All the power and capabilities we get with today’s technology comes at a considerable cost; risk of information security and privacy concerns. Every time we send a photo, make a call and even text a friend, that data is being stored somewhere. On the other hand, this information is supposedly designed to be available only to the parties involved in the conversation itself, but is it really? That’s why we need secure chat apps.

Are you really using secure chat apps that keep your info private? We constantly come across cases of security breaches of “private” communication by not just individual hackers, but also by governments all across the world. A prominent case of the latter was that of Edward Snowden, a former NSA “system administrator.”

Snowden says that’s how the intelligence officials described his position, while in reality, he was an “infrastructure analyst,” meaning his job was to look for new ways to break into Internet and telephone traffic around the world. The fight for privacy begins by using the most secure chat apps available. If you value your privacy and want to keep communication from being intercepted then take a look at this list to and pick the best app for you.

Secure Chat Apps List

1. WhatsApp

WhatsApp currently leads most rankings of secure chat apps. It took months of hard work to improve its already popular encryption. WhatsApp encryption makes sure that no one, other than the chat sender and receiver, can read what is being communicated, although it was recently discovered that even this revamped encryption had some serious flaws.

Encryption means the content of communications is not stored in plaintext (i.e. as sent/received), but rather as a script that makes no sense to anyone unless they have the key to decrypt it. Even WhatsApp itself is unable to decrypt users’ messages if they’re not holding the keys. This last part is a big step for privacy and data access as authorities cannot pressure WhatsApp to reveal any information since they themselves don’t have access.

2. Zangi

Zangi Messenger uses multiple levels of encryption on the messaging and calls, data we all generate communicating through the app. Additionally, and most importantly, Zangi is decentralized and does not store any of this data on its servers, which makes the app one of the most secure chat apps today. Thus, it is pointless for any authority to demand user information from Zangi or for any third parties to even attempt a security breach on the Zangi Messenger servers as there is nothing to retrieve.

3. Signal

Launched in 2014, Signal encrypts all communication by default, calls, and texts. It’s recommended by Edward Snowden himself. The Signal Protocol used for encrypted messaging and calls has been adopted by WhatsApp and other companies. In the Signal app itself, no data is kept about its user neither encrypted nor unencrypted.

4. Troop Messenger

To collaborate with teams! Troop Messenger is a smart Slack Alternative that helps make work easier. You can share project ideas, discuss work, transfer files, and other data with ease. This one tool connects all hierarchies within a single interface and its collaborative productive feature-stack. It lets you keep updated with your work across the platforms of desktop, mobile, and browser.

Besides, group conversations, voice-video call, screen sharing, Troop Messenger has an advanced team collaboration feature-set like Burnout, Fork out, and Audio Messaging. It’s high on the productive front. Features like chat supportive action-stack, advanced filter group, a wide range of image controls, quick-preview of files and more, helps the users in swiftly connecting their team members and in retrieving the information. The freemium SaaS model also comes in the delivery variants of self-hosting, chat APIs, and Custom App.

5. Telegram

Telegram came up with quite innovative features for security. Besides encryption, it has a ‘Secret Chats’ feature in its advanced settings. This tool localizes the communication data onto a specific device and does not store any data on the cloud or servers. Also, when a user deletes part of communication, it will be removed from the receiver’s device as well, making it absolutely irrecoverable. Content like text, photos, videos or other files can be ordered to self-destruct in a custom amount of time after being read by the receiver.

While doing our research we couldn’t fail to mention several other apps with security features worth mentioning. Here are three honorable mentions:

• Line app back in 2015 introduced an end-to-end encryption feature they call “Letter Sealing, which users can enable to use more secure communication.
• Chat Secure adds several new features to the realm of security; it doesn’t require your phone number or in fact any other personal data to register your account. It also allows users to connect to the app using their own private servers.
• Silent Phone is the last one on our list of today’s most secure chat apps. This app is a paid app that ensures communication is read solely by senders and receivers. Subscribers hold the key to the encrypted information, not the developers or even the company, making information leaks or security breaches much less likely.

As we progress through this age of information, ideas like privacy, information security and confidentiality will keep gaining importance. Scientists can forecast that at some point in the future we’ll be sharing not just text, audio/video calls, but also emotions, experiences and even dreams, through what might be called BrainNet. Big ideas like this require state of the art security, which will have to be far beyond the security technologies available to humanity today. Current security measures, no matter how ingenious, are still in their first stages of development in terms of assuring secure messaging. Experience highly secure communication with Zangi!