(Reuters) – Signal founder and chief executive officer Moxie Marlinspike has resigned. WhatsApp cofounder Brian Acton will take over as interim CEO. Marlinspike announced this in a Monday blog post.

Signal’s CEO, Marlinspike said that “It’s an entirely new year” and that he felt it was a great time to step down. Marlinspike who will still be on Signal’s board said he’s looking to hire permanent CEO candidates.

In 2009, Acton created Signal’s competitor messaging app WhatsApp. Meta Platforms bought the company. Facebook Inc In 2014. Signal claims that he left WhatsApp in 2017 because of differences over the targeting advertising and use of customer data.

Marlinspike and he founded Signal Foundation, a non-profit organization that currently manages the app. It received $50 million in initial funding.

Signal, an encryption-based messaging system, was endorsed by a number of people. Twitter Inc (N:), Jack Dorsey co-founder, whistleblower Edward Snowden and Privacy Advocate.