Signal is the number-one downloaded app in the Netherlands. But why?

Privateness-focused messaging app Signal has been flying excessive within the Dutch app shops this previous month, typically sitting on the prime as essentially the most downloaded free app on iOS and Android throughout all classes, per knowledge from a number of app-tracking platforms such as Sensor Tower.

The app has skilled surges in recognition over time, typically in response to policy changes at rivals like WhatsApp or geopolitical events. That’s as a result of Sign has made a reputation for itself as a extra privacy-friendly choice — it’s operated by a not-for-profit basis (albeit one based mostly within the U.S.) quite than a personal enterprise centered on monetizing knowledge. Furthermore, Sign tracks minimal metadata.

In 2025, with a brand new U.S. president empowered by Huge Tech’s heat embrace, it’s not shocking that digital privateness instruments are having a second — significantly in Europe, which has attracted President Trump’s ire.

However what’s particularly eye-catching this time round is Sign’s prominence in a single very particular locale — the Netherlands.

In an interview with Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf final week, Sign President Meredith Whittaker famous that the variety of “new registrations” within the Netherlands was increased this 12 months by an element of 25, although it’s not clear what the precise comparative time period is for this knowledge.

When requested why the Netherlands has seen such progress, Whittaker pointed to a mix of things: “Rising consciousness of privateness, mistrust of massive tech, and the political actuality through which individuals notice how susceptible digital communication will be,” Whittaker mentioned.

Knowledge offered to TechCrunch from app intelligence agency AppFigures charts Sign’s rise within the Netherlands. Per its knowledge, Sign ranked 365th amongst non-game iPhone apps within the Netherlands on January 1 and didn’t seem within the prime general apps listing. Then, beginning round January 5, it started to climb the rankings, reaching the highest place by February 2.

Sign has dipped out and in of the lead within the intervening weeks, spending round half of February on the summit — together with every day since February 22. Digging deeper into the info, AppFigures estimates that mixed downloads throughout Apple and Google’s app shops totaled round 22,000 in December 2024. This jumped to 99,000 in January and soared to 233,000 by way of February — a 958% rise since December.

Whereas a few of this progress could also be attributed to Sign having decrease saturation than in different markets, the app’s sustained place on the prime in comparison with similar-sized neighboring markets is notable.

“No different markets come near the Netherlands by way of progress between December and February,” AppFigures advised TechCrunch.

For comparability, since December, Belgium has seen downloads develop by greater than 250%, Sweden by 153%, and Denmark by 95%.

So why would possibly Sign be experiencing what one Redditor referred to as a “mass adoption moment” within the Netherlands?

Clear sign

Rejo Zenger, senior coverage advisor at Dutch digital rights basis Bits of Freedom, mentioned that whereas it’s tough to pinpoint one particular cause, he’s not stunned.

Current developments within the U.S. have seen the big platform providers align with the brand new Trump administration, and this has stoked important public and media debate. Europe’s reliance on know-how from large personal U.S. firms has change into a focus in that debate.

“The Dutch are, identical to many others, extremely depending on the infrastructure offered by extraordinarily dominant tech firms, largely from the U.S.,” Zenger advised TechCrunch. “What this implies, and the dangers that come from this, have been properly demonstrated prior to now few weeks. Because of this, the general public debate within the Netherlands has been comparatively sharp. The place prior to now this drawback was solely mentioned on the extent of ‘which prompt messenger ought to I take advantage of,’ I really feel now we’re having the talk on increased ranges as nicely: ‘we should always do away with this dependency.’”

In that context, the general public could possibly be conflating dominance with knowledge safety abuse. With firms like Meta recurrently being investigated and fined over knowledge privateness practices, Sign would possibly seem the lesser evil: it’s based mostly within the U.S., however operated by a non-profit that ensures encryption of each message content material and the metadata around it.

Vincent Böhre, director at Dutch privateness group Privacy First, additionally pointed to elevated media protection and a broader shift in public opinion.

“Ever since Trump was re-elected within the U.S. a couple of months in the past, there was plenty of ‘bashing’ of Trump and [Elon] Musk in Dutch — and European — mainstream media, together with bashing of American Huge Tech firms, which now appear to be supportive of Trump,” Böhre advised TechCrunch. “Articles criticizing X [formerly Twitter] and Meta have been popping up in Dutch media all over the place, resulting in a shift in Dutch public opinion: even individuals who by no means actually knew or cared about privateness and safety in social media, have now out of the blue change into occupied with ‘privacy-friendly’ options, Sign particularly.”

Sign of intent

Whereas the Netherlands is only one market of 18 million individuals in a European inhabitants of greater than 700 million, its surge in adoption might sign a broader pattern throughout the continent, particularly as governments search to deliver down privateness limitations.

Apple, for instance, just lately pulled end-to-end encryption from iCloud within the U.Okay. to counter authorities efforts to put in a backdoor.

Talking at RightsCon 25 in Taiwan this week, Whittaker reaffirmed Sign’s unwavering stance on privateness.

“Sign’s place on that is very clear –- we won’t walk-back, adulterate, or in any other case perturb the strong privateness and safety ensures that folks depend upon,” Whittaker said. “Whether or not that perturbation or backdoor is named client-side scanning, or the stripping of the encryption protections from one or one other options just like what Apple was pushed into doing within the U.Okay.”

Individually, in an interview with Swedish public broadcaster SVT, Whittaker mentioned Sign wouldn’t adjust to a proposed Swedish legislation requiring messaging app-makers to retailer messages.

“In follow, this implies asking us to interrupt the encryption that’s the basis of our whole enterprise,” Whittaker mentioned. “Asking us to retailer knowledge would undermine our whole structure and we’d by no means try this. We might quite go away the Swedish market utterly.”

TechCrunch reached out to Sign for remark, however hadn’t heard again on the time of publishing.