Easily Switch from WhatsApp to Signal

The Beeper app allows an easy transition by unifying all chats.

Most of our contacts are available on WhatsApp. This makes it hard to swith to other messengers like Signal. How can we reach WhatsApp contacts when using Signal?

Beeper Simplifies the Switch

For the transition, we need a way to primarily use Signal while still being able to reach all remaining contacts on WhatsApp and other networks. The app Beeper helps with this by unifying chats from all messengers. The app is free for up to 5 linked messenger services, which is enough for me: Signal, WhatsApp, iMessage, and Discord cover all my contacts. I’ve been using Beeper for a month now. The app is easy to use and serves its purpose well.

In the Beeper app, you can simultaneously chat with all your contacts on WhatsApp, Signal, Instagram, LinkedIn, Telegram, and many other messengers.

Beeper meets the necessary security standard of end-to-end encryption, but I cannot professionally assess the overall security of the service. The Beeper app recently released a major update and has not yet been reviewed by independent experts. The founders of Beeper have previously advocated for digital transparency. Beeper’s parent company, Automattic, also develops other products like WordPress that are known for digital transparency. However, Automattic was involved in a trademark dispute in 2024, as a result of which over 150 employees resigned in protest against company leadership.

I currently trust Beeper and continue to monitor security audits and Automattic’s leadership. I’ll keep you updated on this blog. The service is very easy to leave in case concerns arise in the future: simply delete the Beeper app and use the individual messengers separately.

Why Leave WhatsApp?

WhatsApp users support a monopoly with three billion users worldwide and over 85% market share in Germany, which has repeatedly abused its power. WhatsApp’s parent company Meta has been responsible for several scandals involving covert user surveillance (Onavo VPN, Meta Pixel Tracking) and data misuse for political influence (Cambridge Analytica).

WhatsApp users financially support the company. While the contents of WhatsApp messages are encrypted, information about who writes to whom and when, along with other metadata, can be used for selling advertisements. WhatsApp’s current international privacy policy allows the use of private data for “showing relevant offers and ads across the Meta Company Products”. WhatsApp’s current European privacy policy states: “We work with Meta Companies in the United States and Ireland that assist us with the operation of our Services. To receive these services we share Information We Collect.” More information at Digital Independence Day.

Follow the founders’ lead and leave WhatsApp: Jan Koum and Brian Acton founded WhatsApp in 2009 with the mission to always remain ad-free and protect user privacy. Facebook acquired WhatsApp in 2014 and decided three years later to use personal user data for advertising purposes. Acton then left WhatsApp, publicly called for the deletion of Facebook services, and instead co-founded the messenger Signal. Koum also later left WhatsApp due to the violation of his original mission.

Why Join Signal?

Signal is free, as easy to use as WhatsApp, and the undisputed gold standard among messengers. I trust Signal primarily because the messenger is led by privacy advocates who have previously championed digital freedom: Edward Snowden, Meredith Whittaker, Brian Acton, and others. Independent experts have repeatedly certified Signal as “cryptographically secure”. The Signal Foundation is funded exclusively by donations and has no commercial or political intentions.

It only takes a critical mass of users for Signal to become the new messenger standard. Currently, I exclusively use Beeper to message all my contacts, and I’ve already convinced some contacts to start using Signal. I would be happy if this information has convinced you to do the same.