What you need to know
- Signal is rolling out an update to iOS and Android, adding support for face blurring.
- The update is timed to support the U.S. George Floyd protests.
- Signal is also working one supplying real, physical masks to help combat the coronavirus pandemic.
Privacy-focused messaging app Signal has rolled out a new update to iOS and Android this week, adding a new feature that will help blur faces in photos. The app will now show a blur tool in the image editor, so you can edit images in SIgnal. You can then share it with other apps like Twitter if you want, confident you're protecting the protesters' privacy just a bit more.
Writing on their blog, the Signal team said:
At Signal, we support the people who have gone into the streets to make their voices heard. We believe that something in America needs to change, and even if we don't know exactly how, we support and trust in the people who are self-organizing around the country to figure it out Many of the people and groups who are organizing for that change are using Signal to communicate, and we're working hard to keep up with the increased traffic. We've also been working to figure out additional ways we can support everyone in the street right now.One immediate thing seems clear: 2020 is a pretty good year to cover your face.
Signal says it'll also be distributing physical face coverings to people in the community once it figures out the logistics of that. Protests notwithstanding, face masks are a good way to help control the still-ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and Signal is cognizant of that.
As a need for privacy from prying government eyes increases, the messaging app has seen demands and downloads skyrocket. Recode reports that the app has been downloaded over 21, 000 times in the U.S. since May 25 and ranking in the top 100 apps this week.
