Very interesting.
I will investigate this further.
After reading the linked articles I think that the main issue about access to messages by law enforcement After First Unlock of an iPhone is a general iPhone vulnerability, not something particular to Signal. It is a fairly extreme circumstance for law enforcement to get your iPhone in AFU mode.
The links to government money in early development are potentially concerning, however it is Open Source which means that lots of smart independent developers can and have looked at the code and can find vulnerabilities.
Neither Signal nor Telegram provide perfect privacy and security, but they are a good balance between security and convenience for the average user (which is what my Alternatives to Big Tech post is directed at). They are way better than WhatApp.
There are more secure options but they have far fewer users making them less useful for everyday communication with friends and associates.
Naomi Brockwell (aka @skycorridors) does an excellent video on secure messaging apps. https://odysee.com/@NaomiBrockwell:4/MOST-Private-Messaging-Apps:3
Yeah, I love Naomi Brockwell content. I've watched some of her videos on Odysee until I had enough of the constant buffering there and never loading the videos. I hope @skycorridors creates a channel here in HIVE where things seem to work better.
Regarding the AFU thing, this passage here of the first link is quite telling:
"This vulnerability within the Signal app may not be a design flaw, but rather a deliberate backdoor to allow authorities to access private messages. The app was initially funded with backing from the deep state, after all."
So, does whatsapp or telegram has the same "feature" of being able to open up our phones while in partial AFU?