Are messaging apps entering an age of flux, where privacy becomes the primary feature? Signal plans a system of user IDs which will not need you to reveal the mobile phone number Signal continues to be the top downloaded app on Apple's App Store and on Google's Play Store. It has managed to clock a five-fold rise in downloads, so much so that it now intends to hire more staff to support services and infra. The app's servers were unavailable soon after a surge in downloads that overwhelmed the system. Signal issued a statement emphasising that chat privacy has not been compromised due to the outage - the chief premise of its allure. It added, "Like an underdog going through a training montage, we’ve learnt a lot." And this evolution of the challenger has prompted the Goliath of messaging world to take immidiate measures. WhatsApp spent crores on front page ads, assuring users that their privacy is sacrosanct.