Telegram, Signal, and WhatsApp are currently confusing people since they don't know which one can offer a more secure service. Some prefer Signal to use because Elon Musk suggested it previously on Twitter, while others are using Telegram.
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But, which one is better than the other? To help you further, here are each of their security features so that you can know which one can better suit your daily life and protect your sensitive data.
According to CNET's latest report, Signal is currently the best app that can secure your conversation and protect your sensitive data. Why? Because it is using a security feature called end-to-end encryption or E2E encryption.
Why Signal is the best one of them
Thanks to the E2E encryption, experts are currently suggesting using Signal as people's means of communication. Elon Musk also highly recommended it. He even posted a tweet to promote the app.
If you haven't used it yet, Signal is a typical one-tap install app that can be installed from Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store. It works just like the usual text-messaging app.
One of the greatest security features of Signal is that it can send fully encrypted video, audio, picture, and text messages. This means that the company's employees can't see the conversation on the end of the sender and receiver's accounts. Here are other features of Signal.
- Free, no ads, funded by nonprofit Signal Foundation
- Does not collect data, only your phone number
- Encryption: Signal Protocol
- Fully open-source
However, if you still want to try the remaining two apps, here are their features which you can compare with Signal.
WhatsApp and Telegram's security features
Telegram
Telegram is still used by many employees from different companies across the globe. If you will compare it with the other two messaging apps, security experts explained that it falls in between. It can collect your IP address, which is not conducted by Signal. Telegram also doesn't offer E2E encryption, which is the most important feature for a complete secured app. To give you more idea, here are its key features;
- Free, forthcoming Ad Platform and premium features, funded mainly by founder
- Data linked to you: Name, phone number, contacts, user ID
- Encryption: MTProto
- Only partially open-source
WhatsApp is less secured compared to the other two apps mentioned above. Some users already uninstalled it ever since it released its new user data sharing policy. Why? Because the Facebook-owned app is now requiring its users to allow it to share their sensitive information with FB. Although it has the same encryption protocol as Signal, its version is one of the few open-source parts of the platform. If you want to know how unsecure it is, Jeff Bezos's smartphone was previously hacked because of his WhatsApp account. Here are the app's features you need to check;
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- Free; business versions available for free, funded by Facebook
- Not open-source, except for encryption
- Data linked to you: Too much to list (see below)
- Encryption: Signal Protocol
What to look for in a secured app
Android Developer's previous report explained that there are certain factors that app creators should consider to make a secured app. Users should also look for these features if they want a secured application. Here are the exact features you need to look for;
- Technologies like ASLR, NX, ProPolice, safe_iop, OpenBSD dlmalloc, OpenBSD calloc, and Linux mmap_min_addr to mitigate risks associated with common memory management errors.
- An encrypted file system that can be enabled to protect data on lost or stolen devices.
- User-granted permissions to restrict access to system features and user data.
- An application framework with robust implementations of common security functionality such as cryptography, permissions, and secure IPC.
- Application-defined permissions to control application data on a per-app basis.
- The Android Application Sandbox, which isolates your app data and code execution from other apps.
For more news updates about other apps that can protect your sensitive info, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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Written by: Giuliano de Leon.
