5 Private Instant Messaging Apps
More and more people are using messaging apps with encryption. The main reason is that such apps provide secure messaging and secure phone and video calls. And the appeal is understandable: nobody wants their conversation to be logged or spied on.
However, as apps with increased privacy are on the rise, their usage started rising as well. They aim to protect users in the online world where numerous marketing companies, such as Facebook, target them with ads.
We’ve composed a list of the top five private instant messaging apps that can ensure your privacy in your day-to-day messaging sprees. Installing any of them will prevent your chat sessions from being exposed or any misuse of your personal data.
List of the Top 5 Private Instant Messaging Apps
Your digital identity consists of a variety of factors. Your digital conversations are one thing, and who you tend to contact. While many providers have pledged not to read messages their users share, speculations persist.
Thus, to defend against tracking, many users turn to privacy-preserving tools. A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a tool that encrypts your entire internet traffic. Thus, many digital entities are left shrugging since they are no longer able to track your digital actions. Furthermore, a VPN scrambles your IP address and gives you a new one. Thus, it also boosts your anonymity online.
Silence
With this app, you can rest assured that your messaging will be safe. The app provides animated stickers of, e.g., animals and other instances. Silence doesn’t require the web – you can message people directly with SMS and MMS.
You will get all the benefits of sending SMSs and MMSs without using a Wi-Fi connection. The encryption methods are very secure and monitored by security professionals.
You can lock the app with a specific passphrase you create yourself. In addition, this type of extra security will make your conversations free from screen-shooting, so the person you are chatting with can’t document your conversation in any way.
Signal
The Signal app is one of the most advanced apps with an encrypted messaging system. Besides that, the app is very basic and plain, which makes it easy to use. Many privacy experts label Signal as the best instant messaging app to use.
It can work as a default SMS messaging app, but it won’t encrypt those messages. For the messages to be encrypted, both you and the person on the other end must have the app installed. Otherwise, there won’t be an encryption option.
Threema
Threema is another excellent app for staying away from the government and prominent corporations due to its secure messaging system. You can use the app anonymously, and besides messages, the phone calls you carry out will be encrypted.
You can create groups, polls and send files, images, locations, and videos to trusted users. There’s no personal information that you have to enter upon signing in, not even your email. With Threema, it’s all about anonymity.
Telegram
End-to-end encryption is not a default setting of Telegram. Therefore, you have to check whether a secret mode is activated or not upon every chat session. All file transfers are encrypted on Telegram too, but just during their journey to other devices.
Group chats are available, along with video calls, audio memos, and stickers. Telegram is an excellent choice for safe and secure messaging – just make sure the secret mode is active before messaging another person.
Most people have heard of WhatsApp and know that they can use it to make video calls, share their locations, make group chats, and send different files. With WhatsApp, end-to-end encryption is a default setting, and you can’t turn it off.
The only downside is that Facebook, the world’s most significant social network, owns WhatsApp. No, Facebook won’t read your messages, but it can log other data and see your location for numerous marketing purposes.
Benefits of Private Instant Messaging and Why People Choose It
The four top benefits of private instant messaging are:
- Encrypted messages are harder to alter and hack.
- With encryption, you can send corporate and personal information on the internet.
- Encryption works on all types of devices – smartphones, laptops, and tablets.
- Your data remains private even during migration, e.g., when stored in the cloud.
How Does End-to-End Encryption Work?
End-to-end encryption converts all the data you send on your messaging apps into scrambled chunks of text. To decode the scrambled text, you’ll need a secret key. This secret key is a specific number the app creates on your phone and the other end’s phone and exists only on the two of them.
The key gets generated for each message you send and will not be shared with any other device. The key is deleted from the sender’s phone after the encrypted message is created and on the receiver’s phone once the message is decrypted.
Reading them won’t be possible without the key if any third-party server gets access to these messages.
Conclusion
End-to-end encryption is a secure and private type of messaging that more and more users are turning to. You should take your internet privacy seriously. After all, our digital world requires constant communication online – so why not make it safe
This article has been scheduled in accordance with Socialnomics’ disclosure policy.
