The privacy focus on the privacy application was walking in Dutch application stores last month, and it often sits at the top as the free prominent downloaded on iOS and Android across all categories, for all data from multiple applications tracking platforms Like the sensor tower.
The application has seen an increase in popularity over the years, and it is often a response to Politics changes when its competitors such as WhatsApp or Geopolitical events. This is because Signal has made a name for itself as a more suitable option-it is operated by a non-profit organization (albeit its headquarters in the United States) instead of a private company that focuses on liquefying data. Moreover, the signal follows the minimum descriptive data.
In 2025, with the presence of a new American president who was enabled by embracing Big Tech warm, it is not surprising that digital privacy tools have a moment – especially in Europe, which attracted President Trump’s anger.
But what is remarkable in particular this time is the emergence of a sign in one very specific language-the Netherlands.
in Interview with Dutch newspaper de Telegraph last week, a signal head Merridith Whitker He pointed out that the number of “new recordings” in the Netherlands was above this year with a 25 -year -old, although it is not clear what the accurate comparative period of these data is.
When asked why the Netherlands witnessed such growth, Whitaker pointed to a group of factors: “Awareness of privacy, lack of confidence in great technology, and the political reality in which people realize how weak digital communication can be.”
Data provided to Techcrunch from App Intelligence FIRM Applications The chart rises in the Netherlands. According to its data, the 365th signal ranked among the iPhone applications not heading in the Netherlands on January 1 and did not appear in the list of the higher total applications. After that, starting from January 5, it started climbing the classification, and reached the upper center by February 2.
The signal has decreased inside and outside the introduction in the overlapping weeks, as it spent about half of February at the top – including every day since February 22. The data was deeper, as applications that included downloads via Apple and Google App Store amounted to about 22,000 in December.
While some of this growth may be due to the indication of lower saturation from other markets, the constant application mode at the top compared to the similar neighboring markets.
“There are no other markets approaching the Netherlands in terms of growth between December and February,” Appfigors told Techcrunch.
For comparison, since December, Belgium has seen downloads that grow more than 250 %, Sweden by 153 %, and Denmark by 95 %.
So why can you refer to what Reddor called “A”The moment of collective adoption“In the Netherlands?
A clear signal
Rejo ZengerSenior Policy Adviser to the Dutch Digital Rights Corporation Parts of freedomHe said that although it is difficult to determine a specific reason, he was not surprised.
It has witnessed recent developments in the United States Large platform providers Compatibility with the new Trump administration, and this has led to the thumb of public and media debate. Europe’s dependence on technology from the huge private American companies has become a pivotal point in this debate.
“The Dutch, just like many others, depends on the infrastructure provided by the very dominant technology companies, most of them from the United States,” Zanger told Techcrunch. “What this means, and the risks that come from this, have been well shown in the past few weeks. As a result, the general debate in the Netherlands has been relatively severe. This problem has been discussed in the past only at the level.”Any immediate messenger I must use“I now feel that we are also discussing the highest levels:”We must get rid of this dependency” ”
In this context, the public can mix dominance with abuse of data protection. With companies like Meta regularly and fined them for data privacy practices, Signal may appear less evil: it is based in the United States, but it is managed by a non -profit organization that guarantees the encryption of both the content of the message and the surrounding descriptive data.
Vincent BohrDirector of the Dutch Privacy Organization Privacy firstHe also pointed to the increase in media coverage and a broader shift in public opinion.
“Since Trump’s re -election in the United States a few months ago, there has been a lot of” hitting “Trump and [Elon] “Musk in Dutch – European – the prevailing media, including hitting large American technology companies, which seems to be now supporting Trump.” Articles criticize x [formerly Twitter] Meta appeared in the Dutch media everywhere, which led to a shift in the Dutch public opinion: even people who did not know or care about privacy and security in social media, who are now interested in “specially friendly” alternatives, in particular. “
Intention
While the Netherlands is just one market of 18 million people among the European population of more than 700 million people, its rise in adoption can indicate a wider direction throughout the continent, especially since governments seek to reduce privacy barriers.
Apple, for example, recently withdrew the encryption from the end of ICLOUD in the UK to face government efforts to install the rear door.
Talk to Rights 25 In Taiwan this week, Whitaker emphasized the position of the fixed signal on privacy.
“The position of the sign in this matter is very clear- we will not go in the appearance or adultery or guarantee the privacy and the strong security that people depend on”, ” He said Whitker. “Whether that turmoil or rear door is called a customer scan on the part of the customer, or to strip the encryption protection of an advantage or another similar to what was paid in Apple in the UK.”
Separately, in Interview with Whittaker said that the Swedish public broadcaster SVT, the reference would not correspond to a proposed Swedish law that requires messaging applications makers.
“In practice, this means that our demand for us to violate the encryption, which is the basis of our entire deeds,” said Whitaker. “Asking us to store data would undermine our entire structure and we will never do so. We prefer to leave the Swedish market completely.”
Techcrunch continues to refer to the comment, but he did not hear again in publication time.
