X, the social media site owned by Elon Musk, is blocking links to encrypted messaging platform Signal. The issue was first reported by tech journalist Matt Binder in his substack blog. Digital Trends checked and can confirm that all links containing the “Signal.me” URL identifier are getting restricted on X.
Just like WhatsApp, which relies on a ”WA.me” URL format for sharing a direct message link, Signal also follows a similar approach to let users click on the “Signal.me” link and directly land in a one-on-one chat.
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I tried sharing a Signal chat link to my profile on X and got an error message telling me that the post wasn’t sent. Moving over to the direct messages (DM) section, I tried to share my “signal.me” link with a few of my friends, but the message didn’t pass through.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
Putting a signal link in public posts or DM’s simply returns a sending error, without any explanation. However, when updating the X bio with the link, the error message describes the “Signal.me” link as a malware.
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X is also blocking users from clicking on Signal links shared in older posts. So far, the platform hasn’t said anything officially about why Signal links are running into a digital wall. For existing links out there on X, the platform is warning users that it may be malicious, spammy, misleading, or something that violates X policies.
However, it seems that X is not keyword-blocking X. I was able to share my Signal username in posts and direct messages, without running into any error messages.
Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends
Binder speculates that X might be blocking Signal links because of government staffers fired by the DOGE agency led by Musk, who are now trying to anonymously share details as whistleblowers with journalists.
This won’t be the first time that X is blocking links to other platforms. In 2020, X started obstructing links to rival social media platforms such as Instagram, Mastodon, and Facebook, among others.
“Casually sharing occasional links is fine, but no more relentless advertising of competitors for free,” Musk said in a post back then. However, the restriction was lifted soon after backlash, including criticism from former chief, Jack Dorsey.
Signal is the platform journalists, activists, and whistleblowers have used extensively in the past, owing to the threat of revealing their identity and subsequent persecution and harassment. The open-source platform offers end-to-end encryption by default, in addition to robust account and identity verification tools.
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