5 BEST Messengers For Privacy & Security!

Looking for the best messengers to take back your privacy and security? Look no further! Here's our recap of the 5 (more like 4) best services for privacy.
Our Matrix Community: matrix.to/#/#techlore:matrix.org
Our Session Interview: • Meet Session, The Sign...
Our Signal Issues Discussion: surveillancereport.tech/
Our Briar Review: • Briar Messenger Review...
0:00 Introduction
0:42 Messenger 5
1:53 Messenger 4
4:02 Messenger 3
5:25 Messenger 2
7:21 Messenger 1
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#messenger #privacy #security

[@redeyesdrogon786]

alternative title: Techlore roasts Telegram and then gives the top 4 Best Messengers for Privacy

[@ajhalili2006]

He probably roast Telegram users next like me.

[@shoukokomi8081]

@not hing lol on Element/Matrix you can create your own server lol so all your metadata was on your server inshort there's no need to worry about it sir

[@diogonunes1608]

A "Roast list" would be a great video idea. Top 5: FB Messeger, WhatsApp, Google Messenger, Snapchat, Kik, etc.

[@ushilives3]

Nekogram X is more secure than Telegram

[@burhanbudak6041]

Telegram isnt IM, its social media like Facebook, Discord and VK.

[@glowbug-clashofclans9116]

I was so shocked when he said snapchat. 🙄😂 Oh my god!

[@oscwavcommentaccount]

My face when telegram had the most votes: *hide the pain*

[@madness1931]

Same. I think it might have something to do with the Linux community. It's pre-installed, or easily available (by that, I mean the front page of a Repo Store) on a lot of Distros, I think some make the connection that it's automatically private because of that. That's the only reason I can think of, anyway.

[@InventorZahran]

Telegram is currently one of the most popular substitutes for WhatsApp.

[@climatechangedoesntbargain9140]

@@InventorZahran so what? WhatsApp is most popular 😀

[@MK-of7qw]

Telegram is like the Minecraft Phantom of messengers. give people a choice of options and they pick the worst one =D

[@InventorZahran]

@@MK-of7qw Phantoms don't add any real value to the game, other than providing material to repair elytras. But at the same time, they greatly diminish the player's freedom by effectively "punishing" them for not sleeping regularly. Phantoms are especially bad on multiplayer servers, where all the players must be sleeping at the same time in order to skip the night.

[@altamci]

Techlore is probably one of the most important channels on youtube right now

[@buddhafx5973]

Did you say Rob Braxman?

[@declinedyt5565]

My vote goes to the hated one But ok

[@baconboy-robloxmore2684]

No he did not

[@kidlaroii]

yes

[@dreadinajeep]

had to pick my jaw off the ground when he said kik and SC lol.

[@coriander3170]

Yeah I was like - Oh Henry

[@bitwise4996]

Telegram is absolutely beautiful and fast. Its a shame that privacy isn't its main subject.

[@arditilazi4435]

yes ! but now it doesn't work like it used to there are some typa bugs

[@minatonamikaze2637]

How can you expect privacy in a public channel? + there are secret chats

[@dyxlexorcist]

But, it is miserably useless for offline usage.

[@minatonamikaze2637]

@@dyxlexorcist wdym offline usage

[@kodyballard49]

Glad to see Session get some love, remember finding the project a good while ago & thinking it could easily become a Signal competitor. Can't wait to see the "Ultimate Comparison" video. Any chance of getting more videos like this regarding Browsers, MobileOS, & PC OS? Your videos have been a great help on my personal journey towards privacy

[@techlore]

Always have more like it on the back burner!

[@kodyballard49]

@@techlore always look forward to your videos

[@w1z4rd9]

@not hing Source?

[@w1z4rd9]

In Privacy Session wins. Just no video call because of the system.

[@belletable147]

Does Windows know what I'm doing in the Session messaging application?

[@papagalos7103]

Very good work bravo !, I found your channel recently and I really loved your work continue to inform and help people about anonymity.Γreetings from Greece! Peace n stay safe!

[@fosres]

Signal: Still a great balance between privacy and user experience.

[@dyxlexorcist]

And, it can be used offline.

[@aksingh3167]

Signal is still my favourite

[@rikohermawan4966]

Why ?

[@jonathancorbett7882]

No mention of Threema? Come on! By far the best mix of security and usability, hands down!

[@eldrago19]

It was one of the options in the community poll. That said it's a centralised solution that costs money.

[@YellowJell-O]

@@eldrago19You get what you pay for.

[@marius1382]

I like Threema, works perfekt on my A4 with Calyxos. Jami looks also very cool but not many people use it and I dont know how safe it is.

[@oscwavcommentaccount]

I will try Session. (Signal is my second option if I don't like Session)

[@Wolfman_NV]

Curious how you guys feel about threema? Specifically vs signal? Was half expecting to see it on the list

[@ListenToPumpkinMusic]

Nice to see a sensible response to The Hated One's video on Signal which a lot of people seemed to interpret the wrong way.

[@macktheripper7454]

I like the hated one but he gets a lot wrong ..the more people talking about privacy the better tho

[@ListenToPumpkinMusic]

@@macktheripper7454 He wasn't really wrong about anything in the video, it's more that the problems he raised in it don't actually affect his average viewer. People were freaking out like they needed to delete Signal overnight when a "wait and see" approach makes a lot more sense for the majority of us.

[@SzBenedek2006]

Session is much better, than it was and it's developing fast.

[@yokihosi9230]

Just noticed the video, said 'oh Techlore' , this gonna be usefull and unique as usual

[@DjDevastor]

Briar reminds me of the old days, me and my friend sitting in bed at night chatting locally on our Nintendos without connecting to a central server

[@tonightwerideee]

Yessir. Thank you!

[@yassangiovannini9275]

I would like to know your take on Jami.... or did I miss something? Thank you for all the info :-)

[@saktimanbobby3026]

I was waiting for this 🤣🤣 u are awsome

[@PiezasdeAjedrez]

The hated one Ftw

[@chandravansh6071]

He makes video like anything in this world is entirely against them

[@chandravansh6071]

He just have the sane feeling that you shouldn't you anything in this world and just stick to the idea that all people and main stream apps are made by terrorists

[@michalkowice1989]

Threema is my major messenger. It's from Switzerland with Switzerland laws and all servers are in Switzerland. It's fully crypted. Check it i use it for more than 6 years...

[@ThinCar]

How to use element, I have installed it and whenever I send anything its showing to the sender and to me also that unable to decrypt keys withheld.

[@qamic5775]

this channel is underrated

[@user-mt3qz8je4g]

4:04 Session!

[@belletable147]

Does Windows know what I'm doing in the Session messaging application?

[@AcidiFy574]

@Techlore, I wanted to ask you a question, will GrapheneOS be available for the FairPhones as well?? & that goes for CalyxOS as well it would be a shame if that DIDN'T happen😢 the phone is Pro Right-To-Repair & /e/-Foundation even sells FairPhones with /e/-OS Pre-installed Maybe even libreboot them😏 FairPhones could be the "ThinkPad" of smartphones

[@vicstoron]

I think is unlikely that Graphene or Calyx will support Fairphones due to stuff related to firmware of the device. but, if something like a coreboot for fairphones start to happen (as you described) and that makes support with Calyx or Graphene possible, I can definitely see it happening, but dunno if it will.

[@outlawandtattoos9481]

God bless you btw what do you need to study in uni to become a security researcher

[@Morphic-Realms.]

can you do some deep diving on the utopia ecosystem, prometheus and butterfly protocol....... much appreciated

[@mauzekhan9093]

BRIAR my favorite

[@ankur.vloggs]

What do you think about Rolo? It uses Blackberry's security

[@divingaquarist]

People around me are finally moving towards Signal, and now I have a Pixel 4a 5g with CalyxOS, and Signal drains my battery like crazy. Without it, I can go 3-4 days on 1 charge, with it 2 days, max. Super annoying.

[@jackc3205]

I've got most of my friends on signal now, and more keep popping up as 'now on signal' from time to time. So, switching yet again to another app isn't going to happen unless something major goes wrong with it. And it does have a good balance of usability and privacy.

[@KazHope]

Would like to see a video on Threema, Jami, and Twinme

[@MrWalker1000]

Session is based in Australia which has anti encryption laws. Signal uses Amazon web servers. Matrix not true decentralized and is inneficient to run your own server. No xmpp conversations?

[@bradIeyyy]

signal is open source ands end to end encrypted... (OPEN SOURCE )

[@oneheadlight8000]

Do you use IOS or Android? What do you suggest for privacy? I don't want to lock the phone down completely but would like to encrypt images, messages, emails, etc.

[@antonystevenson1341]

My favs: Telegram for mobile messaging, Softros for local network chats without using the Internet.

[@climatechangedoesntbargain9140]

You are joking, right?

[@Josteldrasfurion]

Status im? it's also p2p..ish (does use nodes). It also has its cryptocurrency, what's the problem with those? I don't get it. It seems to be similar to Session.

[@jmart1280]

So which one do I use so I can reach people that don't use these secure apps?

[@industriaaltaria1198]

I think the list is missing XMPP Conversations? I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. - Better federation than Matrix Element - End-to-end encryption through OMEMO - Doesn't require a number I don't use XMPP, though. I just read about it, so I'd really like to hear your thoughts on it before trying!

[@climatechangedoesntbargain9140]

How does it have better federation than Element, awh Matrix you mean? Don't know how much I should value this opinion since you can't distinguish Element and Matrix. OMEMO lacks of cross signing, and doesn't have native group support like MEGOLM does.

[@industriaaltaria1198]

@@climatechangedoesntbargain9140 Oh, you'd be right to doubt my opinion. I don't know the technical parts of encrypted messaging. That's why I'm asking for the Techlore team's thoughts. To my understanding, XMPP is the protocol used in the Conversations (messaging client), while Matrix is the messaging protocol for Element (messaging client). Correct me if I'm wrong. I draw those points mainly from Rob Braxman Tech. He said that the vast majority of users of the matrix messaging platform are in two servers (matrix.org and element.io servers). So, in practice, the platform is centralized as a duopoly, while XMPP Conversations has (maybe?) hundreds of servers. As for OMEMO, I really don't know much about that part. I don't know what cross signing is or what native group support is. I'll try reading about those, but I doubt I'll understand it really

[@climatechangedoesntbargain9140]

@@industriaaltaria1198 regarding Bradman: I saw his video, he says a lot - and I commented on it - see the comments to the pinned comment

[@climatechangedoesntbargain9140]

@not hing how about not spamming every comment with nonsense statements?

[@ronnie3626]

Briar seems like a dream to me! No annoying voice messages, video calls or anything. Just pure text messaging, I love it. 7:27 why was that so funny to me? :D Maybe because of the trollface and because I expected him to stay honest. :P

[@torresaaron]

What are your thoughts on Dust messenger?

[@onediversity6317]

Is there a way to get session on iOS without the App Store?

[@aa-xn5hc]

I love telegram. Thanks for the cool video

[@renatotoma934]

Can you please make a video about Wispr? I can’t find anything online from a secure source

[@otte385]

Yeah my favorite was ANOM, but I can't send messages anymore for some reason. Can anybody help me out?

[@ajhalili2006]

1:49 Also ads that coming to Telegram will be only available to large-traffic channels.

[@TILR]

Still want a RCS backup option for Signal just like the backup option of SMS/MMS

[@Adrian-fy1zx]

I'm using Signal, Session & Threema

[@ibstayfly]

I watched another video and they said that telegram actually isn't secure and I thought about switching over to there. What about Wire Dust Viber

[@celiacartell9896]

Does anyone know of the best anonymous forums? Not sure if he's done a video on this

[@manishkharwar8293]

what camera do you use to film your videos?

[@keiouji1629]

What about qTox. There are also things like scuttlebutt / scuttle over tor. (Manyverse is the phone app for scuttle). Scuttlebutt is also interesting as it can be completely off line

[@fn8571]

I just hate that signal tells all your contacts when you get the app and what contacts you know have the app. Completely goes against privacy.

[@yeahok9165]

Matrix has Read Receipts that cannot be disabled. Even what you look at is public because of Read Receipts.

[@privatename542]

Good catch! Which do you recommend?

[@yeahok9165]

@@privatename542 maybe some other client instead of element, that lets you opt out of sending read receipts

[@farhad3656]

9:33 What about “status” (dapp messenger on Ethereum network) - wire and jami?

[@kcclemo]

Any opinions from the Techlore crew on Keybase?

[@somethingelse4878]

Some texts i get from my son are normally readable, some say encrypted He knows nothing about them and have not seen a key or padlock in the chat window Whats going on The first time i saw this was after he sent a pic from a friend that said encrypted so i refused to click itt Is this Google or malware The encrypted txts are random letters and numbers and not readable We use android 11 and Google txt

[@392_RHINO]

Can I call and message on these apps without any number showing up on my bill?

[@FloridaStateDeputy]

Thanks !

[@fusion9619]

So it looks like a choice between Matrix and Briar. Anyone here ever use either?

What is Sealed Sender in Signal ?

[@adminpro875]

Honestly briar is overkill for 99.9% of users

[@unknownghostshadow666]

Yeah but for Hackers and Criminals it can probably be a useful tool for commucation.

[@antux5183]

@@unknownghostshadow666 activists, dissidents, whistleblower? Not only criminals need privacy... Briar is a great tool that can save (innocent) people' s live

[@unknownghostshadow666]

@Black Lives Matter Yeah I know. But most people use these sites for criminal activity.

[@unknownghostshadow666]

@@antux5183 Yeah I know and possibly some* government agencies.

[@LTT.Official]

@Black Lives Matter all lives matter

[@FamedKitten9]

Can you do a video about or give your feedback on Sekur?

[@joshaprior3699]

Where did you get that cap from I need a cap but if its from eff it's even better

[@techlore]

Donate to them!

[@joshaprior3699]

@@techlore They only have a Beanie as far as i can see

[@learngain2659]

Wow. Great please make web 3 based completely encrypted app

[@cyberp0et]

I am currently using Wire, also some Telegram. And I am testing Session and Jami. Jami is not on this list. Also Jitsi meet will do for an alternative to Zoom.

[@belletable147]

Does Windows know what I'm doing in the Session messaging application?

[@cyberp0et]

@@belletable147 I suppose no. Unless you got some keyloggers.

[@belletable147]

@@cyberp0et Ok, thanks a lot for the information.

[@FactFinderGeneral]

I wouldn't even have Element/Riot on the list honestly. The included rooms list had openly visible child pornography boards all throughout. This is the default list we are talking about here, no searching required. They should honestly be shut down until they can properly curate the rooms they supply people with. Been a problem for multiple years.

[@climatechangedoesntbargain9140]

So what do you suggest? Upload filters? Damn you really must be naive

[@slowbluesmaster]

Threema for me. I don't care if I have to pay the equivalent of a Starbucks coffee to use it or that it has a small user base. Important to me is: no telephone number required for registration.

[@climatechangedoesntbargain9140]

Matrix offers that as well

[@hhhgggds]

You gave all your most important credentials and you say nO pHoNE nUmBer... hahahajaha duuude

[@slowbluesmaster]

@@hhhgggds No credentials needed. RTFM To be clear: I didn't buy the from Threema, but in the App Store. Threema knows nothing about me.

[@hhhgggds]

@@slowbluesmaster are you totally dumb or what? When you use your card to pay you give them all your information

[@user-vy4ry8rb2c]

@@hhhgggdsВи праві, дані платіжної картки надаються саме Швейцарській компанії Treema, яка несе відповідальність ща Вашу конфіденційність! Так що в цьому поганого, якщо Ви не злочинець, чи не терорист, чи не шпигун? Я наприклад довіряю уряду Швейцарії та підходом там людей до бізнесу! Але якби я був хакером то мабуть вибрав Briar und SimpleX )

[@rajsekharsharma8199]

No ones talking about xmpp with pgp. I wonder why, cause thats the ultimate privacy method as of now! May be its because its not normal people friendly.

[@MrWalker1000]

Its not hard to use at all

[@RealShadowfiend180x]

Session is based in Australia part of the five eyes

[@thatguywiththeak820]

Question, since #1 uses peer to peer but the free proton vpn servers dont support peer to peer, could i still use it?

[@zer0r00t]

Free protonvpn doesn't work with BitTorrent p2p, but other p2p protocols might work. Try and see

[@thatguywiththeak820]

@@zer0r00t ight that actually makes sense, thanks man🤌🏻

[@barbyboi]

Lol, I have them all, still watching the vid

[@Someone-er7dl]

What about Jami and Threema? I want to know @techlore review on these apps. I don't care about what people voted for in community poll. And your thoughts on XMPP?

[@roditor6247]

Signal is great, the worst con for me is both phone number requirement aaand not storing messages in an password encrypted database and "forcing" us to use something like molly-im (fork of signal with encrypted storage)

[@eldrago19]

And then Marlinspike's hatred of third party clients and other people using their research. I just wish Wickr would share their source code.

[@encantarebelde]

Will molly-im continue to support SMS given signal dropping support?

[@smk4428]

Hey Techlore, which messenger will retrieve emails

[@Ohmed_88]

How in the world do u communicate with out internet on brier??

[@enochrockwell7202]

I'd love an actually FOSS version of telegram

[@greekindiegamers56]

I don’t get it… Why so much hate for Telegram? Did something happen that I’m not aware?

[@jamesentenaro6830]

Because it doesn't e2e encrypt all chats by default I guess. On a side note, he recommends Protonmail, which was banned in Russia because it was hard to track the users. Something similar happened to Telegram. Russia tried to ban it because the creators of telegram rejected to give the government the personal data of users and access to their messages. Though it is implied that Telegram staff can access the messages except secret chats

[@K0MBIAN]

Any less intrusive FB Messenger alternatives out there For Android?

[@shab-re5334]

conversation for xmpp is really good I was hoping for it to be atleast in the honorable mentions as its really underrated

[@tanmaychoudhary2816]

Finally the wait is over 😬 🤩

[@bigmeany1184]

So it is okay to keep using Signal right? I don’t have to migrate my entire family to another messaging app yet again after WhatsCrap? Lol

[@techlore]

Nothing so far has impacted privacy/security of users. And there is currently no reason to migrate outside the obvious issues. (Phone number) But things can always change regardless of how recommended a trusted a tool is.

[@Oussama_gt77]

Thank you

[@techlore]

Welcome! - S

[@khalidmansoori838]

Briar doesn't have voice or video call options.

[@northmanmartin5186]

my previous company start using telegram for their company privacy purpose for communicate with the workers. sigh.

[@1Three8Fiver]

CupWire is definitely my favourite.

[@gravityfallscanada]

trash

[@avilengroup7187]

I need a chat app where not just anyone can send me messages, I had a problem with once where random numbers where sending me random threatening messages on Whatsapp and I kept trying to find a way to only allow my contacts send me messages but I couldn't do that on Whatsapp can anyone recommend a chat app for me?

[@techlore]

I would definitely check our communities out so you can talk to others and have a discussion to find the right messaging app for you. We have a forum (recommended) & a Discord server for you to get help from our communities. Otherwise there are many great privacy-focused public Matrix communities! Forum: discuss.techlore.tech/ Discord: discord.techlore.tech/ - S

[@jvandermerwe5274]

Does the lack of end to end encryption really make Telegram less secure or private? Can you please explain why? I mean, Telegram has done a lot to make their apps usable even when it is censored in that country and all their apps are open source. Signal doesn't have open source clients

[@MysteriousMatt89]

I agree, it's usability is amazing

[@jamesentenaro6830]

It DOES have end to end encryption for SECRET CHATS. The thing is that telegram was made with the intention to be cross platform so your messages can be accessible on multiple devices at once. Should every chat be end to end encrypted, they won't be accessible on the desktop or web client. That's the reason secret chats cannot be seen on the web or desktop, only server based chats can.

[@jamesentenaro6830]

In reality, ALL chats are encrypted. Normal chats use server to client encryption while secret chats use end to end encryption (for this reason they can only be read on the phones of both the sender and the receiver).

[@climatechangedoesntbargain9140]

@@jamesentenaro6830 look at Matrix and think about your comment again. Feel embarrassed

[@jamesentenaro6830]

@@climatechangedoesntbargain9140 Matrix needs backup to prevent losing data. Then it isn't synchronization. Not embarrassed at all lmao

[@guilherme5094]

Nice.

[@Funkfreed]

the problem is that only people we don't know use them..when I install them nobody uses them lol

[@joecortes6125]

This is very true.!!!!!!!!!!!

[@JamesHeather]

Wire, Jami, Delta Chat... :)

[@MrWalker1000]

Why don't you make an xmpp room ?

[@Good-and-Geeky]

Threema is pretty good

[@induwarabandara365]

Signal is perfect for chatting and It's the best I've ever used!!! ✨

[@zil6470]

Hi Community, what do you think about "Viber" ?

[@leesweets4110]

What about XMPP clients?

[@bubar1795]

Is element allowed all over the world

[@kayf7073]

How about threema?

[@pmjeterjr]

Signal is what I am trying to use. One of my friends complains that is will not send full Picture quality.

[@techlore]

Personally, I've never had an issue with picture quality with Signal. - S

[@pmjeterjr]

@@techlore Thanks..

[@RTGav007]

1) THREEMA LOST TO TELEGRAM are you kidding me -- I'm so curious about the Techlore take on Threema 2) Henry's salty face 3) What about Wire?