The best encrypted messaging apps can prevent others from snooping on your conversations. The best encrypted messaging apps can help protect your privacy. They make it difficult for anyone else to eavesdrop on your private chats and calls, including (in most cases) the companies running the apps. Some of these apps are developed and maintained by large corporations, while a few are run by startups.
Many of the best encrypted messaging apps are so heavily encrypted that even government agencies and police can’t break into them. End-to-end encryption means that only the sender and the recipient of a message or call can see or hear its content.
First advice from our DerAffe Elevation Lab Vienna (specialists in technology): do not use WhatsApp. It is the most unsecure app, and they collect all your data. An old habit from Facebook and Instagram. This is how they manage the company.
Second advice. No app will be safe if you activate cloud backup. So please close cloud backup for any app you will use. This we know from the FBI. No joke. Here to this FBI training document. (https://propertyofthepeople.org/document-detail/?doc-id=21114562). You will see that Threema is the only one with almost nothing to retrieve.
So… From far, the number ONE is Threema.
1. Threema
The best for LGBT+ and people who like safety.
Threema can be used completely anonymously. You need no phone number, email address or even a nickname. If you see the FBI documents will realize it is more secure than Telegram or Signal. Let’s not even talk about WhatsApp.
Threema was founded in 2012. While most apps are free for Threema you must pay a small amount of money, €5. One time forever payment. That is quite simple why. In this state-of-the-art end-to-end encryption, no one other than the intended recipient can read transmitted messages, not even Threema as the service operator. So no ads, no data collection.
Basically, you send your ID to whom you want to talk to or chat with. Yes, has video and audio calls. The Threema ID is 8-digit key pair and looks like ZTRX2XXN. No name, no nothing else. This will be your call number and chat ID.
Threema is 100% Swiss Made, and, unlike USA services (which are subject to the Cloud Act, for example), it is fully GDPR-compliant. As a bonus: both servers and offices only use energy from renewable sources.
Recommended for:
Everybody who wants a perfectly anonymous chat. Especially for LGBT+ people living in dangerous countries.
2. iMessage
Already installed on Apple devices. Does not work on Android.
The best for Apple users and especially for iPhone users.
iMessage is the proprietary message system for Apple, and it is integrated with FaceTime. No need to say how beautiful and wonderful looks and works. Still, you need an Apple ID.
The beautiful thing is if the recipient does not have iMessages automatically the app will recognize that and send an SMS instead without you even knowing.
Animoji, emoji, texts, groups, video, movie group watching, etc. Beautiful and useful app.
Again, not as secure as Threema. For very delicate messages use Threema and on daily basis iMessages if you have iPhone.
Recommended for:
Everybody with an iPhone.
People who need decent security and very reliable messaging and video calls.
3. Telegram
Good for group news and broadcasting. Not recommended for daily messaging use.
Telegram lets users link their phone number to a Telegram account to send fast, encrypted messaging over the internet, with client-server encryption for standard chats. Again, standard.
But, there is something others do not have. Telegram is much more than just a messaging service. It has grown into a worldwide social-media platform, with huge user groups and broadcasts that let accounts reach millions of followers in an instant. It has uses far beyond secure messaging.
A caveat? Telegram uses its own custom MTProto encryption rather than a more proven system. The consensus among information-security experts is that aside from its group chats, Telegram may not be very secure, although the FBI doesn’t seem to have figured out a way to break in.
Recommended for:
Just if you want to follow very obscure groups and news.
Yes, we know there is Signal, WhatsApp, Line, Viber, Wickr, and WeChat (for China especially). And more.
We recommended you the best of the best. Threema for everybody and iMessage for iPhone users (combined with Threema for safer messages).
The worst of the worst, and we recommend never to use: WhatsApp.
This article was written by the team of DerAffe Elevation Lab Vienna specialized in technology and software creation.
Update 12.08.2022:
We received lots of emails and DM’s from you asking what we use in our daily activity in the office. We use Threema to talk to people outside our bureau, especially with people in countries where freedom does not exist, and unfortunately, there are still a lot of them—of course, doubled by a VPN to make it as secure as possible.
Daily we use iMessage and Facetime exclusively since we all use iPhones.
Maybe you want to know we use only Apple devices: iPhone 12 & 13, MacBook Air & Pro, iMac (our designer), a HomePod and MaxPod, AirPods and our publisher uses an AirPods Max (probably not to hear us when he pretend is too busy).
Glad you are interested in technology and we will be back with an article about the best VPNs. A VPN is a must for communications safely, but also to stream Netflix or Prime Video from other countries and see movies which are not distributed in your country.
