# The most secure messaging apps: how to judge an encrypted messenger and which ones pass URL: https://webvpn.org/encryption/encrypted-messaging-apps/ Updated: 2026-09-13 How to choose the best encrypted messaging app: what makes a messenger secure, end-to-end encryption by default, metadata, open source and audits, leading options. The best encrypted messaging app is one that encrypts every conversation end to end by default, publishes its client code and its protocol for scrutiny, has been independently audited, collects as little metadata as it can, offers encrypted or no cloud backups, and lets you verify contacts' keys and set messages to disappear. Signal meets all of these and is the most widely recommended; Threema, Wire and matrix-based clients meet most with different trade-offs; WhatsApp encrypts content by default but collects metadata; Telegram is not end-to-end encrypted except in optional secret chats. The word encrypted appears in the marketing of every messenger, and it means very different things across them. This guide gives you the criteria that separate a secure messaging app from an ordinary one, applies them to the apps people most often ask about, explains the metadata and backup issues that undercut encryption in practice, and helps you choose for your particular situation rather than by popularity. ## What makes a messaging app secure Six criteria, in rough order of importance. - End-to-end encryption by default for every chat type. Not as an optional mode, not only for one-to-one, not only for calls. If it is a setting, most conversations will not have it. The end-to-end encryption guide on this site explains why this matters. - A published protocol and open-source clients. You cannot verify what closed code does. Open code lets researchers check that the app implements the protocol correctly and does not leak. - Independent audits, published, of the protocol and the implementations, with findings addressed. - Minimal metadata. The provider should know as little as possible about who talks to whom and when. Designs that avoid storing contact lists, group memberships and message timing on the server are stronger than those that collect them. - Backups that do not undo the encryption. Cloud backups readable by the cloud provider hand over everything the encryption protected. Backups should be end-to-end encrypted or local only. - Key verification and disappearing messages. Safety numbers or fingerprints to detect substituted keys, and timers to limit how long content survives on devices. Secondary considerations include whether registration requires a phone number, the jurisdiction and funding of the provider, and the app's track record in responding to vulnerabilities. ## How the main apps compare App E2EE by default Open source Metadata collected Phone number needed Notes Signal Yes, all chats and calls Clients and server Minimal by design Yes, but hideable Non-profit; reference protocol Threema Yes Clients Minimal No Paid app; based in Switzerland Wire Yes Clients Moderate No, email works Business focus Element (Matrix) Yes for private rooms in most clients Yes Depends on homeserver No Federated; self-hostable WhatsApp Yes, personal chats No Extensive, shared with Meta Yes Backups E2EE only if enabled iMessage Yes, Apple to Apple No Moderate Apple ID SMS fallback is unencrypted; iCloud backup readable unless Advanced Data Protection is on Telegram No, secret chats only Clients only Extensive Yes Cloud chats readable by Telegram Discord Calls only No Extensive No Text not E2EE Details change with updates; the pattern does not. The apps at the top were designed around encryption; the ones toward the bottom added it to some features. ## The metadata problem Encrypting content hides what you said. Metadata, meaning who you contacted, when, how often and from where, often reveals as much, and most apps collect it. A provider that logs your contact list, group memberships and message timestamps knows your social graph even with perfect content encryption. Signal's design minimises this: it does not store contact lists or group membership on its servers in readable form, and the information it can produce about a user under legal demand has been shown to be nearly nothing. WhatsApp's design collects and shares metadata with Meta by policy. The difference is a design choice, not a technical necessity, and it is a large part of why security researchers rank the two differently despite similar content encryption. ## Backups: where encryption quietly fails An end-to-end encrypted chat whose history is backed up unencrypted to a cloud service is protected only until the backup runs. iCloud and Google Drive backups of chat apps are readable by Apple or Google, and by anyone who obtains your cloud account, unless the app encrypts the backup with a key only you hold. WhatsApp offers encrypted backups as an opt-in setting; Signal keeps backups local and encrypted; iMessage backups are protected only if Advanced Data Protection is enabled. Check this setting in whatever app you use, because it is the most common way encrypted messages end up readable. ## Choosing for your situation - General private conversation with friends and family. Signal, or WhatsApp with encrypted backups enabled if that is where your contacts already are. - No phone number attached to your identity. Threema, or a matrix client on a server you trust, or Signal with a number obtained as the anonymous phone number guide on this site describes and hidden with a username. - Communities and large groups. Matrix or Signal groups for encryption; Discord and Telegram for features, with the understanding that text is readable by the provider. - Work and organisations. Wire or a self-hosted matrix server, or Signal, depending on administration needs. - Conversations with high stakes. Signal with verified safety numbers, disappearing messages, registration lock enabled, and a device kept updated and locked, plus attention to the device-security guidance in the anonymity guides. ## What no messenger protects The device is the end of end-to-end. Malware or spyware on your phone reads messages as you do; a weak passcode or an unlocked phone hands them over; a contact can screenshot anything. Notifications on the lock screen display decrypted content. Linked desktop sessions decrypt everything on that computer. Keep the operating system and apps updated, use a strong passcode and biometric lock, review linked devices, and turn off preview notifications for sensitive chats. ## A seven-step setup for any encrypted messenger - Install from the official app store or the developer's site, and check the developer name. - Enable a registration lock or PIN so your account cannot be re-registered by someone who obtains your number. - Set disappearing messages as a default for new chats if the app allows it. - Verify the safety number or key of every contact whose conversations matter, in person or over a call. - Configure backups: enable encrypted backups, or disable cloud backups entirely. - Turn off message content in lock screen notifications. - Review linked devices periodically and remove any you do not use. ## What security researchers and digital-rights organisations say The criteria and rankings here follow how the people who evaluate messengers assess them. Cryptographers who have analysed messaging protocols identify default end-to-end encryption, forward secrecy, open implementations and independent review as the properties that make a messenger trustworthy, and single out the protocol Signal developed as the most studied. Digital-rights organisations that publish guidance for journalists and activists recommend Signal first, note WhatsApp's content encryption alongside its metadata collection, and warn that Telegram's default chats are not end-to-end encrypted. Court records and transparency reports show that providers with minimal metadata can produce almost nothing in response to legal demands, while providers that collect extensive metadata can produce detailed records of a user's contacts and activity regardless of content encryption. ## Pick by the criteria, then set it up properly Choose the app that meets the six criteria for the people you need to reach, then spend ten minutes on the setup list: registration lock, disappearing messages, verified keys, encrypted or no backups, quiet notifications. Encryption protects the message in the middle; those steps protect it at the ends, and both are needed before a messenger deserves to be called secure. ## FAQ Q: What is the most secure messaging app? A: By the criteria that matter, default end-to-end encryption, open-source code, a published and analysed protocol, independent audits and minimal metadata, Signal is the most widely recommended. Threema, Wire and matrix-based clients such as Element meet most criteria with different trade-offs. WhatsApp encrypts by default but collects metadata and is closed source. Q: Is WhatsApp a secure encrypted messaging app? A: Its message content is end-to-end encrypted by default using a well-studied protocol, which is strong. Its weaknesses are metadata collection by Meta, closed-source clients, and backups that are only end-to-end encrypted if you turn that on. It is far better than unencrypted apps and less private than Signal. Q: Is Telegram end-to-end encrypted? A: Only in secret chats, which are optional, one-to-one and device-specific. Regular chats, groups and channels are encrypted between you and Telegram's servers, where Telegram can read them. For most Telegram users, most messages are not end-to-end encrypted. Q: Do I need a phone number for an encrypted messenger? A: It depends on the app. Signal requires a number to register but lets you hide it and use a username. Threema and some matrix clients need no phone number. If linking your identity to a number is a concern, the anonymous phone number guide on this site covers options. Q: Are encrypted messaging apps safe from hackers? A: They protect messages in transit and on servers from interception. They do not protect a compromised phone, a weak device passcode, a stolen unlocked device, or a contact who screenshots. Keep the operating system and app updated, lock the device, and verify contacts' keys for sensitive conversations.