All the myths about individual’s privacy were busted when the world’s most popular social networking service provider Facebook was caught in a data breach scandal, selling users’ private information to Cambridge Analytica. This seriously raised question on the commitment of corporates who vaunt about respecting individual’s privacy. However, the greener side of the news was that the folks and even the agencies got alarmed, who were taking ‘privacy’ lightly hitherto. Laws were framed, hefty fines were imposed, actions were taken and what not. Despite all that beating the bushes, the question that still remains in the veins of people concerned about their privacy is how secure their data is.
Data is precious and that is why it is prey for government agencies, corporates and most importantly, the cybercriminals. We are not going to dwell much about the reason behind that as the primary concern here is about the existence of apps that keep your data secure and encrypted. Among the titanic of data, the most sensitive one is our chat, where we text, send images, documents and almost everything related to our personal and professional life. Let us find out how can they be veiled from any unwanted access.
Table of Contents
Levels of encryption
How secure the messaging platforms are, depends on the level of technological advancement of that time and also on how heavy the government’s hammer is on the data breaches. Nonetheless, this is not the most important question. No matter how safe an app is, there will always be a diminutive possibility of it being the meal of hackers. What determines an individual’s data safety is the level of encryption offered by the message service provider.
End-to-end encryption
End-to-end encryption to your data means it is not available for access to any third-party. This is done by encrypting and decrypting of information using private and public codes. The data is encrypted during the entire course of transmission and only decrypts after reaching the receiver’s device. Leave aside a third-party, even the service provider can never read the messages in transit. Even if one can access the data in general, he/she will lack the key to decrypt in order to read those messages.
Encryption in transit
This is a combination of encrypted and unencrypted data transmission method. Dealing with fake news, hate speech and anything that can be called as prim, in general, are what seems to be the major concern of messaging service providers and government as well. Encryption in transit offers data encryption throughout the transmission but with the service provider. A service provider, if needs, can easily access the contents and take actions accordingly.
Best Secure and Encrypted Messaging Apps For 2020
| Name | Encryption | Delete for everyone |
Price` |
| End-to-end | Yes | Free | |
| Telegram | End-to-end | Yes | Free |
| Viber | End-to-end | Yes | Free |
| Line | End-to-end | Yes | Free |
| Dust | Combination of AES 128 and RSA 248 encryption. | Yes | Free |
| Cyphr | End-to-end | No | Free |
| Kakao Talk | Option to enable end-to-end encryption | Yes | Free |
| Signal – Private Messenger | End-to-end | Yes | Free |
| Threema | End-to-end | Yes | Free |
| Pryvate Now | RSA 4096-bit encryption | Yes | Free |
1. WhatsApp
The first thing that replaced the carrier text messaging service to a broad extent is no other than WhatsApp. The app has everything to be so. A simple UI, easy to chat functionality, option to send media files and on top of everything, the robust end-to-end encryption. WhatsApp also doesn’t store any message on its server, which makes it nearly impossible for anyone to decrypt your messages. With all these impeccable modules, it is safe to say that Whatsapp is the best encrypted messaging app for Android.
2. Telegram
Telegram is one of the most secured messaging services, thanks to the arming of end-to-end level encryption with it. Focusing primarily on privacy, it also offers an option called ‘Secret Chat’ that allows deletion of messages from both the end of the communication. On top of that, users also have a ‘Self Destruct’ feature that commands the receiver’s app to delete particular text/media after the user-specified time.
3. Viber
Viber is an instant messaging software that also offers cross-platform voice over IP functionality. The chat service is exceptionally fast and the call quality is praiseworthy. Moreover, you can also call other landline and mobile numbers using VoIP without the need to open application. With complete encryption of messages until the recipient’s end, Viber offers a highly secured chat platform.
4. Line
Line schleps a wonderful story with itself. Built originally as an alternate way of communication during the devastating Tohoku earthquake which happened in 2011, it continued to gain popularity among the people. Line provides the option to enable end-to-end encryption for the messages, which it calls “Letter Sealing”.
5. Dust
Protecting the messages with a combination of AES 128 and RSA 248 encryption, Dust is a widely promulgated name in messaging apps industry. Besides all general and standard chat features and interactive modules, it vouchsafes a robust platform for secure messaging. No messages are permanently stored either on the servers or on the user device and are far from being accessible even by the service provider.
Conclusion
One may think for a moment that encryption in transit is subtle when compared to complete encryption. But what if the company itself sells that sensitive information to a third-party? And also, what if an infracted cyber attack results in the non-encrypted data breach? All of these are not mere possibilities but we were cursed with such misfortunes in the past. Now since the only thing that lacks any compromise and is far from being vapid is the messaging apps offering end-to-end encryption.
