{"id":372830,"date":"2026-01-16T07:07:24","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T07:07:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/372830\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T07:07:24","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T07:07:24","slug":"signals-founder-is-taking-on-chatgpt-heres-why-the-truly-private-ai-cant-leak-your-chats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/372830\/","title":{"rendered":"Signal\u2019s founder is taking on ChatGPT \u2014 here\u2019s why the \u2018truly private AI\u2019 can\u2019t leak your chats"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There&#8217;s new AI assistant built by Signal\u2019s founder, named ConferLike Signal, Confer encrypts chats so no one can read them Unlike ChatGPT or Gemini, Confer doesn\u2019t collect or store your data for training, logging, or legal access<\/p>\n<p id=\"c1b28371-bdc1-40ad-b49d-5e8110567883\">The man who made private messaging mainstream now wants to do the same for AI. <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/computing\/websites-apps\/what-is-signal-signalgate-explained\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/computing\/websites-apps\/what-is-signal-signalgate-explained\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Signal<\/a> creator Moxie Marlinspike has launched a new AI assistant called Confer, built around similar privacy principles.<\/p>\n<p>Conversations with Confer can&#8217;t be read even by server administrators. The platform encrypts every part of the user interaction by default and runs in what&#8217;s called a trusted execution environment, never letting sensitive user data leave that encrypted bubble. There&#8217;s no saved data checked on, used for training, or sold to other companies. Confer is an outlier in this way, as data is usually considered the value of making an AI <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/chatbot\" data-auto-tag-linker=\"true\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/tag\/chatbot\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">chatbot<\/a> free.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-url=\"\" href=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"c1b28371-bdc1-40ad-b49d-5e8110567883-2\">But as consumer trust in AI privacy is already strained, the appeal is obvious. People are noticing that what they say to these systems doesn\u2019t always stay private. A court order last year forced OpenAI to <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/ai-platforms-assistants\/chatgpt\/your-chatgpt-chats-could-be-less-private-than-you-thought-heres-what-a-new-openai-court-ruling-means-for-you\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/ai-platforms-assistants\/chatgpt\/your-chatgpt-chats-could-be-less-private-than-you-thought-heres-what-a-new-openai-court-ruling-means-for-you\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">retain all ChatGPT<\/a> user logs, even deleted ones, for potential legal discovery, and ChatGPT chats even showed up in <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/ai-platforms-assistants\/chatgpt\/chatgpt-chats-are-now-appearing-in-google-search-heres-how-to-stop-google-from-spying-on-your-conversations\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/ai-platforms-assistants\/chatgpt\/chatgpt-chats-are-now-appearing-in-google-search-heres-how-to-stop-google-from-spying-on-your-conversations\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Google Search results<\/a> for a while, thanks to accidentally public links. There was also an uproar over contractors <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/pro\/5-things-businesses-and-users-should-remember-when-using-ai-chatbots\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.techradar.com\/pro\/5-things-businesses-and-users-should-remember-when-using-ai-chatbots\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">reviewing anonymized<\/a> chatbot transcripts that included personal health information.<\/p>\n<p>You may like<\/p>\n<p>Confer&#8217;s data is encrypted before it even reaches the server, using passkeys stored only on the user\u2019s device. Those keys are never uploaded or shared. Confer supports syncing chats between devices, yet thanks to cryptographic design choices not even Confer\u2019s creators can unlock them. It&#8217;s ChatGPT with Signal security.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-ecc76a38-2b90-4ecc-8c95-b912b11bac09\" class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-url=\"\" href=\"\" target=\"_blank\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\"\/>Private AI<\/p>\n<p id=\"c1658711-3fcc-4bd1-bc50-c1effe967f79\">Confer\u2019s design goes one step further than most privacy-first products by offering a feature called remote attestation. This allows any user to verify exactly what code is running on Confer\u2019s servers. The platform publishes the software stack in full, and digitally signs every release.<\/p>\n<p>This may not matter to every user. But for developers, organizations, and watchdogs trying to assess how their data is handled, it\u2019s a radical level of security that might allow some concerned AI chatbot fans to breathe easier.<\/p>\n<p>Not that there aren&#8217;t privacy settings on other AI chatbots. There are actually quite a few that users can review, even if they don&#8217;t think to do so until after they\u2019ve already said something personal. ChatGPT, Gemini, and Meta AI all provide opt-out toggles for things like chat history, allowing data to be used for training, or outright removing data. But the default state is surveillance, and opting out is a user\u2019s responsibility.<\/p>\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more.<\/p>\n<p>Confer inverts that setup by making the most private setup the default. It&#8217;s baked in, though, which also highlights how most privacy tools are reactive. It might at least raise awareness, if not consumer demand for more AI chatbots that forget. Organizations like schools and hospitals interested in AI might be enticed by tools that guarantee confidentiality by design.<\/p>\n<p id=\"4a9efc83-85a8-4348-a4d3-053bcd751043\"><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEWFJsWTJoeVlXUmhjaTVqYjIwb0FBUAE?hl=en-GB&amp;gl=GB&amp;ceid=GB%3Aen\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqKAgKIiJDQklTRXdnTWFnOEtEWFJsWTJoeVlXUmhjaTVqYjIwb0FBUAE?hl=en-GB&amp;gl=GB&amp;ceid=GB%3Aen\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Follow TechRadar on Google News<\/a> and <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=techradar.com\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=techradar.com\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">add us as a preferred source<\/a> to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!<\/p>\n<p>And of course you can also <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@techradar\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@techradar\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">follow TechRadar on TikTok<\/a> for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029Va6HybZ9RZAY7pIUK12h\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/whatsapp.com\/channel\/0029Va6HybZ9RZAY7pIUK12h\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WhatsApp<\/a> too.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763875814_869_hhZUEBD3xpcxphhUVzPa5G.png\" alt=\"Purple circle with the words Best business laptops in white\"   class=\"person__avatar image-wrapped__image image__image\" loading=\"lazy\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763875814_869_hhZUEBD3xpcxphhUVzPa5G.png\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763875814_869_hhZUEBD3xpcxphhUVzPa5G.png\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/1763875814_869_hhZUEBD3xpcxphhUVzPa5G.png\" data-pin-nopin=\"true\" data-slice-image=\"true\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The best business laptops for all budgets<\/p>\n<p>Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons<br \/>\n<script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There&#8217;s new AI assistant built by Signal\u2019s founder, named ConferLike Signal, Confer encrypts chats so no one can&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[554,733,4308,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-372830","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-technology","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}