Secure messaging platform Signal has stopped working in China. The only way to access the app is to use a virtual private network (VPN). China’s cyber authorities have become increasingly strict in recent years, widening the scope of apps, media outlets, and social media sites banned in the country.
Signal’s website was also inaccessible in China on Tuesday morning.
The app was still available on Apple’s China app store as of Tuesday morning, and the app and website appeared to be working normally in Hong Kong.
Chinese users of the instant messenger Signal knew that the good times wouldn’t last long. The app, which is used for encrypted conversations, is unavailable in mainland China as of the morning of March 16, a test by TechCrunch shows. The website of the app has been banned in mainland China since March 15, according to censorship tracking website Greatfire.org.
The encrypted chat app was one of the few Western social networks that remained accessible in China without the use of a virtual private network.
Signal’s press team did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Reuters.
The app was already unavailable on third-party Android stores in China, where Google services are largely blocked.
On several occasions, the app had previously stopped working in China without VPN for no reason given, only for the usage to resume later.
Signal witnessed surge in Downloads after Whatsapp privacy issue
Signal saw a surge in downloads worldwide including India after January 6 when WhatsApp updated its privacy terms, reserving the right to share user data, including location and phone number, with its parent Facebook Inc and units such as Instagram and Messenger.
Signal has been downloaded close to 510,000 times on iOS in China and has been downloaded 100 million times worldwide on the App Store and Google Play combined, according to data company Sensor Tower.
Tencent’s all-in-one mobile app WeChat is China’s dominant messaging app, with its payment functions and other services, boasts more than a billion users globally.
