According to data from various app-tracking companies, including Sensor Tower, the privacy-focused messaging software Signal has been dominating the Dutch app stores for the past month. It frequently ranks at the top as the most downloaded free app on iOS and Android across all categories.
Over the years, the program has seen spikes in popularity, frequently in reaction to geopolitical events or changes in rivals’ policies like WhatsApp. This is because Signal, which is run by a U.S.-based non-profit foundation rather than a private company that specializes in data monetization, has established a reputation as a more privacy-friendly choice. Signal also keeps very little metadata.
Digital privacy tools are popular in 2025, especially in Europe, which has angered President Trump. This is not surprising given that a new U.S. president has been boosted by Big Tech’s warm embrace.
This time, however, Signal’s prominence in a single, highly specific location—the Netherlands—is particularly noteworthy.
The precise comparative timeframe for this statistics is unclear, however Signal President Meredith Whittaker stated in an interview with the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf last week that the number of “new registrations” in the Netherlands was 25 times higher this year.
“Growing awareness of privacy, mistrust of big tech, and the political reality in which people realize how vulnerable digital communication can be,” Whittaker said in response to a question about why the Netherlands has seen such growth.
Signal’s ascent in the Netherlands is depicted in data that TechCrunch received from app intelligence company AppFigures. According to its data, on January 1, Signal was ranked 365th out of all non-game iPhone apps in the Netherlands and was not listed among the top apps overall. After that, it started to move up the ranks around January 5 and by February 2 was at the top.
In the weeks that have passed, Signal has fluctuated in the lead, spending around half of February at the peak, including every day since February 22. Examining the data in greater detail, AppFigures calculates that in December 2024, the combined number of downloads from the Google and Apple app stores was approximately 22,000. This increased by 958% since December, peaking at 99,000 in January and reaching 233,000 in February.
The app’s consistent top spot in comparison to nearby markets of comparable size is noteworthy, even though some of this growth may be explained by Signal’s lower saturation than in other markets.
“In terms of growth between December and February, no other markets compare to the Netherlands,” AppFigures told TechCrunch.
In contrast, downloads have increased by almost 250% in Belgium, 153% in Sweden, and 95% in Denmark since December.
What, then, could be causing Signal to have what one Redditor referred to as a “mass adoption moment” in the Netherlands?
Clear signal
While it’s challenging to identify a single cause, Rejo Zenger, senior policy advisor at the Dutch digital rights organization Bits of Freedom, stated that he is not shocked.
Significant public and media controversy has been sparked by recent developments in the United States, as the major platform providers have aligned themselves with the new Trump administration. The main topic of discussion in that debate is Europe’s reliance on technology from large, private U.S. corporations.
Zenger told TechCrunch that the Dutch, like many others, rely heavily on the infrastructure that is supplied by very powerful IT corporations, primarily from the United States. Over the past two weeks, there has been a good demonstration of what this entails and the dangers that accompany it. The public discourse in the Netherlands has been somewhat acerbic as a result. Previously, this issue was solely addressed at the level of “which instant messaging app should I use.” However, it seems like we are now debating this issue at a higher level as well: “we should break this dependency.”
The public can be confusing dominance with misuse of data protection in the situation. Signal, which is situated in the United States and is run by a non-profit that guarantees encryption of both communication content and the metadata surrounding it, may seem like the lesser of two evils in light of companies like Meta who are frequently the subject of investigations and fines for their data privacy policies.
A wider change in public sentiment and more media attention were also mentioned by Vincent Böhre, director of the Dutch privacy group Privacy First.
“There has been a lot of ‘bashing’ of Trump and [Elon] Musk in Dutch — and European — mainstream media since Trump was re-elected in the U.S. a few months ago. This includes bashing of American Big Tech companies, which now appear to be supporting Trump,” Böhre told TechCrunch. “Everywhere in the Dutch media, articles attacking X [formerly Twitter] and Meta have surfaced, causing a change in public sentiment: even those who were previously unaware of or unconcerned about social media security and privacy are now suddenly interested in ‘privacy-friendly’ alternatives, Signal in particular.”
Signal of intent
Even though there are just 18 million individuals in the Netherlands out of a total population of over 700 million in Europe, the country’s rapid adoption could be an indication of a larger trend as governments work to lower privacy restrictions.
To thwart government attempts to build a backdoor, Apple, for instance, recently removed end-to-end encryption from iCloud in the United Kingdom.
During this week’s RightsCon 25 in Taiwan, Whittaker reiterated Signal’s steadfast commitment to privacy.
Whittaker stated, “Signal has a very clear stance on this – we will not walk back, adulterate, or otherwise disrupt the strong privacy and security guarantees that people rely on.” “Whether the disruption or backdoor is known as client-side scanning, or the removal of encryption safeguards from one or more features, akin to what Apple was forced to do in the United Kingdom.”
Whittaker also stated that Signal would not abide by a potential Swedish rule that would require messaging app developers to keep messages in an interview with Swedish public TV SVT.
“In actuality, this entails requesting that we crack the encryption that forms the basis of our whole enterprise,” Whittaker stated. We would never save data because doing so would compromise our entire design. We would want to stay out of the Swedish market entirely.
At the time of publication, TechCrunch had not received a response to their request for comment from Signal.