Privacy is an endangered species online–especially with free, ad-driven networks like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Coincidentally, they are all part of the same company, and now a new reports says Facebook is going to integrate its messaging services into one overarching network.
Is that a cause for concern? If you care about privacy, maybe so. And given the ample evidence that Facebook is privacy-challenged, it might be time to get your precious conversations away from its servers. Despite the fact that WhatsApp uses end-to-end encryption, Facebook has copped to collecting some usage data. And WhatsApp’s cofounder, Jan Koum, recently left Facebook, citing privacy concerns as one reason.
What’s a privacy-conscious person to do? Fear not. The biggest challenge in finding a private way to communicate is deciding which of the many, many encrypted apps to use. Aside from rock-solid security tech and the lack of an obvious motive to monetize user data, the popularity of an app is important. A conversation with no one is as private as it gets, but it’s not very useful.
And a big reminder, nothing is 100% secure. Given recent concerns about one of the best-regarded apps, Telegram, falling prey to bots, we’re going to skip over that one for the time being. The most important thing, though, is to use an app that isn’t funded by paying with your data.
Here are some of the best popular messaging apps to wean you off the Facebook empire:
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