Private messaging apps

13 apps, each with a privacy passport

Most messengers now encrypt message text, so the real differences are what else they learn: your phone number, your contact list, and who you talk to and when. Signal is the easy default, while SimpleX, Session and Threema work without a phone number at all.

Leaving one of these?

If you only try three

Privacy passport
Signal
Messaging
Our pick
No tracking
Yes
Open source
Yes
Only you can read it
Encrypted
No account
Needed
Free
Yes
4 of 5 checks
- Android
- iPhone
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
Easy switch from WhatsApp, encrypted by default
Privacy passport
SimpleX Chat
Messaging
Our pick
No tracking
Yes
Open source
Yes
Only you can read it
Encrypted
No account
Yes
Free
Yes
5 of 5 checks
- Android
- iPhone
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
No phone number or username needed
Privacy passport
Threema
Messaging
Our pick
No tracking
Yes
Open source
Partly
Only you can read it
Encrypted
No account
Yes
Free
Paid
3 of 5 checks
- Android
- iPhone
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Web
Pay once, no phone number, Swiss company

All 13 messaging apps

Passes

Works on

13 of 13 apps

SignalPick

App29.5k

Free messenger where texts, calls and group chats are end-to-end encrypted by default, run by a nonprofit.

No tracking
Open source
End-to-end encrypted
Account needed
Free

Android
iPhone
Mac
Windows
Linux

SimpleX ChatPick

App19.6k

Messenger with no user IDs at all: contacts connect through one-time links, so there is no number or username to leak.

No tracking
Open source
End-to-end encrypted
No account
Free

Android
iPhone
Mac
Windows
Linux

ThreemaPick

App1k

Swiss messenger you buy once; it works with a random Threema ID, no phone number or email required.

No tracking
Partly open
End-to-end encrypted
No account
Paid

Android
iPhone
Mac
Windows
Linux
Web

Molly

App3.8k

Hardened Android build of Signal that adds a passphrase-locked database and talks to the same Signal network.

No tracking
Open source
End-to-end encrypted
Account needed
Free

Android

SessionAudited

App931

Encrypted messenger that gives you a random ID instead of asking for a phone number, and routes messages through an onion network.

No tracking
Open source
End-to-end encrypted
No account
Free

Android
iPhone
Mac
Windows
Linux

ElementAudited

App13.6k

Chat app for the open Matrix network: encrypted private chats and rooms, and you can pick or run your own server.

Minimal tracking
Open source
Partly encrypted
Account needed
Free plan

Android
iPhone
Mac
Windows
Linux
Web

WireAudited

App1.2k

Encrypted messenger and team workspace with calls and file sharing, built on the MLS standard for group encryption.

Minimal tracking
Open source
End-to-end encrypted
Account needed
Free plan

Android
iPhone
Mac
Windows
Linux
Web

Delta ChatAudited

App1.8k

Messenger that runs over email: it creates an encrypted address for you on a chat-only server, no phone number asked.

No tracking
Open source
End-to-end encrypted
No account
Free

Android
iPhone
Mac
Windows
Linux

BriarAudited

App

Android messenger that syncs directly between phones over Tor, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, so it keeps working without internet.

No tracking
Open source
End-to-end encrypted
No account
Free

Android

Conversations

App

Android client for XMPP, an open chat standard; messages are encrypted with OMEMO and you can use any provider.

No tracking
Open source
Partly encrypted
Account needed
Free plan

Android

Snikket

Self-hosted470

Your own chat server for family or a small group, with matching apps and encryption switched on by default.

No tracking
Open source
On your server
Account needed
Free

Android
iPhone

Jami

App

Peer-to-peer chat and video calls with no central server; your account lives only on your own devices.

No tracking
Open source
End-to-end encrypted
No account
Free

Android
iPhone
Mac
Windows
Linux

OlvidAudited

App244

French messenger that works without a phone number or email; you add contacts by scanning or sharing a code.

No tracking
Partly open
End-to-end encrypted
No account
Free plan

Android
iPhone
Mac
Windows
Linux

What to check in messaging apps

1 Messages and calls are end-to-end encrypted by default, not only in a special mode
2 Whether signing up needs a phone number or email, and if it uploads your contacts
3 How much metadata the service keeps about who talks to whom