“The best secure chat programs built by renowned messaging services are known to keep private conversations safe from snooping.” – A true statement indeed!
Messaging has become quite common these days. From quickly connecting with our peers to getting an instant reply from the customer support team, chat apps exist everywhere.
And with new messaging apps launching every other minute, the chance of messages getting breached by app developers, third parties, and government agencies is also on the rise. Thus, it has become a priority to use a secure messaging app that offers end-to-end encryption.
Please note that certain chatting apps like Twitter, FB Messenger, or Instagram are not E2E encrypted and the risk of exposure is quite high. Alternatively, some apps have upped their game on privacy and security.
Therefore, in the blog below, we will discuss some of the best and private chat messaging apps of 2024. Before that,
Features That Any Secure Messaging App Must Include:
The fastest growing messaging app can soon be vulnerable to any kind of abuse if they are not encrypted using the right mechanisms or standards.
Henceforth, making users sound the alarm of the interception. So, as a good practice to secure messaging apps, the chat platform must include the below features.
| Most-Needed Features | Key Descriptions |
| E2E encryption. | Uses strong keys, particularly unique keys for encryption and decryption. |
| Compatibility across platforms and devices. | It lets users store data at their convenience on the web, mobile, and desktop. |
| Different communication modes. | Besides chats, the chat app must support audio and video calls as well. |
With features that make a messaging service the best secure messaging app, the next section is for rookies who are in constant search for,
What is Secure Messaging in The Context?
Adding a layer of security to messages is what secure messaging means in simple terms. Further, for an app to qualify under the category of the best secure chat programs, the gold standard is it must include all crucial elements like E2E encryption, synchronization of data, and multi-mode communication.
Finally, as long as your messages are encrypted, the rest is unimportant, whether spies, tech company experts, or ad agencies try to pull strings of your intelligible data.
To put light on the above element briefed,
- End-to-end Encryption: That is encrypting messages before transmitting over the network and reaching the recipient. This way, every minute the message is typed and sent, no one, not even the internet service provider or app maker will be able to view it.
- Multi-platform Compatibility: With this element enabled in the chat app, users can choose their choice of platform or device to store data.
- Multiple Communication Mediums: If you feel users will be bored with just text messages, you can build chat app or easily integrate audio and video calling to your app using Messaging APIs or video calling APIs. Integration always helps developers to quickly launch a feature that may take hours of coding.
Now that we have covered the basics, let us head onto our research on secure messaging apps.
10 Best Secure Chat Apps That Took A Sling In Encryption
Many private chat messaging apps emphasize on offering secure communication. To not let you get missed as a needle in a haystack, we have curated all the possible options suitable for you.
Plus, the list is drafted keeping in consideration of E2E encryption, platform compatibility, and multiple communication modes.
So, let us jump right onto the ever-eternal and best secure chat programs.
1. Signal
First up on our list is the private chat messaging app for the web that’s listed as one of the best secure messaging apps of 2024.
Trusted by over millions of users worldwide, it is gaining popularity among newcomers because it is free, quick, developed with niche privacy-related components, and easy to use.
Speaking of these, the chat app is open source, meaning anyone can inspect the code for security concerns. And wait, to access the app’s features, you do not need a PIN or credential.
- Main Stand-outs: Group chats and calls, Stickers, Open source, Options to self-destruct messages, and Media services.
- Pricing plans: Completely free with no ads.
- The number of users: Over 5 million and counting.
2. iMessage
This secure messaging app has been on the top of the list in offering end-to-end encryption for users. Solely developed for iPhone customers, this app allows them to have control over how long the message should stay and how many times can receivers view them. All messages are stored in iCloud for extra security but if the Apple server is breached then there is a possibility for all messages to be exposed.
- Main Stand-outs: iCloud for storage, Read receipts, GIFs, emojis, stickers, Allows customizations of iMessage settings, Block contacts, Mute notifications, Leave groups.
- Pricing plans: Completely free to use.
- The number of users: 1.3 billion plus users.
3. Telegram
Yet another security provider that allows users to set time for destructing messages or even accounts for security purposes. They are enriched with different tools and techniques such that any data is not leaked to third parties. And the mechanism they use is the ‘secret chats‘ functionality that allows all messages to be automatically destructed from all connected devices after a while.
Telegram also supports syncing messages to multiple devices at the same time and includes different features for the benefit of users.
- Main Stand-outs: Open messaging API and protocols to build chat app, Collaboration up to 200k members, Self-destruct messages, and Supports multiple files and formats.
- Pricing plans: It is free with no ads.
- The number of users: 200 million + users.
4. Wire
The most secure collaboration platform, without a doubt! Yes, this best secure chat program is one of the few apps that makes E2E encryption a default option in protecting messages, images, and files. They are transparent and always on, thereby not required to activate any setting manually. Additionally, being an open-source protocol, any developer can see, inspect, and improve the code using GitHub.
- Main Stand-outs: Open source, Group chats and calls, Conferencing, Presence indicators, Timed conversations, and more.
- Pricing plans: Both free and paid version available.
- The number of users: 100k + daily active users.
5. Threema
If there is any serious encrypted messaging app, it has to be Threema. Undoubtedly, this private chat messaging app boasts of its guiding principle of restraining metadata. Their servers automatically delete messages after being delivered to recipients. But, a copy of the message is retained on the user’s device.
Plus, Threema is an open-source protocol so any independent developer can correct the encryption of the code and doesn’t require a PIN or credential for signing up.
- Main Stand-outs: Evaluates contacts with QR codes, Highly password protected, Polls, Group chats, and Creates distribution lists.
- Pricing plans: Comes with a price of $2.99.
- The number of users: Nearly 4.5 million active users.
6. WhatsApp
Trendy, glitch-free, secure, and popular are the words used to describe this secure messaging app- WhatsApp. Besides having its foot in text messages, they cater their services to audio and video calls as well. Compatible across different platforms and devices, end-to-end encryption is surely a must topic to talk about. Whereas in terms of data storage, WhatsApp does not store data in their servers for the fear of breaching and allows users to retrieve or delete data from cloud servers too.
Additionally, their unique mechanism is the absence of a key for both encryption and decryption.
- Main Stand-outs: Can send images and files up to 256 users at once, Group chats, audio messages, video calls, conferencing option, Presence indicators, Read receipts, Delivery receipts, Attachments, Search option, and more.
- Pricing plans: Free.
- The number of users: Over 1.5 billion users.
7. Wickr Me
One of the best secure messaging apps in town, Wickr Me is recognized widely for its privacy. From letting users interact with one another via single and group chats to sending memos to conferencing, this app doesn’t ask for any personal details or phone numbers during the registration process. More than a messaging app, Wickr Me is a collaboration tool because of its capability to share screens, statuses, and locations.
They are highly encrypted and come in full transparency. Along with this, they make use of two protocols, PFS (Perfect Forward Secrecy) and 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication).
- Main Stand-outs: Search option, self-destruct messages, sharing images, files and videos, message retention up to 30 days, chat APIs or messaging APIs for integrating features.
- Pricing plans:
– Basic plan – Free
– Silver – $4.99
– Gold – $9.99
– Platinum – $25
- The number of users: The number of users using this platform is not mentioned.
8. Viber
What’s unique about Viber is that it uses different colors to indicate the encryption of data. Like,
- Grey color for specifying that chat is encrypted but contact is outside the trusted boundaries.
- Green specifies both chat and contact to be secure entities. And,
- Red indicates that there is an issue with the contact’s credentials.
Besides this, Viber is a repository of messaging and calling features, and options like GIFs, emojis, and stickers to express feelings. This best secure chat app is free, compatible across multiple devices and platforms, and comes with no downtime thus promising to deliver HD quality streams.
- Main Stand-outs: Retrieve deleted messages, Single and group chats and calls, HD video calling, Stickers, GIFs, and emojis.
- Pricing plans: Free.
- The number of users: 1 billion plus users.
9. Silence
Silence is one of the best secure chat app that is into SMS and MMS features. Because they are in this network domain, they do not need any internet connection for communication. Besides these, Silence is monitored at regular intervals by app experts for any third-party intrusions. However, the best part is that to sign up with Silence, you do not need a PIN or email address.
- Main Stand-outs: Supports local encryption, open source, doesn’t require internet connection, and restricts taking screenshots of conversations.
- Pricing plans: Free.
- The number of users: Data is not available.
10. Line
One of the best secure messaging apps of the last decade, Line is an open-source, free, and best-in-class messaging infrastructure that came to form post the Tohoku earthquake in the year 2011 as a means to communicate during such circumstances.
But slowly after gaining popularity amongst people, the Japanese engineers had to quickly add end-to-end encryption to boost privacy with a feature called, ‘Letter Sealing‘. To access this feature, one must manually turn it on.
- Main Stand-outs: Letter sealing, allows sharing photos on timeline, HD video calling, 1000 plus stickers, and ‘Shake It’ option to add new friends.
- Pricing plans: Free.
- The number of users: Has more than 700 million active users.
Our list of top 10 messaging platforms is reviewed and drafted. But, still, for many, this question may linger in your heads.
Which is the best secure chat app?
Hmm, the right solution for this question can only be answered based on the needs of the business. Some may need explicit features that exist nowhere, while others may require very strong encryption standards.
Whereas, quite a few may look at the way security protocols are integrated. Like, Threema and Wire use messaging protocols for ensuring security but Signal is an open source and so, the security is a little tricky there.
Understanding that there are quite a few issues in the security and privacy aspect, it is always better to build your own secure messaging app using chat APIs. And of the different API players in the market, MirrorFly can be your go-to option.
Why is MirrorFly the Best Messaging API to Build Chat App?
You might wonder, with so many recommendations out there, why did I choose MirrorFly? Because, if you wish to store the security hygiene of your app, then this is the right API. Besides the groundwork (features) that their APIs are strong in, other notable traits include
- 99.9% uptime SLA and HD videos.
- SaaS-based payment model making it easy even for small businesses.
- Different encryption standards like AES, TLS, and SSL guarantee utmost security.
- Highly reliable and scalable and lets your app grow with the user count.
- Their developer-friendly chat APIs provide on-cloud hosting for storage.
- Quick integration of chat features in almost 10 minutes.
- and more.
Finally! Time To Build Chat App!!
We hope that we gave you a fair insight into the different encrypted messaging apps in a single nutshell. Hoping that this article has showered awareness on what to consider in chat apps and the importance of chat APIs, especially, MirrorFly, we will sign off for now and meet you again very soon!
