If you’re getting bored with WhatsApp and want a more secure messaging app, you’re not alone. While WhatsApp is great for chatting with most people, it’s important to know whether the security of your messages is at risk. Privacy matters more than you think, and you might be completely unaware of the serious risks lurking in the apps you’re using to communicate.
In this article, we’ll explore safer alternatives to WhatsApp, so keep reading to learn how to secure your messages like never before!
The Privacy Wake-Up Call: Why You Should Rethink WhatsApp
WhatsApp has faced a lot of criticism over how it handles user privacy, especially since Facebook bought it in 2014. At first, Facebook promised that WhatsApp’s privacy policies wouldn’t change, but that didn’t last.
In 2016, WhatsApp updated its terms to allow user data, like phone numbers, to be shared with Facebook, mainly for targeted ads. This move sparked backlash, especially since Facebook had previously said it wouldn’t do that. Things got worse when the European Commission fined Facebook €110 million for giving misleading information during the acquisition.
Then in 2021, WhatsApp introduced a new privacy policy that said users had to agree to share some data with Facebook or stop using the app. Although this mainly applied to interactions with businesses and not personal chats, the update felt like a red flag to many. As a result, people started switching to apps similar to WhatsApp, which promised more privacy.
The bigger issue is that WhatsApp, like many free apps, makes money by collecting user data and using it for advertising—a model critics say puts profits above user privacy.
In recent years, WhatsApp has tried to win back trust by adding stronger encryption and giving users more control over their settings. However, users are still skeptical about privacy, misinformation, and scams. All of this has pushed users to care more about how their data is handled and has pushed messaging apps to be more transparent, or risk losing users altogether.
What Makes a Messaging App Truly Secure?
Secure messaging apps are built to protect your conversations from prying eyes and keep your personal information private.
One of their core features is end-to-end encryption (E2EE), which means only you and the person you’re messaging can read what’s being said—no one else, not even the app itself, can access it. Apps like Signal and WhatsApp use E2EE automatically, while Telegram only enables it in certain private chats.
Another important aspect is data collection—or rather, the lack of it. Apps like Signal and Threema go out of their way to avoid storing your personal details or tracking your activity, unlike others that log metadata like when and how often you use the app. Many secure messaging platforms also offer self-destructing messages, which disappear after a set time, giving you more control over your digital footprint. Some, like Snapchat or Telegram’s Secret Chats, are designed with this in mind.
A major concern with less secure apps is the possibility of “law enforcement backdoors”—built-in ways for authorities to access private messages. Truly secure platforms, such as Signal, reject these entirely to maintain strong user privacy.
Beyond these core features that make a messaging app truly secure, top-tier apps often include open-source code (so experts can inspect it for flaws), multi-factor authentication for account security, and compliance with strict data protection laws like GDPR. All these features help make messaging safer, and Signal is often highlighted as one of the best examples of how a secure app should work.
The bottom line: If privacy matters to you, look for messaging apps that:
- Use end-to-end encryption.
- Don’t collect or store your data.
- Offer disappearing messages.
- Refuse backdoors for law enforcement.
The Best WhatsApp Alternatives (Ranked by Security & Features!)
Signal
Signal – The Privacy Kingpin. Tyler Reinhard, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Signal is often praised as the most secure messaging app out there, and for some good reasons. It’s the go-to choice for the privacy-focused, including high-profile names like Edward Snowden and Elon Musk. The app doesn’t run ads, track you, or sell your data, and it’s run by a nonprofit organization funded through donations.
Everything you send on Signal, whether it’s a message, voice note, or photo, is protected with end-to-end encryption by default. This means only you and the person you’re chatting with can read or hear what’s being shared—no one else, not even Signal. It also goes the extra mile with features like disappearing messages that delete themselves after a certain time, and protections against screenshots or message previews showing on your lock screen.
Unlike most messaging apps, Signal doesn’t show you ads or track what you do. They’re not trying to make money off you, and they don’t collect or store your personal info. In fact, Signal is run by a nonprofit that runs on donations, not your data.
Plus, it’s open source, which means its code is out there for anyone to inspect. With tools like unique safety numbers for verifying contacts and “sealed sender” technology that hides even the metadata, Signal is designed to give users full control over their privacy.
Telegram
Cool Features, But How Private Is It Really? Yuri Samoilov, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Telegram is a widely used messaging app that offers a range of features and claims to be privacy-focused. Is it completely true?
Only one-on-one “Secret Chats” are fully end-to-end encrypted, which means that only the sender and recipient can read the messages. However, these Secret Chats need to be turned on manually. All other chats, including regular and group conversations, are not end-to-end encrypted. Instead, they use server-client encryption, where messages are protected in transit using server-client encryption, but since they’re stored on Telegram’s servers and Telegram controls the encryption keys, they technically can access them if required.
One standout feature is that Telegram supports group chats with up to 200,000 users. While this is great for large communities or organizations, these group chats don’t have end-to-end encryption either, so the content isn’t fully private.
Another “convenience feature” is storing messages in the cloud so you can access them from any device, which also comes with a trade-off: Telegram controls the encryption keys, so your messages can be read by the company if necessary.
Not everything is bad in terms of security with Telegram. It does offer some added security add-ons, like two-factor authentication and self-destructing messages in Secret Chats. However, its encryption system (MTProto) isn’t open source like Signal’s, which has led to criticism from some security experts.
All in all, while Telegram balances privacy and convenience, it’s not as secure as the best messaging app (aka Signal) that offers end-to-end encryption by default for all chats. If privacy is a top concern for you, it’s best to stick with Secret Chats or look to more secure alternatives to WhatsApp and Telegram.
iMessage
Great for Apple Fans, Meh for the Rest. Apple Inc.SVG by CMetalCore, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
iMessage is Apple’s built-in messaging service, so it works best when you’re chatting with other Apple users. Messages sent between iPhones, iPads, or Macs are protected by end-to-end encryption, which means only the people involved in the conversation can read the messages—even Apple can’t access them.
These encrypted messages show up as blue bubbles. But when you text someone who doesn’t use an Apple device (like an Android phone), the message gets sent as a regular SMS or MMS, which shows up as a green bubble. These aren’t encrypted and can be intercepted or read more easily.
Android phones are starting to use RCS, which is a more secure and modern version of SMS. However, Apple hasn’t added RCS support to iMessage, so texting between iPhone and Android still lacks the same privacy and security features.
Another aspect to keep in mind is that if you back up your messages to iCloud, they’re no longer end-to-end encrypted by default unless you enable Apple’s optional ‘Advanced Data Protection’ feature.
While iMessage is very secure for Apple-to-Apple chats, those who value privacy across different types of devices might want to use other better alternatives to iMessage or WhatsApp, which offer strong encryption no matter what phone you’re using.
Google Messages
A Decent Alternative for Android Users. Google, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Google Messages is a texting app for Android that supports both old-school SMS and a newer system called RCS (Rich Communication Services), a modern upgrade to texting that lets you send higher-quality photos, see when someone is typing, get read receipts, and chat in groups more easily.
One of its advantages is encryption. If you use Google Messages, your messages are private and can’t be read by anyone else, not even Google. But here’s the small print: that only works if both people in the chat are using RCS and have an internet connection. If one doesn’t have RCS or loses their internet, the app falls back to SMS or MMS, which are not encrypted and less secure. Something similar to what happens with iMessage. Google makes this clear by showing a lock icon when chats are encrypted. If there’s no lock, the conversation isn’t protected.
Google Messages also adds some extra safety tools, like automatically flagging spam or scam texts, blurring explicit images, and verifying who you’re really talking to. That said, RCS messages are briefly stored on servers during delivery, which could be a weak spot. So, while Google Messages is more secure than basic texting, it’s not as airtight as apps like Signal.
Threema
The Ultra-Secure Swiss Army Knife of Messaging https://threema.ch, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Threema is a messaging app designed to ensure users’ personal information remains protected. Developed in Switzerland, it operates on a one-time payment of $2.99, meaning no ads or in-app purchases. This payment helps fund development while keeping your data private.
One of its standouts is that it doesn’t require a phone number or email to sign up, unlike most messaging apps. Instead, it gives each user a unique Threema ID to keep them anonymous. Any personal information you provide is encrypted, and your contact data is deleted from Threema’s servers right after it’s synced.
All messages, calls, and file transfers are end-to-end encrypted, so only you and the person you’re communicating with can read them. Even if Threema’s servers were hacked, your information would still be safe because the encryption keys are stored on your device.
Additionally, Threema complies with strict privacy rules from Europe (GDPR) and is open-source. It works on phones, tablets without SIM cards, and computers. While it might not have as many features as other apps like Signal or Telegram, Threema is a great choice if you want maximum privacy and security.
Viber
The Underrated Contender Viber, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Viber is a messaging app known for combining strong security features with useful functions like international calling and hidden chats. It uses end-to-end encryption (E2EE) by default for most types of communication, such as one-on-one chats, group chats, private calls, and shared media. This means that messages are encrypted on the sender’s device and only decrypted on the recipient’s device, preventing anyone, including Viber itself, from accessing the content.
However, group calls only have encryption during transmission, not end-to-end, which makes them potentially less secure. Viber uses the Signal Protocol, a well-regarded encryption standard. While it offers encrypted messaging, international calls made to non-Viber users do not benefit from E2EE, as they rely on traditional phone networks.
One of Viber’s privacy features is “Hidden Chats,” which allows users to hide specific conversations behind a PIN code. These chats are stored locally on the device and do not show up in the main chat list, providing extra privacy. However, this feature doesn’t affect the encryption of the messages themselves.
Viber also has disappearing messages, the ability to edit and delete sent messages, spam protection, and support for multiple platforms (mobile and desktop).
Despite these apparently strong encryption systems, Viber’s encryption model has limitations, as encryption keys can be temporarily stored on its servers for message delivery, especially if the recipient is offline. This is a potential risk if Viber’s servers are hacked or if legal requests for data are made. On top of that, Viber collects metadata, such as contact lists and location data, which could be accessed by third parties like governments. This has sparked serious concerns about how user privacy is handled.
In short, Viber is secure for general use and offers practical tools like international calling, but users who are highly focused on privacy might prefer other alternative apps, which provide stronger privacy protections.
What is The Future of Secure Messaging?
The future of secure messaging is all about privacy and control. With the growth of decentralized messaging apps, which rely on peer-to-peer networks or blockchain technology instead of central servers, the risk of data breaches and surveillance is dramatically reduced. Apps like Signal take privacy seriously, but there’s still a long way to go in terms of adoption and technology.
Meta, the company behind WhatsApp, has lost the trust of many due to its history of data breaches and privacy issues. While some improvements have been made, like adding end-to-end encryption, many users remain skeptical. Why? Meta still collects metadata, like who you’re messaging and when, which raises serious privacy concerns.
As more people value privacy, decentralized apps that prioritize security are likely to become more popular than those controlled by large companies like Meta.
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