The accidental inclusion of an Atlantic editor in a Signal group chat used by Trump administration officials to plan a Yemen bombing has caused a massive increase in Signal downloads in the US. This event, dubbed 'SignalGate,' has doubled Signal's typical weekly download rate, marking the biggest US growth moment in its history.
Signal's head of growth and partnerships, Jun Harada, confirmed the unprecedented increase, emphasizing the immediate and sustained nature of the growth. While refusing to provide exact numbers, he compared this spike to the one following WhatsApp's privacy policy change in 2021, but highlighted that the current surge is primarily US-focused.
Sensor Tower data supports Signal's analysis, showing a 105 percent increase in US downloads compared to the previous week and a 150 percent increase compared to an average week in 2024. This contrasts sharply with the 21 percent increase in downloads outside the US.
The SignalGate incident has raised concerns about the Trump administration's security practices, questioning whether officials used non-approved devices for classified conversations. Screenshots published by The Atlantic revealed the officials' use of Signal's disappearing messages feature, raising concerns about potential violations of US record retention laws.