegram — another app that took off in the past two years. While Whatsapp unarguably is used by a significantly larger number of people, Signal is undoubtedly the more secure option, not only due to its encryption but also data privacy practices.
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