Messaging apps and services are only second in popularity to the social media platforms that we use. There are also many messaging apps to choose from. Of course emails and SMS are alternatives but those are incredibly insecure. An email and SMS are shockingly easy to intercept. They also reach the recipient in a round about way, leaving space for invasions of privacy or for stealing data.
If privacy and security are your key concerns there are only three main chat apps to consider; WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal. However, they are not all the same. One key security feature that all three of these have in common is End-to-End (E2E) encryption. It means that all data being sent out gets encrypted on the sender’s system or device and can only be decrypted by the receiver. This ensures that no third party will be able to read or tamper with the data.
Popularity
With over two billion active users every month, WhatsApp is the most popular chat app. It easily outstrips Telegram and Signal combined. Its also so popular that in some parts of Europe, it is more common for people to use WhatsApp instead of SMS.
Telegram is closing the gap between WhatsApp and itself with over 400 million users every month and notices even higher spikes whenever any trouble brews around WhatsApp or Facebook. It excels over the others as your encrypted files stored on their cloud servers, are available across multiple devices. You are also able to have groups of up to 5,000 users at once, and a username feature allows you to remain anonymous. Signal, on the other hand, is the small fry of this trio. Official numbers are unavailable.
However, the application has over 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store, but it estimated the user-base is around one million. Despite not being as popular, Signal has been gaining a reputation as the most secure messaging app around.
Privacy
Facebook owing WhatsApp certainly raises some concerns about the user data they collect. Despite all your messages being sent under E2E encryption, the application backs up your messages on their servers in order for you to have your data available if you switch devices. Whatsapp asks you to agree to share data with Facebook in its Privacy Policy.
However, it is unclear as to what this data is used for, so Facebook’s shaky history is something to be concerned about. Telegram is no saint in that regard either, despite the fact that they tote themselves a high-security app. They emphasize the fact that the data they store will not be used to show you ads and only stores what is necessary to ensure the application’s security.
And, the absolute king of the privacy hill is Signal. Being an open-source application, it offers a more transparent approach to privacy. Anyone who has access to the code can attempt to identify weaknesses and holes and work to prevent malicious activities. It is one of the only messaging apps that doesn’t store any metadata or back up any user data to the cloud. It is so secure that it is the recommended application for journalists and government staff members.
Which One?
Regardless of how much you tout concerns about privacy and security, WhatsApp may be the popular choice. But the fact that it is owned by Facebook should be a concern for any who worries about data privacy.
Telegram is the best choice for those who want a more polished interface, with a strong mix of security and privacy. A feature to consider is ‘Channels’ which allow for broadcasting to large audiences. Signal, on the other hand, is the one to go with if privacy is your main concern. The most secure of the three and the app of choice for anyone looking to connect with anonymous sources.