Signal’s president reveals the cost of running the privacy-preserving platform—not just to drum up donations, but to call out the for-profit surveillance business models it competes against.
Signal’s operating costs: around $40 million this year
$14 million a year in infrastructure costs
$6 million annually, goes to telecom firms to pay for the SMS text messages Signal uses to send registration codes to verify new Signal accounts’ phone numbers
$19 million a year or so out of Signal’s budget pays for its staff. Signal now employs about 50 people
Staff budget seem crazy high with about 50 people. That’s an average of $31.666 per month per employee.
Staff budget seem crazy high with about 50 people. That’s an average of $31.666 per month per employee.