What is Signal?

AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Signal is an instant messaging service developed by the non-profit Signal Foundation and its subsidiary, the Signal Messenger LLC. Users can send one-to-one and group messages, which include files, voice notes, images, and videos.

Why does this matter and what makes it different from Facebook Messenger or text messages?

While Signal uses standard cellular telephone numbers as identifiers, it secures all communication using end-to-end encryption and it independently verifies the identity of the contacts making it completely secure and virtually unhackable. Nor does it “monitor” your conversations and then feed that data to advertisers who then harangue you with their “sponsored content”.

Signal’s software is free of charge and it is open source (meaning anyone can read the code). It operates on a number of different platforms from desktop to mobile devices across most operating systems. The Signal Foundation was launched in February of 2018 with initial funding of 50 million dollars from Brian Acton. As of January 2021, the platform had approximately 40 million monthly active users and as of May of 2021 it was downloaded more than 105 million times, proving its track record of success and adoption.

One of the reasons the people of the Real Life Network use and are so fond of this software is that Signal has the ability to detect and deter “man-in-the-middle attacks” by making it easy to verify the identity of other Signal users. This makes meeting an imposter on the other end virtually impossible. Right here in our local area a “man in the middle attack” which happened this summer lead one of our local people to the loss of EVERYTHING. All of her crypto accounts, all of her password protected accounts, everything in her bank accounts. Gone. Her credit was demolished, her business compromised. Emails and cloud systems - ruined. The attack came in through her Messenger Account in the Metaverse. There have been two other hacks through people’s Metaverse Accounts in the South Cariboo that we know of in The Real Life Network.

"I trust Signal because it’s well built, but more importantly, because of how it’s built: open source, peer reviewed, and funded entirely by grants and donations. A refreshing model for how critical services should be built."

-Jack Dorsey

Former CEO of Twitter and Square

In the Brave New World world of “Meta” with Marc Zuckerberg sucking on ALL of your information, and just sellin' it to the highest bidder... where people like Elon Musk are purchasing Twitter JUST to create a more open platform, we ask :

“why don't more people just use Signal?”

There are as many different Signal Groups as you can imagine. Signal chats form the backbone of the Real Life Network, they allow efficient and secure communication between local people for the development of sustainable, robust and meaningful community initiatives & projects throughout the community.

If you want to know more about Signal or how to install it on your device, simply go to the Play Store on your Android device or the App Store on your iPhone, and type “Signal” in the search box. Alternately, head to the Signal webpage and download directly.

We think that you will be pleasantly surprised at the quality of the messaging system and the ability to send and store clear and recoverable voice messages and videos. It's an instant system for an instant world and it puts security right at your fingertips!

Join some of our networks today by using Signal. There's a whole other world outside of the Metaverse (facebook, instagram, messenger) that you might not have even known about. Be careful and consider what’s on the Horizon in the Metaverse.