Encrypted messaging is becoming mainstream. How do you decide which messenger is the most secure and private for your needs?
Securing your digital communications should be your highest priority when going online. There are just way too many threats to trust any company with your private data. Companies care more about their bottom line then about fixing bugs in their software or poorly undersecured data centers. And they definitely don’t care if they expose your digital life to harassment, scammers, fraud and data mining advertisers.
Can you actually find a secure messaging app you can trust? And how can you make sure an app that promises encryption won’t turn evil?
Well, ever since the Snowden leaks on N.S.A. mass surveillance, we now have more options then ever before. You can thank the broad community of security researchers and developers on the front lines in the war against data mining and surveillance.
Questions:
Are all messages end-to-end encryption? Is the app fully open source or free software? How is the app making money? Does it have a good jurisdiction? What is the app’s metadata policy? Can you create an account anonymously? Can you do contact verification? Does your app provide disappearing messages? Is the encryption strengthened with forward secrecy? Is your app in a centralized ecosystem or on a decentralized platform?
