They're a non-profit, so their financials are publicly disclosed. ProPublica only has it as recently as 2018, but here was the financials then: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/82450...

That’s helpful, thanks.

So they’re 4mil in the hole? How is it possible that they’re still running?

They have $100 mn in donation from Acton

That wasn't a donation, it was a loan.

(A zero-interest 50-year loan, not a bona fide "I want my money back" loan.)

A fifty-year, interest-free loan is functionally a donation, IMO

You're not allowed to mention that, we have to pretend it's a charity.

Weird that it isn't listed in the data in that document.

I have no idea why anyone would donate $20 when they're sipping on $100m ...

$100 million given current growth wont last as long. Telegram 4 years had a run rate of $1 million per month for servers and dev costs. At that time they had about 200 million users.

Signal is using AWS & GCP ( for cloud fronting ), they could be approaching that spend level.

> $100 million given current growth wont last as long.

That is 100% their problem, though. I trust that they will develop a sustainable business model when it becomes necessary. Otherwise, look at their tax info shared above. Sporadic donations won't even make a small dent.

I mean, shoot, they won't even give us a hint at how much to donate to cover our own costs. That would be a start.

WhatsApp used to charge $1/ yr at 200 million users, which kept them well funded. A $1 donated by just the Android users at 50 million + would be $50 million per year.

TBF they havent had to think about this too much before the last 5 days, so give them some time to come up with a plan.

In the mean throw them whatever you are comfortable with.

I just get stuck in an infinite cloudflare loop :(

Good news, then! They have a monthly recurring donation option.

So how much covers my use?

WhatsApp used to do a $1 per year when they had 300 million users and it was profitable. So whatever you are comfortable with.

Hell if I know. Give what feels right to you - imagine the service going away tomorrow, and someone saying "If only you'd paid $X/mo, this wouldn't be happening!" What's the value of X where you'd regret not having done so?

Not really worried about funding its existence for the sake of it just not freeloading my use while it's here and I decide it's worth it which is what the gp was referring to as well.

I'd still argue to give the amount the service is worth to you, but if you're not willing to do that, then I'd say bilal4hmed is probably right - $1/mo is probably sufficient. Facebook, Twitter, etc. all have ARPUs at or below $12/yr.

also check if your employer does a matching donation. Its an easy way to double your donation. I do a single yearly donation for that reason