Former Signal engineers just released Encrypted Spaces, an open-source framework that could reshape how companies build collaboration software. The project promises to bring Signal-grade privacy protections to workplace apps as complex as Slack, Discord, or Google Docs - a technical feat that's eluded most enterprise software makers. As governments ramp up surveillance pressure and data breaches pile up, the timing couldn't be more relevant for companies looking to lock down their internal communications.
The engineers who helped make Signal synonymous with private messaging are taking aim at a bigger target: the entire collaboration software market. Their new project, Encrypted Spaces, tackles one of the thorniest problems in enterprise tech - how to build apps as sophisticated as Slack, Discord, or Google Docs while maintaining end-to-end encryption that even the service provider can't break.
Most workplace collaboration tools today offer encryption in transit and at rest, but the companies running them can still access your data. That's by design - features like search, integrations, and real-time collaboration typically require servers to see what you're working on. Signal's founders cracked this problem for messaging years ago, but scaling that approach to complex multi-user workspaces has remained an unsolved challenge.
Encrypted Spaces changes the calculation. The open-source framework provides developers with the cryptographic building blocks to create collaboration apps where the server merely shuffles encrypted data around without ever decrypting it. Think of it as infrastructure for privacy - the same way Amazon Web Services made it easy to spin up servers, Encrypted Spaces makes it easier to build genuinely private software.
The release comes as enterprise software faces a reckoning over privacy. Government surveillance programs continue expanding their reach, while ransomware gangs increasingly target collaboration platforms as goldmines of corporate secrets. Companies in regulated industries like healthcare and finance have been scrambling for alternatives that don't force them to choose between functionality and security.
What makes this different from past encrypted collaboration attempts is the pedigree. The Signal team spent years refining the cryptographic protocols and user experience patterns that make privacy actually usable. Their work on the Signal Protocol became the foundation for encryption in WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Google's RCS messaging - proving these techniques can scale to billions of users.
But building Encrypted Spaces as open-source infrastructure rather than a standalone product is the real strategic move. Instead of competing directly with Slack or Microsoft Teams, the framework lets a thousand privacy-focused flowers bloom. A startup could use it to build an encrypted project management tool. An open-source community might create a Discord alternative for activists. An enterprise software vendor could finally offer clients true data sovereignty.
The technical architecture relies on what cryptographers call "end-to-end encrypted group collaboration" - essentially extending Signal's peer-to-peer encryption model to handle multiple users editing shared resources simultaneously. The framework handles thorny problems like key management, user permissions, and conflict resolution without exposing plaintext data to servers. That's non-trivial engineering that most development teams wouldn't want to tackle from scratch.
Timing is everything in developer tools, and Encrypted Spaces arrives when privacy concerns are shifting from idealistic to pragmatic. The EU's stricter data protection enforcement, ongoing debates over encryption backdoors, and high-profile breaches at collaboration platforms have made security a board-level conversation. CTOs who once dismissed end-to-end encryption as too limiting are reconsidering that stance.
The framework's success will depend on whether developers actually adopt it and whether the apps they build can match the polish of established players. Open-source projects sometimes struggle with user experience, and even the best encryption is useless if it makes software too clunky to use. Signal proved encrypted messaging could feel effortless - now their alumni need to prove the same for collaboration.
Competition in collaboration tools has intensified since the pandemic normalized remote work. Notion, Figma, and dozens of other players have carved out niches by focusing on specific workflows. A wave of privacy-first alternatives built on Encrypted Spaces could reshape that landscape, particularly for organizations that handle sensitive data or operate in hostile jurisdictions.
The open-source approach also means the code can be audited by security researchers - a crucial factor for organizations that need to verify their tools aren't compromised. Proprietary collaboration platforms require users to trust the vendor's security claims. With Encrypted Spaces, trust comes from transparency and cryptographic guarantees, not marketing promises.
For now, this is infrastructure for developers, not end users. The real test comes in the next 12-18 months as the first wave of applications built on Encrypted Spaces hits the market. If those apps can deliver on the promise - Slack-level functionality with Signal-level privacy - we might look back on this release as the moment collaboration software finally got serious about encryption.
Encrypted Spaces represents a bet that privacy-first collaboration tools are ready to move from niche to mainstream. If the Signal alumni are right, we're about to see a wave of workplace apps that don't force users to choose between features and security. The framework won't replace Slack or Microsoft Teams overnight, but it gives developers and forward-thinking enterprises a credible path to building collaboration tools that actually keep secrets. For companies handling sensitive data - whether that's medical records, financial information, or just internal strategy documents - that option is long overdue. The question now is whether the market is ready to embrace it.
