With government surveillance concerns at an all-time high during the Iran conflict, encrypted messaging app downloads have surged 200%. Here is how the top three compare on privacy.
Signal
The gold standard for privacy. Open-source, end-to-end encrypted by default, collects zero metadata. Funded by a nonprofit foundation. Supports disappearing messages, sealed sender, and group calls up to 40 people.
End-to-end encrypted messages, but owned by Meta which collects extensive metadata (who you talk to, when, how often). Convenient with 2 billion users worldwide. Good for international communication.
Telegram
NOT end-to-end encrypted by default — only Secret Chats use E2E encryption. Regular chats are stored on Telegrams servers. Excellent for large groups and channels, but not truly private.
Privacy Rankings
- Most private: Signal — open source, zero data collection
- Moderate: WhatsApp — encrypted messages, metadata collected
- Least private: Telegram — not E2E by default, server-stored messages
