In the new WhatsApp terms of use agreement (screenshot above), it’s clearly mentioned that if you do not agree with Facebook data sharing otherwise you will not be granted permission to use WhatsApp (a little rephrased I know but that’s what Facebook meant actually). It's also unclear what Marlinspike is doing next, only revealing on Twitter that he's 'taking a break for a bit.WhatsApp 2021 terms of use asking for mandatory data sharing compliance with Facebook. TechCrunch believes it may have something to do with MobileCoin, a cryptocurrency that's integrated into Signal and allows users to send each other digital coins through the app. While he talked about this move as a step towards Signal's expansion, he didn't say exactly why he's leaving his role. For now, Acton will serve as the interim CEO. Marlinspike will remain on the Signal board and will focus on finding the next CEO for the service over the the next month. 'In other words, after a decade or more, it’s difficult to overstate how important Signal is to me, but I now feel very comfortable replacing myself as CEO based on the team we have, and also believe that it is an important step for expanding on Signal’s success,' he wrote.

Now, he said, Signal is a group of 30 people who each have their roles, and he can switch off his phone without having to worry that the service would implode.

The foundation provided the encrypted messaging app with $50 million in funding from WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton, giving Signal the money it needed to be able to hire people and expand.īefore it had access to the funding, Marlinspike said he was writing all the Android and server code, facilitating all product development and solving issues the service may have had on his own. That's what Marlinspike has revealed in a post about stepping away his role over the next month, where he talked about struggling to do almost everything on his own before the Signal Foundation was formed four years ago. Over the past few months, Signal founder Moxie Marlinspike has been talking to candidates who can potentially take over his role as company CEO.

Signal messenger ceo