The recent political controversy around the messages exchanged between Koldo and Cerdán has once again placed in the public debate a technological issue of great draft: What messaging application best protects the privacy of users? The answer, according to cybersecurity experts, goes on to analyze not only the content of the messages, but also everything that surrounds digital communication.
Applications WhatsApp and Signal They use end -to -end encryption systems, which means that only the issuer and the recipient can access the content of the messages. Neither goal employees (whoasapp owner) nor those of Signal can read what is written in a private conversation. This technology, initially developed by Signal And later adopted by WhatsApp, it is considered one of the most advanced standards in digital safety.
However, the key to the difference lies in the so -called metadata: Additional information that accompanies each message And that, although it does not reveal the content of the conversation, it does allow to know who communicates with whom, when, where and how often. While Signal minimizes the collection of this data and does not store them on their servers, WhatsApp does, using this information to improve its services, avoid spam and, sometimes, for customize advertising on other finishing platforms.
Signal, in addition, is an open source application, allowing independent experts audit their operation and detect possible vulnerabilities. This transparency reinforces user confidence and the reputation of the application as a reference in privacy. On the contrary, WhatsApp does not allow this level of external scrutiny and uses metadata for commercial purposes.
That is, although both applications protect the content of the messages in a robust, Signal is the safest option For those who prioritize privacy, by limiting the collection and storage of personal data to the maximum. WhatsApp, meanwhile, remains the most popular app, but its business model based on metadata exploitation places it in a disadvantage position against Signal in privacy.