By Nicole Nguyen
Two apps -- Signal and Telegram -- are currently the No. 1 and
No. 2 free app downloads in Apple's App Store and Google's Play
Store. Millions of users flocked to the chat apps in recent weeks,
according to data from Apptopia and Sensor Tower. There are a few
factors behind the surge.
One is concern over a privacy-policy update for the Facebook
Inc.-owned WhatsApp. Meanwhile, the deplatforming of President
Trump from prominent social networks following the U.S. Capitol
riot has driven people to seek communication tools without
moderators and external visibility.
On Jan. 7, Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted, "Use
Signal." A subsequent flood of users caused the app's phone-number
verification system to break temporarily. Days later, Twitter Inc.
CEO Jack Dorsey published a screenshot of Signal at the top of the
App Store charts, along with a heart emoji. At the same time,
influential accounts on Parler, the social network popular among
conservatives, called on followers to move to Telegram. Donald
Trump Jr. actively posts in a public channel on the app.
What do Signal and Telegram have in common? Both are chat apps
that offer end-to-end encryption outside of Big Tech's grasp.
Encrypted messaging apps like Signal and Telegram can offer more
security, privacy and features than plain text messaging -- but
their encryption methods and data collection vary. Meanwhile,
WhatsApp and Apple Inc.'s iMessage also offer end-to-end
encryption, but within their respective ecosystems.
Here's how to choose an encrypted chat app, and why you might
want to.
Why does encrypted communication matter?
A well-implemented encryption protocol makes messages and calls
visible only to the sender and the intended recipient.
The content of that message looks like gibberish to everyone
else, including the app's maker, the government and your internet
service provider. Sending an encrypted message is like using a
sealed envelope instead of a postcard.
It's important to note that encryption doesn't prevent the
recipient from forwarding your message or taking a screenshot, or
from someone seeing messages by gaining access to your phone. (Make
sure your devices are protected by a password or passcode.)
End-to-end encryption is so secure that government officials
have historically lambasted the technology, saying the apps make it
difficult to track down criminals. Indeed, encryption can protect
everyone, including bad actors. In 2018, rumors about kidnapped
children that spread on WhatsApp fueled violence and deadly attacks
in India. The platform then imposed forwarding limits on messages,
hoping to slow the flow of misinformation. Still, the incident
proved it's difficult for authorities to quell violence when they
can't see what's inciting it.
I often hear from friends and family that they have "nothing to
hide," and therefore don't need to keep their texts secret.
According to Jennifer King, a privacy and data fellow at Stanford's
artificial intelligence institute, "It's not about hiding the
communications itself. It's more that there's an overarching sense
that the number of digital spaces today where you can assume
someone is not collecting data from you is increasingly small."
Apps like Signal, which Dr. King uses in addition to iMessage,
provide a privacy refuge.
What's the difference between the apps?
I'm focusing on the most popular free platforms. First, there
are the two independent ones: Signal, a nonprofit funded largely by
WhatsApp co-founder and Facebook former executive Brian Acton; and
Telegram, founded and funded by its chief executive, Pavel Durov,
an entrepreneur who created Russia's largest social network. Then
there are WhatsApp and iMessage, run by two of the biggest big tech
companies.
These apps can all work over cellular and Wi-Fi, and host
features like audio and video calling, read receipts, typing
indicators and threaded replies, plus the ability to send messages
from different devices. And yes, they all allow you to communicate
in the essential language of the internet: GIFs.
The apps differ in the encryption protocol, the amount of data
collected about your device or the nature of the messages
themselves (metadata), and the compatible mobile platforms. Since
chat apps aren't compatible with one another, you have to get all
your friends, family and colleagues on the same app you're on -- or
constantly hop between them.
Signal
Pros: Signal is widely regarded as the most private app. Its
encryption is open source, which is considered a best practice
among cybersecurity professionals. That means the code can be
scrutinized for flaws and verified by researchers. It has apps for
iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows and Linux, and privacy-minded features
like expiring messages. The app added a number of user-friendly
features over the past year, including group video chat for up to
eight participants. (Group chats can host up to 1,000
participants.) A 2016 grand jury subpoena resulted in just two data
points: the date of an account's creation and the date of last
use.
Cons: Even though it's having a moment, it's not as widely
adopted as WhatsApp and iMessage. And while Signal is adding more
features regularly, it doesn't have WhatsApp's text formatting or
location sharing.
Telegram
Pros: Telegram supports up to 200,000 members in a group, which
is why it served as the go-to app for protesters in Hong Kong, Iran
and Belarus. The app has unique features, like sorting contacts by
when they were last seen on the app, and the ability to play voice
notes at twice the recorded speed.
Cons: Telegram is often criticized for publishing only select
parts of its code for public review. "Telegram may have weaker
cryptography than Signal, but it's hard to know because they have
been somewhat shady about getting outside audits," said Riana
Pfefferkorn, a research scholar at Stanford's Center for Internet
and Society.
Telegram spokesman Mike Ravdonikas said the app's encryption and
API are "fully documented and open for review by security experts."
However, the code for the app's back-end server is not public. A
support page states that all code "will be released
eventually."
Furthermore, Telegram's encryption is not turned on by default.
As with Facebook Messenger, encryption must be turned on for each
chat: Tap on a contact's username, select More, and then Start
Secret Chat.
Telegram can also collect metadata such as IP address and device
information, which the company says is used to prevent spam and
abuse in its privacy policy. While it doesn't seem like much,
message metadata can serve as evidence.
WhatsApp
Pros: WhatsApp uses Signal's peer-reviewed encryption protocol,
which keeps the contents of messages secret between its over two
billion users. The app is feature-rich -- location sharing, custom
wallpapers, the ability to star individual messages, and more.
Cons: The desktop app doesn't work when your phone isn't
connected to the internet.
There are also new privacy concerns. A recent update to its
terms of service and privacy policy caused an uproar among users
who didn't want their data shared with Facebook.
WhatsApp spokesman Carl Woog told me the update affects only
users who communicate with businesses on the app. Soon businesses
will be allowed to retain customer communications on a
Facebook-hosted platform. The change doesn't affect users who opted
out of sharing some data with Facebook in 2016, he said.
Additionally, Mr. Woog explained that while Apple's App Store
privacy label identifies "location, contacts and user content" as
"Data Linked to You," that information isn't necessarily being
collected. Data such as your IP address and approximate location
are helpful in investigating abuse, he said.
Still, the app is owned by Facebook, and currently shares some
information with its parent company, including your phone number
and mobile-device information. WhatsApp could, with a warrant, see
who you're messaging, but it doesn't keep those records
proactively. And it can't see the content of those messages.
iMessage
Pros: Like WhatsApp, iMessage has a massive user base -- it's
the default messaging platform on the billion-plus active iPhones
and iPads around the world. While you may know it by its app,
Messages, iMessage is the platform itself, which manages end-to-end
encrypted texts, images and voice notes -- the blue-bubble
interactions. (Apple's FaceTime is also encrypted end-to-end.)
Cons: The platform only works on Apple devices. Messages from
Android users -- the chats with those green bubbles -- aren't
encrypted.
Apple does retain some metadata. Apple checks to see if the
phone numbers you enter are iMessage compatible. The number, along
with date and time of the lookup, is deleted after 30 days. A
company spokeswoman said Apple can't determine whether any
communication took place.
(Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Wall Street Journal, has
a commercial agreement to supply news through Apple services.)
-- For more WSJ Technology analysis, reviews, advice and
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Write to Nicole Nguyen at nicole.nguyen@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 13, 2021 10:16 ET (15:16 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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