The encryption keys are stored on users' phones and computers, never on servers, and to avoid the potential risk (albeit a very small one) of spoofing, you'll be warned if the security key of anyone you are talking with changes. In essence, you can create self-destructing messages that are rendered completely inaccessible – by anyone – after a period of your choosing. To further boost security, it is possible to choose how long messages and conversations are available for. Signal has links to WhatsApp as co-founder Brian Acton helped to form the Signal Foundation with the aim of promoting private messaging.Īs you would expect, there is end-to-end encryption (using the Signal Protocol, no less!), and Signal assures users that no one other than the sender and the intended recipient is able to see messages. Once this has been done, the desktop app can be used without a phone being present. The desktop version of Signal is not, strictly speaking, a standalone app, as in order to use it you first need to install and configure the mobile app. Made famous – or at least a little more famous – thanks to the fact that it was revealed to be Edward Snowden's favourite secure messaging tool, Signal is available for Windows, macOS, Linux (Debian-based distros), iOS and Android. The service does not need to make money through advertising because as noted in a FAQ, "Pavel Durov, who shares our vision, supplied Telegram with a generous donation, so we have quite enough money for the time being". If you're keen on avoiding ads, Telegram could be a good choice. Whether in a group chat, or a one-to-one, Telegram allows you to share files of up to 1.5GB in size, as well as the usual photo sharing option. Public channels make it possible to send messages to very large numbers of people at once, and they can have an unlimited number of subscribers. There is also the option of using 'channels' which can be either public or private. When it comes to group messaging, Telegram supports groups of up to 200,000 – and it's hard to imagine a scenario in which this would not be enough. You can also send self-destructing messages that automatically disappear after a predefined time. Secret chats can only take place between two people, not a group. Additional security features include notification if a screenshot is taken of a secret message you have sent, and a block on the forwarding of such messages. Even using the same accounts, it is not possible to read the messages on any other devices. Secret chats can only be read on the device from which the message was sent, and the device that received it. These are – obviously – encrypted, but they have an extra security measure built in. If you are particularly concerned about privacy, it's worth noting that Telegram is not completely open source, and the service has access to the encryption keys you use.Īn extra feature offered by Telegram is secret chats. Only Secrets Chats – of which more in a moment – are securely encrypted on sender and recipients' devices to ensure complete privacy. The bulk of messages are stored in Telegram's cloud servers and are encrypted on the server. The service uses the MTProto encryption protocol, but not everything is encrypted in the same way. There are clients available for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Windows, macOS and Linux (32- and 64-bit variants). Image credit: Shutterstock (Image credit: Shutterstock) TelegramĪs with WhatsApp and Signal, Telegram is a cross-platform messaging tool. It has been rumoured for some time that ads are on their way, and it has recently been confirmed that ads will indeed start to appear in WhatsApp statuses in 2020. Unlike Facebook, WhatsApp is free from ads. In fact, up to 256 people can take part in a single chat, making it ideal for small to medium-sized businesses, particularly if security is a concern – as well as the fact that the app is free. While most WhatsApp users are interested in personal communication with friends and family on a relatively small scale, there is scope for large group chats. As well as text-based messaging, voice and video calls are also an option, and you can sent photos and files to the people you are chatting with. Linux users are not officially supported, but there are unofficial desktop clients available for various distros. There's also a web-based version, but this needs to be used in conjunction with your phone it just makes typing longer messages a little easier when you're at your computer. One of WhatsApp's big advantages is that it is available for a range of platforms – Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, even Windows Phone.
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