You may love your messaging app, but your messaging app may not love your privacy and security. WhatsApp, arguably the most popular messaging app in the world with a billion users, made a significant step in April by introducing end-to-end encryption built on the Signal protocol, much to the chagrin of governments and police forces.
Some apps are much further ahead in the security game than others. As you wade through the glut of messaging services available, these are the features to look for.
End-to-end encryption
Previously, encrypting messages in transit was considered good practice, but the standards have changed. Look for an app that encrypts messages from user to user, so the app developer itself can’t even read the contents of your communications. “That’s the biggest line of demarcation between tools that are at least serious about trying to provide good security versus the ones that aren’t quite there yet,” advised Joseph Bonneau, tech fellow at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).
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