# Brian Acton

> Brian Acton is the co-founder of WhatsApp, which sold to Facebook for $19 billion in 2014, and the founder of Signal Foundation, where he champions privacy-focused communication. After walking away from $850 million in unvested Facebook stock over ethical disagreements about user privacy, he invested $50 million to build Signal, an encrypted messaging platform designed to put users first. A Stanford computer science graduate who was rejected by both Facebook and Twitter in 2009, Acton has given over $1 billion to charitable causes with his wife Tegan, focusing on low-income families, reproductive rights, and internet privacy.

- **Role:** Executive Chairman at Signal Foundation
- **Organizations:** Signal Foundation, WhatsApp (former), Yahoo (former), Wildcard Giving, Sunlight Giving, Acton Family Giving
- **From:** Michigan, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Engineering (full scholarship, left after one year), University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded WhatsApp, which grew to 450 million users before $19 billion Facebook acquisition, Created Signal Foundation and invested $50 million to build privacy-focused encrypted messaging, Donated over $1 billion to charitable causes with wife Tegan Acton

## Career timeline

- **1992** — Worked as systems administrator at Rockwell International
- **1994** — Graduated from Stanford University with degree in Computer Science
- **1994-1996** — Product tester at Apple Inc. and Adobe Systems
- **1996** — Joined Yahoo Inc. as engineer, met Jan Koum
- **2000** — Lost millions in dot-com bubble crash
- **2007** — Left Yahoo after 11 years, traveled South America for a year
- **2009** — Applied to Facebook and Twitter - rejected by both companies
- **2009** — Co-founded WhatsApp with Jan Koum
- **2014** — Sold WhatsApp to Facebook for $19 billion; started Wildcard Giving with wife Tegan
- **2017** — Left Facebook in September, walking away from $850 million in unvested stock
- **2018** — Co-founded Signal Foundation with Moxie Marlinspike, invested $50 million; tweeted #deletefacebook
- **2019** — Forbes reported Brian and Tegan had given over $1 billion to charity
- **2018-present** — Executive Chairman of Signal Foundation

## Achievements

- Co-founded WhatsApp, which grew to 450 million users before $19 billion Facebook acquisition
- Created Signal Foundation and invested $50 million to build privacy-focused encrypted messaging
- Donated over $1 billion to charitable causes with wife Tegan Acton
- Built WhatsApp with philosophy of 'no ads, no games, no gimmicks'
- Championed end-to-end encryption and user privacy in mainstream messaging apps
- Walked away from $850 million in Facebook stock on principle over user privacy disagreements
- Founded Wildcard Giving and Sunlight Giving to support low-income families in San Francisco Bay Area
- Built career from Yahoo engineer to billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Continues as Executive Chairman of Signal Foundation, overseeing the privacy-focused messaging platform
- **2026** — Co-chairing Wildcard Giving with wife Tegan, focusing on family philanthropy in Bay Area and beyond
- **2018-present** — Signal app continues to grow as leading privacy-focused alternative to mainstream messaging platforms

## Links

- Website: https://signal.org
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianacton
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/brianacton

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/brian-acton
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-02