While Signal messages might be e2e encrypted, people tend to forget that the platform collects phone numbers of its users, which can be used to identify people.
This makes Signal an effective metadata collection tool that resides on a central server in the US.
By cross-referencing these identities with data from other companies like Google or Meta, the government can create a comprehensive picture of people's connections and affiliations.
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This allows identifying people of interest and building detailed graphs of their relationships.
Signal may seem like an innocuous messaging app on the surface, but it cold easily play a crucial role in government data collection efforts.
It was originally funded by CIA cutout Open Technology Fund, part of Radio Free Asia.
Its Chairwoman is Katherine Maher, who worked for NDI/NED: regime-change groups, and a member of Atlantic Council, WEF, US State Department Foreign Affairs Policy Board etc.