Brian Acton, one of the founders of WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta, has been appointed interim CEO of the single messaging app, after the company’s veteran CEO, Moxie Marlinspike, announced his retirement.
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Marlinspike has served as Signal CEO for nearly a decade. In a post he published he said he felt comfortable retiring at this time based on the success of Signal and the expanding team.
Acton, who serves on Signal’s founding board, volunteered to serve as interim CEO until a permanent CEO is found, according to the Marlinspike post. Acton retired from WhatsApp in 2017 due to disagreements with Mark Zuckerberg over the way to profit from the app.
“People find value and serenity in a single (technology developed for them and not for their data) and are willing to maintain it,” he wrote further. “Every day I am amazed anew at the potential of a groundbreaking signal, and I want to bring someone with new energies and a commitment to realize all the potential.”
Signal is considered an app that is gaining popularity among journalists, social and political activists and anyone who prefers private and secure communication. Despite this, in January last year an affair was exposed in which a number of employees at the signal expressed concern that it would be directed to use by criminal or extremist elements in crime and terrorism.
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