Privateness-focused messaging app Sign has been flying excessive within the Dutch app shops this previous month, sitting many days as probably the most downloaded free app on iOS and Android for all classes, per information from a number of app-tracking platforms akin to Sensor Tower.
The app has skilled surges in reputation via the years, typically in response to coverage modifications at rivals like WhatsApp or geopolitical occasions. 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.) reasonably than a non-public enterprise identified for monetizing information. Furthermore, Sign tracks minimal metadata.
In 2025, with a brand new U.S. president empowered by Large Tech’s heat embrace, it’s common that digital privateness instruments are having a second — significantly in Europe, which has attracted President Trump’s ire.
However what’s 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 had been greater this 12 months by an element of 25, although it’s not clear what the precise comparative time frame is for this information.
When requested why the Netherlands has seen such development, Whittaker pointed to a mix of things: “Rising consciousness of privateness, mistrust of huge tech, and the political actuality during which folks understand how weak digital communication may be,” Whittaker stated.
Information offered to TechCrunch from app intelligence agency AppFigures charts Sign’s rise within the Netherlands. Per its information, it stated that Sign was the 365th ranked non-game iPhone app on January 1 within the Netherlands and it wasn’t exhibiting up in any respect within the high general apps listing. Then, beginning round January 5, it started to climb the charts within the Netherlands, and by February 2 it hit high spot general.
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 down into the info, AppFigures estimates that the whole variety of downloads throughout Apple and Google’s app shops amounted to round 22,000 in December (2024). This elevated to 99,000 in January, after which 233,000 via February — a 958% rise since December.
Whereas it’s doable that a few of this development might be attributed to Sign having a decrease saturation of downloads in comparison with different markets, the app’s sustained place on the high of the charts relative to similar-sized neighboring markets is notable.
“No different markets come near the Netherlands by way of development between December and February,” AppFigures advised TechCrunch.
For comparability, the closest are Belgium, which has seen downloads develop by greater than 250% since December; Sweden rising by 153%; and Denmark rising by 95%.
So why would possibly Sign be experiencing what one Redditor known as a “mass adoption second” within the Netherlands, particularly?
Clear sign
Rejo Zenger, senior coverage advisor at Dutch digital rights basis Bits of Freedom, stated that whereas it’s tough to pinpoint one particular cause, he stated he’s not shocked.
Current developments within the U.S. have seen the large platform suppliers fall in line behind the brand new Trump regime, and this has stoked vital public and media debate. Europe’s reliance on know-how belonging to very large non-public U.S. firms has been highlighted in that debate.
“The Dutch are, similar to many others, extremely depending on the infrastructure offered by extraordinarily dominant tech firms, principally from the U.S.,” Zenger advised TechCrunch. “What this implies, and the dangers that come from this, have been properly demonstrated up to now few weeks. Consequently, the general public debate within the Netherlands has been comparatively sharp. The place up to now this downside was solely mentioned on the extent of ‘which instantaneous messenger ought to I take advantage of,’ I really feel now we’re having the controversy on greater ranges as properly: ‘we should always eliminate this dependency.’”
In that context, the general public might be conflating dominance with information safety abuse. With firms like Meta recurrently being investigated and fined over information privateness practices, Sign would possibly seem the lesser evil: it’s based mostly within the U.S., however operated by a non-profit that guarantees to encrypt not solely message content material, however the metadata round it.
Vincent Böhre, director at Dutch privateness group Privateness First, additionally pointed to a media-driven enhance in consciousness and a broader shift in public opinion.
“Ever since Trump was re-elected within the U.S. a number of months in the past, there was a whole lot of ‘bashing’ of Trump and [Elon] Musk in Dutch — and European — mainstream media, together with bashing of American Large 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 abruptly change into excited by ‘privacy-friendly’ alternate options, Sign specifically.”
Sign of intent
Whereas the Netherlands is only one market of 18 million folks in a European inhabitants of greater than 700 million, a surge in that market alone might be seen as a bellwether for sentiment throughout the continent, at a time when governments are searching for to deliver down privateness obstacles.
Apple, for instance, not too long ago 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 a place she has said many instances up to now: Sign received’t compromise 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 individuals rely on,” Whittaker stated. “Whether or not that perturbation or backdoor is known as client-side scanning, or the stripping of the encryption protections from one or one other options much like what Apple was pushed into doing within the U.Okay.”
Individually, in an interview with Swedish public broadcaster SVT, Whittaker stated that it wouldn’t acquiesce to a proposed new Swedish legislation requiring messaging app-makers to retailer messages.
“In apply, this implies asking us to interrupt the encryption that’s the basis of our total enterprise,” Whittaker stated. “Asking us to retailer information would undermine our total structure and we’d by no means do this. We might reasonably depart the Swedish market fully.”
TechCrunch reached out to Sign for remark, however hadn’t heard again on the time of publishing.