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Signal Foundation
American non-profit organization

The Signal Technology Foundation, commonly known as the Signal Foundation, is an American non-profit organization founded in 2018 by Moxie Marlinspike and Brian Acton. Its mission is to "protect free expression and enable secure global communication through open source privacy technology." Its subsidiary, Signal Messenger LLC, is responsible for the development of the Signal messaging app and the Signal Protocol.

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History

On February 21, 2018, Moxie Marlinspike and WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton announced the formation of the Signal Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.56 The foundation was started with an initial $50 million loan from Acton, who had left WhatsApp's parent company, Facebook, in September 2017.7 The Freedom of the Press Foundation had previously served as the Signal project's fiscal sponsor and continued to accept donations on behalf of the project while the foundation's non-profit status was pending.8 By the end of 2018, the loan had increased to $105,000,400, which is due to be repaid on February 28, 2068. The loan is unsecured and at 0% interest.9

Senior leadership

Signal Foundation has been led by a Chairman, which is separate from the leadership roles of Signal Messenger.

List of chairmen

  1. Brian Acton (2018–present)10[better source needed]

People

As of June 2023, the Signal Foundation board of directors has five members:1112

Emeritus members:16

Signal Messenger LLC

Signal Messenger LLC was founded simultaneously with the Signal Technology Foundation and operates as its subsidiary. It is responsible for the development of the Signal messaging app17 and the Signal Protocol. Moxie Marlinspike served as Signal Messenger's first CEO18 until stepping down on January 10, 2022.19 Brian Acton volunteered to serve as interim CEO while the organization searched for a new CEO.20 In June 2023, Signal announced that Acton would be staying on as CEO following the search.21

Senior leadership

Along with the Chairman of the Signal Foundation, Signal Messenger has been traditionally led by a CEO. This was until September 2022, when a new role of President was created, which is dedicated to more core lanes of strategy.22

List of CEOs

  1. Moxie Marlinspike (2018–2022)
  2. Brian Acton (2022–present)

List of presidents

  1. Meredith Whittaker (2022–present)23

References

  1. "Signal Technology Foundation". Nonprofit Explorer. Pro Publica Inc. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2022. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/824506840 ↩

  2. "Statement of Information" (PDF). bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov. California Secretary of State. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2025. https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/api/report/GetImageByNum/118234220019123101066088064058060110220205102189 ↩

  3. Marlinspike, Moxie; Acton, Brian (21 February 2018). "Signal Foundation". Signal.org. Retrieved 21 February 2018. https://signal.org/blog/signal-foundation/ ↩

  4. "Signal Foundation". signalfoundation.org. Retrieved 25 October 2023. https://signalfoundation.org/ ↩

  5. Marlinspike, Moxie; Acton, Brian (21 February 2018). "Signal Foundation". Signal.org. Retrieved 21 February 2018. https://signal.org/blog/signal-foundation/ ↩

  6. Greenberg, Andy (21 February 2018). "WhatsApp Co-Founder Puts $50M Into Signal To Supercharge Encrypted Messaging". Wired. Condé Nast. Retrieved 21 February 2018. https://www.wired.com/story/signal-foundation-whatsapp-brian-acton/ ↩

  7. Greenberg, Andy (21 February 2018). "WhatsApp Co-Founder Puts $50M Into Signal To Supercharge Encrypted Messaging". Wired. Condé Nast. Retrieved 21 February 2018. https://www.wired.com/story/signal-foundation-whatsapp-brian-acton/ ↩

  8. Marlinspike, Moxie; Acton, Brian (21 February 2018). "Signal Foundation". Signal.org. Retrieved 21 February 2018. https://signal.org/blog/signal-foundation/ ↩

  9. "Signal Technology Foundation - Form 990 for period ending December 2018". Nonprofit Explorer. ProPublica. Retrieved 15 February 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/824506840/12_2019_prefixes_82-86%2F824506840_201812_990_2019121216951146 ↩

  10. "Signal Foundation". signalfoundation.org. Retrieved 25 October 2023. https://signalfoundation.org/ ↩

  11. Signal [@signalapp] (15 June 2023). "Announcement! Signal is refreshing our board as we grow. We're delighted to welcome @krmaher, @ambaonadventure, and @jaysullivan as Signal's new Directors. Learn more here" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 June 2023 – via Twitter. https://x.com/signalapp/status/1669374293203976195 ↩

  12. "Signal Foundation". signalfoundation.org. Retrieved 25 October 2023. https://signalfoundation.org/ ↩

  13. "Signal Technology Foundation - Form 990 for period ending December 2018". Nonprofit Explorer. ProPublica. Retrieved 15 February 2020. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/824506840/12_2019_prefixes_82-86%2F824506840_201812_990_2019121216951146 ↩

  14. Signal [@signalapp] (15 June 2023). "Meredith and Brian will remain on the Board for an interim period, before stepping off to focus on their leadership duties–Meredith as Signal's President, and Brian staying on as Signal's CEO, following a search" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 June 2023 – via Twitter. https://x.com/signalapp/status/1669374295720570881 ↩

  15. "A Message from Signal's New President". Signal Messenger. Retrieved 2022-09-06. https://signal.org/blog/announcing-signal-president/ ↩

  16. "Signal Foundation". signalfoundation.org. Retrieved 25 October 2023. https://signalfoundation.org/ ↩

  17. "Signal Terms & Privacy Policy". signal.org. Signal Messenger LLC. 25 May 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2021. https://www.signal.org/legal/ ↩

  18. "Statement of Information" (PDF). businesssearch.sos.ca.gov. California Secretary of State. 3 October 2018. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 13 February 2019. https://businesssearch.sos.ca.gov/Document/RetrievePDF?Id=201808710334-24941282 ↩

  19. Marlinspike, Moxie (10 January 2022). "New year, new CEO". signal.org. Signal Messenger. Retrieved 10 January 2022. https://signal.org/blog/new-year-new-ceo/ ↩

  20. Marlinspike, Moxie (10 January 2022). "New year, new CEO". signal.org. Signal Messenger. Retrieved 10 January 2022. https://signal.org/blog/new-year-new-ceo/ ↩

  21. Signal [@signalapp] (15 June 2023). "Meredith and Brian will remain on the Board for an interim period, before stepping off to focus on their leadership duties–Meredith as Signal's President, and Brian staying on as Signal's CEO, following a search" (Tweet). Retrieved 21 June 2023 – via Twitter. https://x.com/signalapp/status/1669374295720570881 ↩

  22. "Why Signal won't compromise on encryption, with president Meredith Whittaker". The Verge. 18 October 2022. https://www.theverge.com/23409716/signal-encryption-messaging-sms-meredith-whittaker-imessage-whatsapp-china ↩

  23. "A Message from Signal's New President". Signal. 8 September 2022. https://signal.org/blog/announcing-signal-president/ ↩