Telegram has a more trustworthy reputation than WhatsApp and offers more features than Signal, but this has earned the app some unsavoury users. WhatsApp has recently come under criticism for attempting to expand the amount of data shared with Facebook”. “WhatsApp is safe in that it uses the same secure encryption as Signal but is owned by Facebook – a company which has historically monetised personal information (principally for advertising). “Out of the three apps, Signal has the best reputation for security and privacy using published encryption that has been thoroughly scrutinised and without any incentive to capture your personal information”, said Searchlight Security CTO and co-founder, Dr. So, how does Signal compare to other popular messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram? “While the platform requires your mobile number to sign up, you can set this up using a Google voice number, while Apple users can stop their history from syncing with the cloud by turning off ‘show calls in recents’ in settings”, added Demetriades. There are also options for users who don’t want to connect their Signal account with their personal phone number or iCloud history. “Essentially, it encodes your message so that only the intended recipient’s device can unlock it”. “Signal is safe to use, mainly because it provides end-to-end encryption, which means messages are secured before they’re sent, and they are decrypted only once they arrive at the intended recipient’s device”, explained McAfee VP Antony Demetriades. Unlike Telegram, which also benefits from end-to-end encryption in its “secret chats”, Signal has the feature enabled by default so you won’t have to take any additional steps to get this extra layer of privacy. Signal is safer than many messaging apps because it uses end-to-end encryption, which ensures that no one (not even Signal) can intercept and read your messages. Finally, don’t forget to check out our ultimate security guide to learn the best ways to safeguard your data when surfing the web. We reached out to security experts from McAfee, Searchlight Security, F-Secure, Comparitech and IDC to learn more about Signal, how the apps handles your data and how it’s encryption compares to other popular messaging apps on the market.įor more on messaging apps and your privacy, make sure to visit our guides to WhatsApp and Telegram, along with our more in-depth comparison of Signal vs Telegram. Signal is considered an independent non-profit, meaning its development is supported entirely by grants and donations and it isn’t funded by any major tech company or advertisers.

Signal even designed face coverings that would “encrypt your face” in the real world to maintain its users’ privacy outside the app. In 2020, the company released a face blurring tool to protect the identities’ of protestors in the marches against racism and police brutality. Of course, encryption isn’t the only privacy tool in Signal’s arsenal.

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