Signal is used by journalists to receive confidential information from source, measured by the knowledge that messages are end-to-end encrypted and stored on-device. The messaging service has become especially relevant in recent weeks as a tool for federal whistleblowers to report DOGE activity to the press.
Alongside being blocked by sharing Signal.me, links in public posts and direct messages, users are also discouraged from clicking existing links published prior to the ban, and prevented from adding them to there profile bio. An error message displayed when the latter is attempted says the update failed due to the new description being “considered malware.”
It wouldn’t be the first time that X has attempted to stifle third-party services being promoted on the platform. Links to Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and other rival social platforms were briefly blocked in 2022 after Elon Musk attempted to tackle “relentless advertising of competitors for free.” Substack links were also throttled and restricted in 2023 after it released its own Twitter-like “Notes” feature.
ArsTechnica reported: X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter, is seemingly blocking links to Signal, the encrypted messaging platform, according to journalist Matt Binder and other firsthand accounts.
Binder wrote on his Disruptionist newsletter Sunday that links to Signal.me, a domain that offers a way to connect directly to Signal users, are blocked on public posts, direct messages and profile pages. Error messages — including “Message not sent,” “Something went wrong,” and profiles tagged as “considered malware” or “potentially harmful” — give no direct suggestion of a block. But posts on X, reporting at The Verge, and other sources suggest, that Signal.me links are broadly banned.
The Hill reported: Users on Elon Musk’s social media platform X were not able to share or post links to encrypted messaging app Signal on Monday and were greeted with various failure notifications when they tried to do so.
Beginning Sunday, multiple users posted on X that they reviewed error messages when they tried to post any links with the “Signal.me” domain, which is typically used to share one’s Signal profile and allow others to contact them on the messaging platform.
When users tried to post a Signal.me link, X provided a message: “Something when wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.” Upon trying to post it again, the same error message pops up.
Users were not able to send the Signal.me link through direct messaging, with an error message appearing to suggest that the request “might be automated.”
In my opinion, it sounds like Elon Musk absolutely does not want X users to access Signal.me. I wonder why he seems so upset about that.