Even though most of these apps have provided end-to-end encryption, a lot of data travels on inaccessible servers and we don’t know if they can still be reached by a judicial warrant or by a particularly skilled hacker.
For this reason, we have decided to collect the best ones in this guide App for secure chat and encrypted messages from your mobile phone, so you can chat with your friends and relatives in absolute security, with powerful encryption that cannot be intercepted with a simple hacking of the connection servers.READ ALSO: The most used chats on Android and iPhone
Best apps for secure and encrypted chat
Even if all the apps promise to be safe and inviolable, it is necessary to check if there are some intrinsic safety features, verifiable only by external bodies (such as for example the EEF, definitely the most reliable agency for this type of question).
What features must a secure chat app have?
According to the EEF report a truly secure messaging app should have the following requirements.
- Encrypt messages at all stages of communication
- End-to-end encryption so that employees of the company that manages the messaging service cannot read the communications
- Ability to check with whom you are communicating
- Security of communications history in case cryptographic keys are stolen
- The app code can be judged by external and independent inspectors
- The design and implementation of cryptography is documented
- The code has been checked over the past year
If an application does not meet at least one of the first four criteria, it can be considered unsecured. This means that the most popular communication applications like Facebook Messenger, iMessage, Skype, Snapchat, Viber, and WhatsApp are insecure. The worrying thing is that all parent companies, except for Apple, they can decipher and read any message exchanged. The natural consequence is that governments and authorities can request timelines to read these messages when they deem it most appropriate.
Best secure and encrypted apps
After all this interesting and even a little upsetting speech, you can not help but accept reality and continue to text with friends and relatives with the usual apps, as long as you do not want to really establish communication in certain circumstances secure and encrypted. Although they work differently, there are a few applications that respect all parameters for secure, encrypted, and waterproof communication.
Those who are concerned about privacy or if they want communication that leaves no traces and cannot be intercepted can then use for example Signal Messenger, one of the safest end-to-end encrypted apps available for Android and for iPhone / iPad.
This app does not use any intermediate server and therefore allows you to send messages and make calls in a completely secure and interception-proof way. You can send instant messages with text, images, GIFs, and videos in the chat, all exchanged with maximum security in and out. On the app, we can also increase the security of messages by setting a security PIN, which will also encrypt the app files stored on the phone (they cannot be recovered without).
We also talked about Signal in the guide Secret and untraceable chats with Signal on Android, iPhone, and Web.
Alternatively, we can also use the secret mode of Telegram, the famous messaging chat available for Android and for iPhone / iPad.
By opening the side menu of the app we will find the item New secret chat, which allows you to exchange messages with a trusted contact without going through any server and also to protect the contents exchanged (secret chat notifications are anonymous). To further increase the security level of the chat we can set a self-destruction timer, which will destroy all messages after the set time.
In case of a secret call, the encryption is high and we can check in real-time if it has been violated or modified, checking the emojis displayed at the top (they must coincide with those visible on the app of our interlocutor).
To learn more we can read our Calls with Telegram, safe, and of superior quality.
If we are looking for a real alternative to Signal or Telegram we can try the app Wickr Me, available for Android and iPhone.
This app allows you to chat securely and privately, without the possibility of intercepting messages, with end-to-end encryption. The peculiarity of this special application, widely used by hackers, is that it is one chat with self-destructing messages, as seen also on Telegram in private mode.
Another app similar to the previous ones is ChatSecure, available only for iOS and Mac.
The app is free and uses “cryptographic open source libraries”, such as XMPP, OTR, and Tor, to ensure that messages remain completely private and intercept-proof.
Finally, we wanted to point out the Silent Circle app, a paid application (with a rather expensive subscription) for Android and iOS that works a bit like Skype and allows you to make fully encrypted phone calls and video calls, suitable for business users.
It is also possible to call users who do not have the application installed and the call will be encrypted with a military security level. However, Silent Circle is aimed at business people or politicians with delicate positions.
Conclusions
There is no shortage of secure and advanced encrypted apps, so every time we have to send a compromising message or secretly chat with friends or relatives, we make sure to use one of the apps at the top, since (in the vast majority of cases) they are really simple to use.
To send encrypted and impossible to intercept email messages, we recommend you read our articles on how to Send Email protected by encrypted passwords is The safest secure and anonymous email accounts with end-to-end encryption.