5 Secure messaging apps for secret & self-destroying conversations

For fast and simple communication instant messaging is more helpful than email and more secure than SMS when you are using the right app.

A good messaging application will let you securely exchange private data with representatives, customers, and associates, without stressing that your information could be compromised.

Some very popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Allo are now available with end-to-end encryption.

The encryption makes sure that WhatsApp’s server or any wily hacker doesn’t see what’s inside the messages, but they can surely see who is sending a message to whom and when (metadata). And that’s when you know that your privacy is at stake.

So we cannot say these apps are not good but definitely these messaging apps are not the best considering what kind of information is encrypted, what metadata is collected, and what, precisely, is stored in the cloud.

List of Secure messaging apps

Some conversations are very private that you really don’t want the app to save the messages or metadata associated with it. In such situations, self-destroying messaging apps that I have listed below are of real use.

Whether you are a Journalist dealing with high-profile sources, businessmen conducting important deals, defence personnel or maybe just a common man who doesn’t want any type of issues related to his privacy, Apps with the self-destroying messaging feature are able to automatically destruct the messages when they are read or after a certain period of time which is decided by you only and no trace or no history of your conversations will be left behind.

This is important when you are making a real sensitive conversation on your phone or simply when you don’t want to share the private texts with anyone else.

Here are 5 most secure messaging apps that you can make use of that respect your privacy & security:

Silent Phone – Best Enterprise solution

“Silent Phone” by Silent Circle is loaded with a lot of features including self-destroying messages, popularly known as BURN FUNCTIONALITY.

Along with secure messaging, It provides the facility of Unlimited Secure Voice between Silent Circle Members. With this app, you can easily transfer data files too as it allows up to 100 MB file transfer. Messages sent through Silent Phone can only be read by the intended recipient, and they’re securely deleted after they are read.

Using Silent Phone application you can easily go for a conference call for up to 6 callers. It is available on both iOS and Android. The best thing about this application is the Silent phone provides direct access to Technical Support.

Signal – recommended by Edward Snowden

Signal by Whisper Systems is Free and Open Source, enabling anyone to verify its security by auditing the code.

Signal is the only private messenger that uses open source peer-reviewed cryptographic protocols to keep your messages safe.

Using Signal, you can communicate with your contact instantly with Private Calling feature, create groups so that you can chat in real-time with all your friends at once, and share media all with complete privacy.

Signal is well known for being Edward Snowden‘s favorite encrypted chat app and he openly admits it on twitter.

Unlike WhatsApp, Signal’s Server never has access to any of your communication and never stores any of your data. It does not support self-destroying messages but your privacy protection is guaranteed as the data from the servers is deleted instantly.

One more fact about Signal that is enough to assure you that it is the best is that The encryption protocol designed by Whisper Systems for Signal is being used in popular apps like WhatsApp & Google Allo as well.

This application is available for both iPhone and Android users and you can download it from the respective stores for free.

You can know more about Signals Protocol here

Telegram

Telegram gives you an experience of pure instant messaging. It is simple, fast, secure, and synced across all your devices.

Telegram is the fastest messaging app on the market. It connects the people via a unique, distributed network of data centres around the globe. It is the best alternate app for WhatsApp.

It is based on its security and features. You can send an unlimited amount of messages, photos, videos and files of any type .doc, .zip, .pdf, etc.

Secret Chat messages can be programmed to self-destruct automatically from both participating devices. This way you can send all types of disappearing content. Secret chats use end-to-end encryption to ensure that a message can only be read by its intended recipient.

Refer this Guide: How to do secret chat on telegram

Facebook’s Messenger

The Messenger is just like texting, but you don’t have to pay for every message. Facebook is the biggest social networking site and using the Messenger you are able to exchange messages with any of your FB friends.

While Messenger is already popular, very few users will be aware of its Secret Conversations feature. With this feature, you can encrypt your images and stickers only as the app do not provide support for videos and GIF so they would be visible.

Most of the users are not known to this special feature and you have to manually activate it while chatting. The feature is useful for a common user and has the ability to keep their content secret from hackers. Use this feature to save your privacy while chatting on Facebook.

Refer this Guide: How to do secret chat on facebook

Conversations.im – Android Exclusive

Conversations.im is also an easy to use, reliable, battery friendly mobile messaging chat application with built-in support for images, group chats, and an end to end encryption with OMEMO, OTR or OpenPGP.

The encryption feature makes you more comfortable while exchanging texts. The Intuitive UI that follows Android Design guidelines will definitely impress you with the first use.

It is a paid application available only for Android Users. You can easily connect and Sync with a desktop client.

This app claims lowest Battery consumption when compared with other such apps in the market.

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Ashwin S

A cybersecurity enthusiast at heart with a passion for all things tech. Yet his creativity extends beyond the world of cybersecurity. With an innate love for design, he's always on the lookout for unique design concepts.