- A year ago, we went over the way that NSA gathers very nearly 200 million instant messages each day. That is the point at which we understood that our protection was surely being attacked. Truly, we live during a time of web reconnaissance and information logging, where organizations do nearly anything to get our own data. Gratefully, there has been a scaling in secure messaging applications, which concentrate on keeping our protection in place through end-to-end encryption and different ways.
- All things considered, we investigated different messaging applications that claim to be secure and found the best secure messaging applications among them. Be that as it may, to start with, we should discuss why there’s a requirement for secure messaging applications.
Why we need secure messaging apps?
- There are a number of reasons as to why we need secure messaging apps. In atest conducted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, most of the popular messaging apps (BBM, Facebook Messenger, Hangout, Kik Messenger, Skype, Snapchat, Viber, WhatsApp, Yahoo Messenger) we use, failed to tick most security standards.
- This proposes while these applications are awesome, the organizations may utilize our discussions as a data to target promoting better way. In addition, perusing our private discussions is surely an intrusion of our security.
- Alongside our own protection attack, there are different enterprises where secure messaging applications are an unquestionable requirement. Legitimate and Advisory firms require the best in class secure messaging applications since they wouldn’t need their customer’s delicate data to spill out. Human services is another industry where secure messaging applications is an absolute necessity to shield understanding data from spilling out to everybody. Back, Banking and Insurance businesses too require secure messaging applications in light of the fact that the data they share is extremely private to be sure and they should make sure about sending such delicate data on an application.
- These are without a doubt adequate motivations to recommend that we undoubtedly require secure messaging applications that give our protection the need. Gratefully, we have discovered some awesome secure messaging applications for you. Look at them:
Best Secure Messaging Apps that keep your chats private
1. Threema
- Threema is one of the most popular secure messaging apps available today and deservedly so. It does what it’s supposed to do, that is keeping data out of Governments, corporations and hackers hands. Threema brings end-to-end encryptions of messages, group chats, media shared and even statuses. The developers have also made sure that your privacy remains intact no matter what, as it deletes any messages on the server once they are delivered while other details like groups & contacts are stored on device’s local storage. To use Threema, you don’t need an email id or phone number and the app provides you a unique Threema ID.
- long with the security features, Threema is a comprehensive messaging app, thanks to some really unique features like poll, ability to send most file types (pdf, gif, doc, mp3, zip etc..) along with the usual features like sending texts, voice messages and more. Threema also has a transparent privacy policyunlike most big corporate giants. It is available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone for a nominal price tag.
- Install:Android, iOS, Windows Phone ($2.49)
- Compatibility:Android 4.0 and up, iOS 6.0 or up, Windows Phone 8 and up.
2. Signal Private Messenger
- Signal Private Messenger was released earlier this year and it brought functionality from the two older Open Whisper Systems apps, TextSecure and RedPhone. Along with Threema, Signal is one of the most downloaded secure messaging apps and it too deserves all the attention. Signal Messenger is an open source secure messaging app, which aims at making sure people don’t worry about their security and privacy while conversing with their loved ones. Signal does use your phone number but all your conversations are end-to-end encrypted and even the apps’ servers don’t store any of your chats. Signal claims that none of your data is stored with them. It is also the only open source messenger that uses cryptographic protocols to keep your messages safe.
- On the messaging front, Signal is a highly capable messenger with ability to send texts, voice messages and even make voice calls. There are other features like highly encrypted group chats, archive functionality and more. Moreover, Signal Private Messenger is totally free to use, so give it a try!
- Install:Android, iOS (Free)
- Compatibility:Android 2.3 and up, iOS 8.0 or up.
3. Telegram
- Everybody is pretty well acquainted with Telegram, the very popularWhatsApp competitor. Telegram’s ticks all the boxes when it comes to being a secure messaging app, thanks to its “Secret Chats” feature. Telegram is a secure messaging app but its Secure Chats bring end-to-end encryption along with the ability to send self-destructing content like texts, media and files. Even without the Secret Chats feature, Telegram brings encryption to all your data.
- Along with being secure, Telegram is a highly capable messaging app that’s available on most platforms including aweb version and it can go toe to toe with any other messaging app when it comes to features. It’s fast, reliable and packs in all the features like large group chats, broadcasts, file and media sharing with no size limitations. It also features cloud syncing so that you don’t lose your chats even when you are changing your devices. Telegram is available for free and there are no subscription fees either.
- Install:Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Windows PC, OS X, Linux (Free)
- Compatibility:Android 2.2 and up, iOS 6.0 and up, Windows Phone 8 and up.
4. Wickr
- Wickr – Top Secret Messenger, as it likes to call itself is another messaging app that aims to bring a secure chat experience. Most of its features are aimed to make you feel more secure. It brings end-to-end encryption of texts, voice messages, videos and pictures. It also includes a “Shredder” feature that irreversibly deletes all your chats, media content from your device. There are a number of other security features like anonymity when it comes to Wickr ID, no metadata information, ability to set an expiration time on all messaging content and more. Wickr also claims to not read any messages of yours, not collect any of your personal info and does not own the media or text you send on Wickr.
- Wickr seems pretty impressive as a secure, private communication platform and it’s no slouch when it comes to messaging features. You can send texts, audios, images, videos and create groups, which are a little limited with only 10 contacts per group. It also supports cool stickers, graffiti and cool photo filters. Wickr is available for free on Android, iOS and PC platforms like Windows, OS X & Linux.
- Install:Android, iOS, Windows, OS X, Linux.
- Compatibility:Android 4.0 and up, iOS 7.0 and up, Windows 7 or up, OS X 10.8 or up.
5. Surespot
- Surespot Encrypted Messenger might not have the best user interface among secure messaging apps but its security & privacy features are solid indeed. Every message sent using Surespot is end-to-end encrypted with symmetric key encryption. According to Surespot, whatever you send to a person will only be read by that person, Period. That’s quite a bold claim but Surespot’s encryption details do look promising. You have total control with the app and you can have multiple identities for different people.
- Surespot also features voice messages that are encrypted the same way as text messages, so nothing to worry about here. It might not be very feature rich on the messaging front but it gives you the promise and confidence to send any message without any worries. Surespot Messenger is open source and free although there are some in-app purchases for features like voice calls.
- Install:Android, iOS (Free with in-app purchases)
- Compatibility:Android 2.3.3 and up, iOS 7.1 or up.
6. ChatSecure
- ChatSecure takes various measures to make sure there are no loopholes in your security and privacy needs. The secure messaging app features OTR (Off-the-record) encryption over XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol). You can enter your Facebook or Google accounts to use it or create an account on public XMPP servers. The app also gives you the ability to use your own server for your account, so you don’t have any doubts about your info. ChatSecure uses open source cryptographic libraries and its source code is auditable as well. It also uses SQLCipher to encrypt conversation logs locally on your device’s storage.
- ChatSecure’s security and privacy features might be a little confusing but they are very strong indeed. The app uses everything there is to make sure you have a secure chatting experience. On the messaging front, it features the usual features like ability to send text, audio, files, images, video and more. It’s available for free on the Google Play Store and iTunes.
- Install:Android, iOS (Free)
- Compatibility:Android 2.3 and up, iOS 7.0 or up.
7. Cyber Dust
- Cyber Dust is a cool secure messaging app, which along with security & privacy brings features that are pretty sleek. It likes to call its messages Dust and broadcast messages Blast. All the Dusts and Blasts are heavily encrypted and are never stored in a permanent storage. The app along with others on this list prevent screenshots as well. The messages disappear within 100 seconds or in 24 hours, if it remains unopened by the recipient. Every Cyber Dust message is encrypted with its own unique 128-bit AES encryption along with added security through RSA 2048-bit key.
- Cyber Dust is a social media platform as well as being a secure messaging app, as it lets you follow people. You can send your followers a blast or create a group of people with similar interests. It also brings you exclusive content from celebrities along with news that might interest you. To sum things up, Cyber Dust is a secure messaging as well as a secure social media community platform.
- Install:Android, iOS, Windows Phone (Free)
- Compatibility:Android 4.0.3 and up, iOS 8.0 and up, Windows Phone 8 and up.
Give these Secure Messaging Apps a try!
- Our security and privacy is of paramount importance but as we mentioned, not everyone takes it seriously. It’s true that if we take things seriously, we will not be able to enjoy our favorite apps and services. There’s also a problem with these secure messaging apps, that is we don’t have enough users on them to converse with. Well, if you and your friends & family are aware of the security issues and they are willing to jump ship to a more secure messaging app, then these apps should come in pretty handy.
Thank you very much for this article! I actually never heard about Threema but as I do not have to provide them any phone number it seems pretty interesting. I should try it out!