An ideal messenger does not exist also because ease of use is equally important (interface, usability, web or desktop version, speed of work) as security.
Outsiders
You should pay attention to these applications and think about what happens not only with your data but also with privacy:
- Microsoft Skype;
- Google Messages;
- Apple iMessage;
- Whatsapp;
- Facebook Messenger.
All outsiders, with the conditional exception of WhatsApp, are embedded in their respective closed ecosystems through which a phenomenal amount of our data flows. If we use services from Google, Apple, or Facebook, then these corporations have already collected all the necessary data about us without messengers.
Paranoid Security and Privacy
The undisputed leaders in security and privacy are:
- Wickr Me. It supports anonymous registration. The peculiarities: the data of the correspondence in encrypted form is stored on the server for 30 days. You will also need to wait 24 hours for the account to be removed from the system.
- Threema. Safe but paid messenger. It stores correspondence on the server and has a completely anonymous registration.
- Signal. Anonymous registration is not supported, so you have to entrust your mobile phone number to the administration of the messenger. An interesting feature: you can activate the option to automatically blur people’s faces on all photos sent to the chat to increase privacy.
- Session. In terms of a high level of privacy, it is worth noting this application, which has been gaining popularity since 2020 due to decentralization and the use of end-to-end encryption. The messenger has anonymous registration in one click without entering passwords. A minimum of metadata is used when sending messages.
Golden Mean
For safe and comfortable day-to-day communication, consider:
- Wire. Combines a nice and sophisticated design of the mobile app and the desktop version. It is a combination of safety and comfort. Backups are stored only on the device.
- Telegram. This application needs no introduction. In recent years, it has become a classic among instant messengers. It doesn’t support end-to-end encryption by default – one of the key flaws. You need to activate the secret chat yourself. Anonymous registration is not supported. It has flexible privacy settings. It is important to note the convenient desktop version, which expands the capabilities of the messenger in your daily routine.
- Element. A well-known secure messenger with a full range of functions for daily communication. It has the possibility of anonymous registration.
Thus, each messenger has its advantages and disadvantages. There is currently no ideal application on the market from the point of view of absolute security and anonymity of instant messaging.