Signal Foundation


The Signal Foundation, officially the Signal Technology Foundation, is a non-profit organization founded in 2018 by Moxie Marlinspike and Brian Acton. Its mission is "to develop open-source privacy technology that protects free expression and enables secure global communication."
The foundation shares its name with the Signal messaging app.

History

On February 21, 2018, Moxie Marlinspike and WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton announced the formation of the Signal Foundation, a 501 nonprofit organization. The foundation was started with an initial $50 million in funding from Acton, who had left WhatsApp's parent company Facebook in September 2017. 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.
The initial $50M in funding was a loan, not a donation, from Brian Acton to the new nonprofit Signal Technology Foundation. 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.
The Foundation is completely controlled by Brian Acton, who is the sole "member" of the nonprofit, with the right to appoint or remove every member of the Board of Directors. The Board consists of Acton and Marlinspike. Acton is also the President.