Open Whisper Systems, developers of the encrypted chat and call app Signal, will soon release the app to Andriod PlayStore. The app which was released on iOS 6 months ago is the bi-product of the combination of two of the company’s existing apps – RedPhone and TextSecure, thus possessing both the calling functions of RedPhone and the text chat functions of TextSecure
Similar to the iOS version, Signal for Andriod will ensure that Open Whisper Systems can’t see what a user is sending because all text, image and video coming out of the andriod version will be encrypted.
Current TextSecure users will only need to update the app which will maintain the same private chat functions as the previous app while adding to it RedPhone’s calling capabilities. Current RedPhone users on the other hand will be prompted to download the new Signal app. Users will not be required to set up a new login to use the app as they can use it via their current phone numbers and address books.
Installing Signal will also allow users to send encrypted messages across the Andriod and iOS divide and the Open Whisper team has even promised us a desktop app which we’re eagerly looking forward to. Finally, the entire project is open source, so anyone who may doubt just how secure this app is, is free to check for security holes in its code.
