Open Whisper Systems (abbreviated OWS) was a software development group that was founded by

Moxie Marlinspike Moxie Marlinspike is an American entrepreneur, cryptographer, and computer security researcher. Marlinspike is the creator of Signal, co-founder of the Signal Technology Foundation, and served as the first CEO of Signal Messenger LLC. He is als ...

in 2013. The group picked up the

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

development of

TextSecure TextSecure was an encrypted messaging application for Android that was developed from 2010 to 2015. It was a predecessor to Signal and the first application to use the Signal Protocol, which has since been implemented into WhatsApp and other app ...

and RedPhone, and was later responsible for starting the development of the

Signal Protocol The Signal Protocol (formerly known as the TextSecure Protocol) is a non- federated cryptographic protocol that can be used to provide end-to-end encryption for voice calls and instant messaging conversations. The protocol was developed by Open W ...

and the Signal messaging app. In 2018, Signal Messenger was incorporated as an LLC by Moxie Marlinspike and

Brian Acton Brian Acton (born 1972/1973) is an American computer programmer and Internet entrepreneur. Acton is the executive chairman of the Signal Technology Foundation, which he co-founded with Moxie Marlinspike in 2018. , Acton also serves as interim C ...

and then rolled under the independent 501c3 non-profit

Signal Technology Foundation The Signal Foundation, officially the Signal Technology Foundation, is an American non-profit organization founded in 2018 by Moxie Marlinspike and Brian Acton. Its mission is "to develop open-source privacy technology that protects free expressi ...

. Today, the Signal app is developed by Signal Messenger LLC, which is funded by the Signal Technology Foundation.

History

2010–2013: Background

Security researcher

and roboticist Stuart Anderson co-founded a startup company called

Whisper Systems Whisper Systems was an American enterprise mobile security company that was co-founded by security researcher Moxie Marlinspike and roboticist Stuart Anderson in 2010. The company was acquired by Twitter in November 2011. Some of the company's s ...

in 2010. The company produced

proprietary {{Short pages monitor