All other chats-normal one-to-one, group, and all Telegram's other permutations-are still encrypted but done in such a way that Telegram holds the keys. With that app, only optional Secret Chats are end-to-end encrypted. There's a much larger caveat to Telegram's E2EE implementation. Business accounts are clearly marked, and there's certainly not the same expectation of privacy when talking to Al's Discount Empanada Barn instead of your spouse. If you message a business account, your message contents are not encrypted. There's a caveat to WhatsApp's E2EE implementation, however.

Both also use the Signal Protocol (Opens in a new window), which has been evaluated and implemented by Google, Meta (read: Facebook), and others. Both Signal and WhatsApp use E2EE by default for all person-to-person and group chats, as well as voice and video. The best services do this with a process called end-to-end encryption (E2EE), where the messages are encrypted in such a way that only the proper recipients-not the messaging company and not anyone spying on your activity-can see the message's contents.īelow we detail how each of the three main secure messaging services-Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp-fare in our testing for security, privacy, ease of use, social features, and video and voice chat so that you can pick the one that's right for you.īuying Guide: The Best Secure Messaging Apps for 2023Īll three of the products in this roundup use E2EE, but they're not all implemented the same way, which creates real differences between the services. The main security concern with messaging services is ensuring that only the intended recipients can read your messages. Unfortunately, not all chat services make security their top priority. Mobile chat services have put our friends and families at our fingertips, and group chats have revolutionized the way we socialize, collaborate, and organize. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions.

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