The protocol is built from the same digital DNA as the Tor browser and the chat app Signal and will be used to create new ways for folks to communicate, share files, and generally surf the web while simultaneously protecting their privacy.
One of the complaints about Signal is that although the content is encrypted end to end, the sender and receiver are in the open. This is analogous to a postal service letter where the contents are unviewable. Signal now offers something to obscure the sender (like not putting a return address on a letter), but the receiver must be known to the servers in order to properly deliver it.
Although the Signal protocol is probably sent to the Signal servers encrypted, privacy enthusasts contend that it’s possible that the maintainers of Signal could be coerced into providing the sender and receiver of messages, even if the messages are not viewable.