Encrypted Messengers reviews

An overview of secure messsaging apps.

This blog post is heavily insipred by this blog post. But here I wanted to share my own personal thoughts on them and which one is more suitable if you want privacy and security in mind.

I do not want to cover proprietary messengers such as WhatsApp or Telegram, which uses the “TrustMeBro” cryptographic library.

While these are E2EE messengers or RTC, you still need a good OPSEC, which means even E2EE can’t save you. So it’s best to have a good OPSEC in mind.

1. Threema

Overview

Threema is based in Switzerland, which has very strong privacy laws, they also host their own server which is a good thing, they do not rely on any 3rd party in order to work. Threema has been active since 2012 and still going. Threema is only popular in Switzerland and some EU countries, they heavily rely on a business model for enterprises and paid customers.

Features

Just like Whatsapp, Threema offers most of the features, such as message editing, message deletion, also a very nice UI/UX. They also got very fascinating image editor.

To be added.

Business Model

Threema’s business model is rely on enterprises such as companies or schools. Threema also sell their app on for 5USD/EUR/CHF, this is a one-time payment, not a subscription.

Threema can be purchase on Play Store and App Store, they also offer purchasing licence key without relying on the GMS. Once you bought a licence key, you will be getting the Google-free version of Threema.

Conclusion

With all that being said, Threema is still the best option when it comes with security and privacy. For only one-time 5USD/EUR/CHF, you should get everything out of the box for a industry standard messenger. If you would like to join Threema, this website could be a way to go if you want Threema as a “Discord”.