Signal downloads surge in wake of US security leak of Yemen attack plans

• A new report reveals that downloads of the Signal app have surged in the wake of U.S. attack plans in Yemen being shared by Trump administration officials, who inadvertently added a journalist to the group chat. App downloads are up 45% in the United States and 28% globally.
• The Signal app is known to use encrypted chats, but it’s unknown if military officials often share sensitive information on the app.
• Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has denied that any war plans were shared in the messages, despite screenshots of the group chat by The Atlantic showing otherwise.

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Many unanswered questions remain concerning the U.S. security leak involving the Signal app.

However, one thing we do know is that the messaging platform is seeing a surge in activity this week.

Why is the app making headlines?

The app made headlines after Trump administration officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance and National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, inadvertently added Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a group chat as they shared plans for military strikes in Yemen, which Goldberg later published.

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The Signal app itself is not to blame for the breach, but rather, a Trump administration official who mistakenly added Goldberg to their group chat.

The app is used because chats on Signal are encrypted, so only users in a chat can see the messages.

How much more popular is it since the breach?

The incident has clearly driven interest, with Signal reportedly being ranked No. 50 out of the most-used social media apps before the breach, now climbing into the top 10 as of Monday, March 24.

According to Tech Crunch, after The Atlantic’s report was published, global Signal downloads on IOS and Google Play surged nearly 30% from their daily averages. In the United States, downloads grew even more, up 45%.

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What is the Trump administration saying?

As for the Trump administration’s investigation into the leak, that’s ongoing. Hegseth has said, “No war plans” were discussed in the Signal group chat.”

However, The Atlantic revealed screenshots of messages from Hegseth providing information, including the time of the strikes, as well as weapons and jets used in attacks in Yemen.