How to chat and send messages in private

It would be like sending a letter or a parcel, where the post delivery service (or customs) could look inside and see what you sent. Actually several hundred years ago in Denmark, the Kings postman was obligated to open a letter if he believed it held information that was of interest for the kingdoms wellbeing.
Some services actively prevent you from chatting in private – when you agree to Facebook’s (and their products Messenger and What’s App) terms of service, you give Facebook permission to read and reuse any data you transmit over their service. That’d be like the postal workers taking a copy of what you sent, and using it to send you targeting advertising.
Some of the features you should look for is
- End-to-end encryption
- Chat and send messages to other users or groups in private.
- Send files securely.
- Make secure voice and video calls or send voice or video messages
- Convenience features like emojis, formatting, drawing etc.
- Supported platforms and devices
Video reviews of
Privacy comparison of chat and messaging apps
Signal | Wire | Skype | Facebook Messenger | SnapChat | Telegram | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Encrypted during transmission | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Optional | Yes | Yes |
Encrypted so the provider can’t read it | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Optional |
Verify contact identities | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Collects and stores metadata | Minimal | Minimal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Encrypts metadata | Yes | Mostly | No | No | No | No | No |
Share data with third parties like advertisers. | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Chat history secure if password stolen (not device stolen) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Stored chat history with the provider or in the cloud | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Open source | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Partial |
Peer reviewed | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Recently audited | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Based in the EU | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Privacy comparison of chat and messaging apps
Signal | Wire | Skype | Facebook Messenger | SnapChat | Telegram | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Encrypted during transmission | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Optional | Yes | Yes |
Encrypted so the provider can’t read it | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Optional |
Verify contact identities | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Collects and stores metadata | Minimal | Minimal | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Encrypts metadata | Yes | Mostly | No | No | No | No | No |
Share data with third parties like advertisers. | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Chat history secure if password stolen (not device stolen) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Stored chat history with the provider or in the cloud | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Open source | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Partial |
Peer reviewed | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Recently audited | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Based in the EU | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
More sources about private messaging
An explanation of what encrypted messaging is and why you should use it by pixelprivacy.com

Comparison of private search engines
If you want to search in private there is a number of private metasearch and search engines available. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of each one? See the comparison chart and make you choice.

How to keep your searches private
Keep your search and browsing information out of the hands of advertisers – use a private search engine

How do private search engines make money?
If you want to use a private search engine, one of the question that often is askes is “How do they make money?”. There various ways a search engine can keep you privacy and make money. See the comparison chart and learn more about private search engines.