There’s no shortage of messaging apps out there that claim to be private. But are they? To answer this question, we’ve collected some of the most popular and trusted messengers on the market today into one place: a ranking of the best Secure Messaging Apps for different situations.
1. Signal Private Messenger
Signal Private Messenger is a free, open-source Secure Messaging App that provides users with secure and easy-to-use messaging. The app has been available since 2012 and has become one of the most popular private messaging apps on all platforms, including Android, iOS and desktop computers.
Signal Private Messenger offers end-to-end encryption for your messages so no one else will be able to see them except those you share them with. All calls made through Signal, including group calls, are encrypted. What’s more, all personal data is encrypted and stored on your device instead of Signal’s servers. Signal doesn’t collect user data at all; however, you need a phone number to sign up. Additionally, you cannot use the desktop version without first installing the mobile one.
Download Signal: Android, iOS, Desktop
2. Telegram
Telegram is a secure messaging app. It’s also free and has a desktop version, so you can use it on your laptop or computer.
Telegram has many of the same features as WhatsApp: group chats and channels, photo sharing and direct messaging (DMs). But Telegram also lets you make voice calls over the internet using your phone number instead of an ID number or Google Voice number like WhatsApp does.
And unlike Signal or WhatsApp it doesn’t require your phone number to register an account—you just need to have one active SIM card in your device with enough data left on it for sending messages/calls once connected via LTE/3G connection where available in country where mobile network coverage provided by operator chosen during signup process
End-to-end encryption is a must-have for any messaging app, and Telegram offers it… but you have to enable it manually. Secret Chat mode is required for end-to-end encryption, which means you’ll lose some features like self-destructing messages, video and document sharing, and group chats with more than two participants. Still, the security benefits of end-to-end encryption are worth it.
Download Telegram: Android, iOS, Desktop
3. Wire
Wire is a secure messaging app that’s free and open source. It’s available on desktop, mobile, and web. You can download it from the App Store or visit the website at wireapp.com/downloads/.
The first thing you’ll need to do is create an account by entering your email address or creating one using Facebook Connect (or Google+). After you’ve done this, wire will ask if you want to save messages so they’re easy to find later—this is a great feature because if someone were able to get access to your account without knowing how to use it themselves then they’d still be able to see all of your conversations! They also give users the option of sharing their location with friends so they know where exactly in space/time they are when chatting with each other–which makes sense since most people have phones nowadays anyways!
Wire supports end-to-end encryption for instant messages, voice and video calls, and also offers support for GIFs, audio and video clips, sketches, local and Dropbox file sharing. One of the great things about Wire is that it allows you to keep your personal and work communications separate by supporting multiple accounts across multiple devices.
Download Wire: Android, iOS, Desktop
4. WhatsApp
WhatsApp is used by a ton of people, but a lot of people are worried about its ownership by Meta (formerly Facebook). The WhatsApp founders in 2009 originally wanted it to be a place for people to post statuses, similar to how Facebook has statuses.
However, it was the messaging feature that caught the attention of Meta and led to them buying WhatsApp in 2014. Even though WhatsApp is encrypted end-to-end, people are still concerned about how it could be used in the future by its current owners.
No matter who owns it, WhatsApp remains one of the easiest ways for anyone to use end-to-end encrypted messaging. However, if you’re not comfortable with Facebook’s presence, there are plenty of other options available.
For those users who want to be absolutely certain about their security, WhatsApp offers the ability to verify each chat’s 60-digit security-verification code or QR code. This allows you to compare with a contact to ensure that your conversation is encrypted. You can also choose to have your messages backed up with WhatsApp itself instead of Apple’s iCloud.
Download WhatsApp: Android, iOS, Desktop
5. Wickr Me
Wickr is one of the most secure messaging apps on the market. It uses end-to-end encryption, which means that your messages are encrypted before they’re sent and decrypted after they leave your phone or computer. This means only the sender and receiver can view them (except in some cases where law enforcement has given permission to look at messages).
In addition to military-grade encryption, Wickr also offers many other security features like password protection, passcode lockdowns and timers that allow you set up rules for when people can read your messages.
Wickr Me is a great encrypted messaging app for consumers, but it doesn’t have all the features that some other apps have. Group chats are limited to 10 members, and audio and video calls are one-to-one only.
However, Wickr was bought by Amazon in June 2021, which may alarm some users worried about the retail giant’s privacy issues. Like Silent Circle and Wire, it seems to have retooled its primary marketing strategy to appeal primarily to business users.
Download Wickr Me: Android, iOS, Desktop
6. Dust
Dust is a secure messaging app that’s easy to use and has a great interface. It has a lot of features that make it a good choice for privacy conscious users, including end-to-end encryption and self-destructing messages.
Dust isn’t as popular as Signal or WhatsApp, but it’s still one of the best apps out there if you’re looking for something more secure than other options. Plus, since it’s open source software (meaning anyone can check its code), there are plenty of people looking at how they can improve Dust’s security features in an effort to keep their data more private
Download Dust: Android, iOS, Visit Site
Conclusion
I hope this has been helpful for you in your search for the best private messaging app. I’ve tried to cover all of the main options out there so that if you’re looking for something different, I can help with that too!
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