There's certainly no shortage of messaging apps and services, but if privacy and security are your primary concerns, the field is somewhat limited. The use of email and SMS as a means of communication is an insecure option. Both are easily intercepted, and going through intermediaries means that privacy violations are possible. In fact, apart from good specialized tools, there are three main players to consider: WhatsApp vs Telegram vs Signal.
Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, its advantages and disadvantages, but they all have one thing in common: encryption. This means that the messages you send are scrambled. So even if someone managed to intercept them, they would be unreadable.
For each of these three messaging tools, we'll examine what they have to offer in different areas. We'll let you know what they're doing right, where they're going down, and what you need to know, while you focus on security and privacy issues. Let's dive in and take a look.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
Being a Facebook owner seems like a bad start for any app focused on security and privacy, and this will probably be enough to deter many people from using WhatsApp. You may have avoided Facebook and the company promised that personal data collected through the email tool would not be shared with the social network. Whether you trust this promise is entirely up to you. You can simply love the idea of WhatsApp due to the fact that many people you know are using it and want an easy way to stay in touch with them.
However, it does offer end-to-end encryption (you just need to verify that it's enabled for both your account and the people you're chatting with) and that it's based on the signal protocol (yes, the one used by Signal!). WhatsApp says it doesn't store any messages on its servers after delivery, but keeps them for up to 30 days until retrieved by the recipient.
One of the great advantages of WhatsApp is that it is available for various platforms: Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android and even Windows Phone. There is also a web version, but it must be used in conjunction with your phone. it just makes it easier to enter longer messages while you're at your computer. Linux users are not officially supported, but unofficial desktop clients are available for various distributions. In addition to text messages, voice and video calls are also an option, and you can send photos and files to the people you're talking to.
Although most WhatsApp users are interested in personal communication with their friends and family on a relatively small scale, it is possible to chat in large groups. In fact, up to 256 people can participate in a single chat, which makes it ideal for small and medium-sized businesses, especially if security is a concern, as well as the fact that the app is free. Unlike Facebook, WhatsApp is ad-free... at least for now. It has been said for some time that the ads are coming, and it has recently been confirmed that the ads will start appearing in the WhatsApp statutes in 2020.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
telegram
As with WhatsApp and Signal, Telegram is a cross-platform messaging tool. Clients are available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows, MacOS, and Linux (32-bit and 64-bit variants). The service uses the MTProto encryption protocol, but not everything is encrypted the same way. Most messages are stored on Telegram's cloud servers and encrypted on the server. Only secret conversations, including more in an instant, are securely encrypted on senders' and recipients' devices to ensure complete privacy. If you're especially concerned about privacy, keep in mind that Telegram isn't entirely open source, and the service has access to the encryption keys it uses.
An additional feature offered by Telegram is the secret discussions. These are obviously encrypted, but include an additional security measure. Secret conversations can only be read on the device from which the message was sent and on the device that received it. Even using the same accounts, it is not possible to read messages on other devices. Additional security features include notification if a screenshot is receiving a secret message you've sent and a lock transfer of such messages. Secret discussions can only take place between two people, not a group. You can also send self-destructing messages that automatically disappear after a predefined time.
In terms of group messaging, Telegram supports groups of up to 200,000 people, and it's hard to imagine a scenario where that wouldn't be enough. There is also the possibility of using "channels" that can be public or private. Public channels allow you to send messages to a large number of people at once, and can have an unlimited number of subscribers. Whether in a group or individual discussion, Telegram allows you to share files up to a maximum size of 1.5 GB, as well as the usual photo sharing option.
If you want to avoid ads, Telegram could be a good option. The service doesn't need to make money through advertising because, as stated in an FAQ, "Pavel Durov, who shares our vision, has made a generous donation to Telegram, so we have enough money at the moment."
(Image credit: Shutterstock)
signal
Getting famous, or at least a little more famous, because it happened to be Edward Snowden's favorite secure messaging tool, Signal is available for Windows, macOS, Linux (Debian-based distributions), iOS, and Android. The desktop version of Signal is not, strictly speaking, a standalone app, because to use it, you must first install and configure the mobile app. Once this is done, the desktop app can be used in the absence of a phone.
Signal has links to WhatsApp like co-founder Brian Acton, who helped found the Signal Foundation to promote private messaging.
As you might expect, the encryption is complete (with the Signal protocol, no less!) and Signal guarantees users that only the sender and recipient can see the messages. To further enhance security, you can choose how long your messages and conversations are available for. In essence, you can create self-destructive messages that are completely inaccessible, by anyone, after a period of your choosing. Encryption keys are stored on users' phones and computers, never on servers. To avoid any potential risk of identity theft (even if it's minimal), you'll be notified if the security key of the person you're talking to changes.
Group discussions can include a virtually unlimited number of people; The actual upper limit has not been specified, but it should be noted that in particularly large group discussions, message delivery may take longer. Signal can also be used as the default SMS app on Android, although text messages cannot be encrypted.
As an open source project, Signal is not only free, but also subject to careful control, so there is virtually no chance of unwanted elements getting into the code. The nonprofit notes that "no ads, no affiliate marketers, no scary following," and it's hard to ask for much more than that in terms of confidentiality.