Guess post by Jeff Anderson of Techwarn.com
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| image from pixbay.com |
The internet is truly a land of
possibilities.
Back in the days of EDGE, the best
that we could do was send SMS texts to one another. Fast forward to the
launching of 3G and 4G networks, and we now have instant messaging apps to
change the game.
That has not only brought about a
higher level of convenience but a more cost-effective way to keep in touch with
one another.
However, not all IM apps are for
you. Some are safer than others, and you will be better using those. If you
care about your data privacy and security, that is.
We have made a selection of some of
the most secure options out there today.
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| image from pixabay.com |
No, we did not just choose these apps based on the fact that we like them. After all, what we feel for the applications will not protect us in the case of a data breach or hack.
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| image from pixabay.com |
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End-to-End Encryption
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What this means is that the
conversation is encrypted on both sides. That way, no one other than the
communicating parties can see what is being sent and received on that chat
server.
To make this happen, the companies
behind the IM services have launched a protocol that automatically generates
encryption keys for every chat. These keys are safely stored away too so that
the chats cannot be decrypted with them.
Chats mustn't just be encrypted on
one end but both so that the other end does not serve as the weak link to
expose all the chats in the case of a hack.
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Biometric Sign-in
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To that end, some of the IM apps on
this list have also incorporated biometric sign-in into their protocols.
For services like WhatsApp, you
don’t need to sign in every time as long as your number has been associated
with the account on the phone. However, you can secure the opening of the chat
app better when you are required to use your face or signature to get into it.
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Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication recently became a
common feature on most IM apps.
With that, it becomes impossible
for a hacker to take complete control of another person’s account on another
device. That has been an issue with some chat applications in the past, but not
anymore.
We also love the implementation of
2FA on some of the apps in this list. So that you do not forget your code, the
app will require you to re-enter it from time to time
This way, you are guaranteed never losing access
to the account – or your special protection code.
image from pixabay.com
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User Interface
Of course, this does not contribute
to the safety and privacy that these apps offer. However, would you use a
highly secure yet clunky instant messaging service?
Thus, we have ensured the picks
here are as intuitive as can be. They are also some of the best designed
messaging apps you can download. Finally, they offer all that a basic IM app
should allow you.
So, besides sending just text, you
can also share media.
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Free
You don’t have to pay to start
using IM apps. That you want to communicate securely does not mean you have to
pay for the service either.
While some of these apps might be
testing features for monetization in the future, we have a unique pick that is
completely non-profit. Let’s not let the cat out of the bag at this point
though.
image from pixabay.com
Our Top IM Picks for
Privacy
Now that you know the rationale
behind our choices, here are the ones that we came up with:
1 iMessage
To start with, anyone that has been
in the Apple ecosystem for a while now will agree that the company is highly
dedicated to user data privacy and security. This is the same for the current
CEO of the company, Tim Cook, and that desire for safety has trickled into all
the products and apps which they have developed.
One of such products is the
iMessage
To start with, both iMessage and
the associated FaceTime (for video calls) are operated on an end-to-end
encryption model. This is so strong that even Apple cannot read the messages
that are being sent in your conversations.
On top of that, the company has
provided the option to have your messages automatically deleted after a while
on your phone. Depending on your preferences, you can set the messages to expire
after 30 days, a full year or that they remain on the device till you manually
delete them.
Finally, Apple insists that the
iMessage apps that allow you to share pictures, videos and stickers have no
access to either your chat or contact information. They are only given enough
permissions to do what they have to do, and that is it.
2 WhatsApp
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For a service
that has come to be the favorite of more than 1.5 billion users from all over
the world, strong data privacy is expected.
We have already
mentioned the option of signing in with biometrics up there, so we will not
flog that anymore. You can also choose to have a passcode instead if you do not
trust your biometric data.
Following that,
WhatsApp also introduced end-to-end encryption in 2016 – and they have been
improving the security of that platform ever since. To buttress that, they
brought a two-factor authentication system that allows users to keep control of
their account even if they lost the device/ exposed some of their sign-in
requirements.
There are also
plans to bring expiring messages to the WhatsApp platform for everyone. This
will allow you to set how long a message can stay for, after which the user
does not see it anymore. That surely brings a higher level of security and
trust to the chats you are having with contacts.
Like iMessage,
though, WhatsApp optionally backs your chat up to the cloud. If there were ever
a cloud account hack, you could risk losing some of your sensitive data too.
3 Telegram
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Telegram is that
social messaging app that did not come to play.
They were one of
the first third-party IM app providers that identified security as one of the
biggest things to have in such apps. Ever since, they have been focused on a
model of speed and security.
We don’t need to
talk about end-to-end encryption as it is a standard across all Telegram chats.
We also need to laud the fact that they do better than the remaining apps on
this list when it comes to deleting messages.
On Telegram, you
can order your messages to be deleted from the other end of the conversation
too – making it more secure for leaving no trails.
Furthermore,
Telegram has been using expiring messages for long now. That way, users can
send sensitive messages that will self-destruct after a while. All that sounds
like mere cool stuff, but they are at the heart of your data privacy and
security.
If you heard
that there was an instant messaging app that Edward Snowden trusts, wouldn’t
you trust it too? That is the simple story with Signal.
Now that you
know this, we can stop talking about it and just ask that you take the app at
face value. We won’t do that, though.
Thus, we should
let you know that the app is a brainchild of developers who started the company
as a non-profit. This means they don’t have plans of monetizing in the future,
so they don’t have to leave backdoors for marketers which can be exploited by
hackers.
To back up their
story is Brian Acton – the co-founder of WhatsApp – who donates generously to
their cause. Seeing as Brian left Facebook (after the WhatsApp acquisition)
just because he didn’t agree with them on privacy issues, that also tells you
why his backing of this app means a lot.
Chatting Securely
As we said, you
don't need to purchase any special IM app just to chat safely with your
contacts. For better security against hacks, though, it is recommended that you
layer your internet connection with a VPN.
Make sure you
subscribe to one of the most secure VPN out there so that you
don’t protect your data one way only to lose it the other way.
Over to you guys
now. Which of these apps has been your daily chat driver, and why?
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| image from pixabay.com |
