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The Best Private Messaging Apps for 2025
Feb 6, 2025
Table of Contents
Our Top Tested Picks
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Best Overall
Signal Private Messenger
Free, nonprofit owned
Group and private texting
Conference audio and video calls
Multi-platform availability
Requires phone number for signup
We consider Signal to be an excellent choice for private messaging, and it's easy to see why. All messages are secured with end-to-end encryption (E2EE) and Signal is a nonprofit, so there's no reason to harvest any user data. The underlying technology of Signal is so successful it has been implemented by Google and Meta.
Signal is our top pick because it does the best job of balancing security and usability. It's more accessible than ever and has improved without having to sacrifice its integrity. We don't like that it requires a phone number at sign-up, but we appreciate the free video conferencing features and diverse platform availability.
End-to-End Encryption For All Messages By Default
Requires Phone Number
Supported Client Software Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows
Supports Custom Stickers
Biggest User Base
Free
Enormously popular
Self-destructing messages and images
Video and voice calls
Requires phone number to sign up
Some people may not trust Meta to protect their privacy
WhatsApp has the kind of widespread adoption that technology companies dream of. Originally conceived as a way to avoid costly international texting fees, WhatsApp has grown into a juggernaut. The company takes security seriously and enables E2EE by default on all conversations except those with business accounts.
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