Summary – The article shows the growing use of secret messaging apps and how it will rule the world in the near future. With the rapidly growing number of security breaches, users have started to incline towards safe and private platforms for chatting. The article also highlights some of the best secret chat apps.

Technology has touched all the sectors of our lives. Data sharing in the form of messages, audios, and videos are a part of our daily life.

If you think data sharing on various platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, Whatsapp is private and no one can see it, you might want to withdraw your thoughts. The Government keeps a constant eye on the Internet and data which is shared by the users. 

Privacy and Security have always been a big issue for the Android Operating System. Personal data is meant to be kept personal, but the government needs personal data for reasons like National Security. Cybercrimes have increased constantly in these years and so has the security.

But, what if you don’t want anyone to see your personal data? What if you feel that your privacy has been invaded?

The app industry and developers have provided us with some of the best apps for secret texting that promises to keep your privacy intact by providing end-to-end encryption.

What are Secret-texting Apps?

The app store is full of secret messaging apps that include features that allow users to have private conversations. It can be used as a tool to hide your identity and the nature of conversations.

Most of these apps include self-destructing features that automatically delete texts, images, or videos sent after a certain amount of time.

Why end-to-end encryption matter?

End-to-end encryption means encrypting conversations in order to make the data unavailable to third parties. The information is transferred using a secret code rather than with a plain text.

Former co-founder of Rapportive, Martin Kleppmann says :

“Although encryption in transit is widely used, it has serious security problems. For example, the service provider could be hacked by an adversary, or compromised by an insider, causing sensitive information to be leaked. A fault in the service provider could cause data to be corrupted.

For these reasons, security experts are pushing towards widespread use of end-to-end encryption, which reduces the exposure to such attacks”.

Here is a list of some of the best secret messaging apps that will surely rule the world – 

1. Viber

Viber was initially available only on iPhone. Viber was launched on the Android platform in 2012. 

Viber uses colors to depict the level of security of a conversation. It uses three colors – grey, green and red. Grey denotes encrypted conversation, green denotes encrypted conversation with a trusted contact and red means there is an issue with the authentication.

Some of the key features of Viber are :

• Group chat
• Deletes the messages after delivering 
• Easy sync will all the devices
• Attractive GIFs and stickers available for users

2. Signal Private Messenger

Signal Private Messenger apps help users to create private chat groups in real-time. You can share any media file or attachment to anyone with complete encryption. 

Signal Messenger provides privacy for every message with an advanced end-to-end encryption protocol.

Some of the key features of Signal Private Messenger are –

• It uses your phone number and existing contacts.
• You can add your opinion to ongoing conversations 
• You can make high-quality voice and video calls.

3. Telegram

Telegram is a messaging app that is basically focused on speed and security.

Telegram syncs across all of your devices like tablets, mobile phones, and desktops. Telegram supports the file-sharing of any type, be it photos, videos and documents. 

The app has a feature that allows you to delete the messages from both the devices and helps you to delete all types of shared files like images, audio messages, videos, and other documents. 

The end-to-end encryption allows the user to have a safe and secure conversation. 

The key features of the Telegram app are –

• Supports data sync on multiple devices at once
• Data is stored in the Telegram cloud and uses no disc space on your device
• Supports sharing files of any type and size
• Offers photo and video editing tools
• Messages are encrypted using a combination of 256-bit symmetric AES encryption.

4. Threema

Threema is one of the most trusted and secure messaging app for Android, iOS and Windows phone. This is a paid app that costs the US $2.99. 

The app doesn’t ask for an e-mail ID or a phone number to register. Instead, it provides you with a unique Threema ID. 

End-To-End encryption is provided for the messages, calls and the status and story. Threema uses an open-source Networking and Cryptography Library (NaCl) to secure your conversation. 

Here are some of the key features of Threema app :

• Voice calls
• You can share locations, pictures, and videos
• Text and voice messages
• Supports various file formats

5. ChatSecure

ChatSecure is a messaging app for the iPhone. The app is encrypted by an open-source. It uses encryptions like OMEMO and OTR. You can merge the secret chat app to your Google account. You can also use XMPP servers to create new accounts.  

Here are some of the key features of ChatSecure app –

• The app uses open-source cryptographic libraries to keep conversations private.
• It supports XMPP with a TLS certificate pinning.
• The app uses SQLCipher to encrypt the contact list

6. Dust

Dust is another popular secret texting app. It has a feature that auto deletes the messages that can never be restored from the devices you are using. The app provides a platform for highly encrypted conversations.

The key features of Dust app are –

• Messages are automatically deleted after 24 hours
• The app allows the users to unsend the messages
• Dust notifies the user if a screenshot is taken
• The app allows you to add unlimited members to a group chat.

The EndNote

We are living in a digital world where security and privacy of personal information are undoubtedly crucial. It is advisable to use secret texting apps with end-to-end encryption to secure your data from hackers.

The above-mentioned features of secret apps show that these apps are going to rule the world in the coming years. The user base of these apps is rapidly escalating. The users have started to incline towards the safe world of messaging apps. 

Joyce Laroche