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Recommended Messaging Apps
We’ve had several customers ask us about secure messaging recently. Last year it was disclosed that text messages between Apple and Android don’t use End-to-End Encryption (E2EE). This means (theoretically) that a message your iPhone sends to your friend’s Android could be compromised and read by others. Almost everyone we text with has an iPhone, but there are a few people who don’t.
With Facebook/ Meta tracking and retaining almost everything about its users, we need to look elsewhere for secure messaging. Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp (owned by Facebook/Meta) are not recommended. Many people use WhatsApp to communicate with relatives and friends overseas. It may be time to look for a more secure channel. Facebook/Meta accesses and stores a lot of data about you. They then use this data to target ads, and sell your information to advertisers and other companies.* Some of this information includes:
- Name
- Phone
- Message content
- Photos & videos
- Browsing History
- Political Views
- Sexual Orientation
- Health Information
- Location
- Contacts
It’s time for a deep dive into Secure Messaging apps.
Messaging Apps:
Besides Messenger and WhatsApp, some of the other Messaging Apps you may have heard of include Briar, Element, Matrix, Session, Telegram, Threema, Tox, Wire, and Signal. I’ll look at each with the following criteria in mind:
Criteria:
- has End-to-End-Encryption (E2EE)
- is free to sign up and use
- has Two Factor Authentication (2FA)
- allows texting, phone calls, and video calls.
- Only collects and stores a minimum of personal data.
- Works with Apple and Android
- Ease of use – can you convince your non-techy friends to use it too?
Summary of each Secure Messaging App:
Briar:
Briar only works with Android.
Element:
Element has 2FA, is free for most users, works with Apple and Android, has decentralized servers, and works with Apple and Android. Why are we not recommending it? Everything I’m reading indicates that it is difficult to set up. That will turn a lot of my friends off.
Matrix:
Although Matrix.org ticks all the security boxes, it’s a bloated, slow app, and it doesn’t appear you can easily message others.
Session:
Session doesn’t use true 2FA for authentication. I’ve also seen reports that Session texting is slow.
Telegram:
This app requires access to your Contact list and does not have full E2EE.
Threema:
Based on my research, everything else being equal, I would recommend Threema over other apps EXCEPT for 2 things. First, it’s not free ($4), so you’ll have a hard time getting your contacts to convert. Second, it’s not widely used, except in Germany. As Chris says about adopting new technology: “Cutting edge is good. Bleeding edge is not.”
Tox:
Tox does not use true 2FA.
Wire:
Wire does not have 2FA.
Signal:
Signal is the app that we recommend. It’s got E2EE, works with Apple and Android, and only collects your phone number. I started using it a few months ago and have convinced many of my non-technical friends to also make the switch. The one downside is that it uses centralized servers. For reasons that I don’t understand, decentralized servers are better. (Chris explained it to me, but it didn’t stick!) Signal allows audio and video calls in addition to texting.
Recent news about Signal doesn’t concern me. The reasons this was a problem are a) The person setting up the group chat included several people they shouldn’t have included, and b) US law states that government communications of this type must be preserved indefinitely. This chat was set up to delete all messages within a few weeks. There were other reasons, but those are the biggies. This was more “user error” than a flaw in the app.
Signal also allows audio and video calls. Audio calls work great, I haven’t tested video calls yet.
Secure Messaging – Conclusion:
Download the Signal app and start asking your friends & family to use it too. One friend is already using Signal to communicate with family overseas. Setting it up gives you the choice of having people find you by phone number. I clicked the “NO” button there. I’ve recommended Signal in the past. Here’s an article about Signal from 2018, about the time I stopped using Facebook Messenger.
* (Twitter does the same thing, but it isn’t generally used as a messaging app.)
Information about Geek For Hire, Inc.
Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has provided computer service to families and small businesses with Macs and PCs for the past twenty-plus years. You can find more on our website or give us a call. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.
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