Signal app
Signal app

Signal says it is back after outage, here’s how you can fix errors in your chats

Signal released a statement that users may see some errors in their chats due to the outage and released instructions on how they can be fixed.

Signal, the instant messaging application that is gaining popularity due to its high level of encryption, released a statement that users may see some errors in their chats, possibly caused after the outage the app faced due to the high influx of users. The application saw large number of people joining the platform after WhatsApp started sending notifications to its users asking them to either accept its new policy or see their accounts removed. 

The official handle of Signal tweeted on Sunday, “As an unfortunate side effect of this outage, users might see errors in some of their chats. This does *not* affect your chat's security, but you may have missed a message from that contact. The next Signal app updates will fix this automatically.”

Here’s how you can fix it: On Android if you see "Bad encrypted message," tap the menu in the top-right & tap "Reset secure session." On iOS tap the "Reset Session" button below "Received message was out of sync." The errors do not affect chat security & will be automatically fixed in the next app update, Signal said.

The outage was reported late on Friday and the company first acknowledged it may be due to technical difficulties. Signal allows for secure and encrypted video, voice and text communication, but users were unable to send any messages.

"We have been adding new servers and extra capacity at a record pace every single day this week nonstop, but today exceeded even our most optimistic projections. Millions upon millions of new users are sending a message that privacy matters. We appreciate your patience," it said in a series of tweets.

The encrypted messaging service has climbed to the top spot in the free apps category of the App Store in multiple countries, including India. On just January 12, the number of downloads on Google Play skyrocketed from over 10 million to over 50 million downloads.

Meanwhile, facing backlash, WhatsApp announced delaying by three months the implementation of a new privacy policy which was originally scheduled to come into effect on February 8. It has clarified that the update does not affect data sharing with Facebook with regard to personal conversations or other profile information and only addresses business chats in the event a user converses with a company's customer service platform through WhatsApp.

Facebook's poor privacy track record, and the fact that WhatsApp has over time turned its sights on monetising the platform for its large international user base, has eroded trust in the chat app, which, in turn, has had the effect of turning a relatively mundane update into a worldwide controversy.

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