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Why is Signal (the app) free? What's the business model?

by chmars 12y ago

higherpurpose 12y ago
Open source. Donations. https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/bundle/encryption-tools-journalists https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/bundle/encryption-tools-j...
- eps 12y ago
  Donations is not a business model.
  - ig1 12y ago
    You do realize charitable giving represents hundreds of billions of revenue for non-profits every year ? - and that's excluding religious donations which are likely to represent an even larger amount.
    - Chronic29 12y ago
      And that is still not a business model.
  - higherpurpose 12y ago
    It is for Wikipedia. Otherwise no open source project has a "business model".
  - cdcarter 12y ago
    There are approximately 1.1 million public charities in the US that'd disagree with you.
  - eps 12y ago
    You can downvote all you want, but you are missing the point. Is Whisper Systems a charity, non-profit or a commercial entity? If it's either of first two, then it would've only make sense to say just that in the About section, because it would alleviate all questions of why their products are free. However if it's a commercial entity, the question remains - how do they plan on making money? And donations is a silly answer. They are a nice bonus, but as any goodwill gestures they are an unsustainable and unpredictable source of money unless there are dedicated people managing it, e.g. organizing fundraisers, campaigns and such. I don't think WS is doing any of this.
    - Nursie 12y ago
      Whisper Systems no longer exists. Open Whisper Systems is a project, not a company. It's not a commercial entity. There is no profit model, no business plan, nothing. It is free, open source, donationware (in both money for devs and dev time). The people directing it are well known and have repeatedly shown themselves to be very switched on. All code is open to audit. See - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisper_Systems http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisper_Systems There's no need to be so cynical with this lot.
Nursie 12y ago
There isn't a business model. Not everything has to have a business model. The only business model I would even remotely associate with this is, on an individual developer level, the reputation and future work opportunities you would get from having your name associated with this stuff.

Why is Signal (the app) free? What's the business model?

by chmars 12y ago

Why is Signal (the app) free? What's the business model?

Open source. Donations. https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/bundle/encryption-tools-journalists https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/bundle/encryption-tools-j...

eps 12y ago
Donations is not a business model.
- ig1 12y ago
  You do realize charitable giving represents hundreds of billions of revenue for non-profits every year ? - and that's excluding religious donations which are likely to represent an even larger amount.
  - Chronic29 12y ago
    And that is still not a business model.
- higherpurpose 12y ago
  It is for Wikipedia. Otherwise no open source project has a "business model".
- cdcarter 12y ago
  There are approximately 1.1 million public charities in the US that'd disagree with you.
- eps 12y ago
  You can downvote all you want, but you are missing the point. Is Whisper Systems a charity, non-profit or a commercial entity? If it's either of first two, then it would've only make sense to say just that in the About section, because it would alleviate all questions of why their products are free. However if it's a commercial entity, the question remains - how do they plan on making money? And donations is a silly answer. They are a nice bonus, but as any goodwill gestures they are an unsustainable and unpredictable source of money unless there are dedicated people managing it, e.g. organizing fundraisers, campaigns and such. I don't think WS is doing any of this.
  - Nursie 12y ago
    Whisper Systems no longer exists. Open Whisper Systems is a project, not a company. It's not a commercial entity. There is no profit model, no business plan, nothing. It is free, open source, donationware (in both money for devs and dev time). The people directing it are well known and have repeatedly shown themselves to be very switched on. All code is open to audit. See - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisper_Systems http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisper_Systems There's no need to be so cynical with this lot.

Nursie 12y ago

There isn't a business model. Not everything has to have a business model. The only business model I would even remotely associate with this is, on an individual developer level, the reputation and future work opportunities you would get from having your name associated with this stuff.