Comparing Messaging Platforms: WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Threema, SMS, Google Chat, Briar, and Atox
In an increasingly connected world, messaging platforms have become essential for personal and professional communication. With numerous options available, it’s crucial to understand their features, privacy implications, and unique benefits. Here’s a detailed comparison of eight popular messaging services: WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Threema, SMS, Google Chat, Briar, and Atox.
Overview: Owned by Meta, WhatsApp is a global leader in messaging, offering features such as voice/video calls, file sharing, and group chats.
Pros:
End-to-end encryption (E2EE) by default for all chats. Massive user base ensures wide accessibility. Features like disappearing messages and business integration.
Cons:
Metadata is collected, raising privacy concerns. Heavily linked to the Meta ecosystem.
Best For: Casual users looking for a feature-rich, widely used app.
Overview: Built on the decentralized Tox protocol, Atox offers P2P encrypted messaging and VoIP without relying on centralized servers.
Pros:
E2EE by default. Decentralized network, resilient to server outages. Supports multimedia and voice communication.
Cons:
Requires manual updates and troubleshooting. Limited user base and documentation.
Best For: Tech-savvy users favouring decentralized, secure communication. Excellent for unmatched security for company internal communication even across borders and continents.
Conclusion
Choosing the right messenger depends on your priorities:
For privacy: Signal, Threema, or Briar are excellent choices. For features and group dynamics: Telegram or WhatsApp shine. For decentralized or offline communication: Briar and Atox stand out. For universal reach: SMS remains unmatched.
Understanding these differences ensures you can pick the platform that aligns with your communication needs.
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In this article I will try to explain in reference to privacy the differences between various instant messengers (SMS, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, Signal, Telegram, Threema, Tox, Briar etc) and how their application of encryption (or non-encryption) can affect your privacy.
Why is encryption important?
Generally we don’t like others to read our messages. You might say that is not important to you, because you have nothing to hide. And while this is a valid opinion it disregards, that corporations and other third parties could be interested in what you have to say, how often you say it, how much you say etc. basically analysing your behaviour. That knowledge they can use to derive a profit or influence you (and others, if they have a significant number of people’s behaviour on file). I personally also don’t do anything illegal, but I think my personal business is nobody’s business but my own. So I choose to keep my private things private as much as possible and use encryption whereever viable.
Many people don’t know, that when we send messages without encryption (like Facebook Messenger. Telegram when not using secure messages and SMS) anyone (network operators, service providers and in turn their managements and governments), through whose infratructure your message is transported, could read it. If it is encrypted they cannot read it unless they have the encryption keys.
So the encryption keys are important. In order to assess who might possibly have access to the keys and thus could read your messages we need to look at how those keys are handled, where the messages are transported and who is in charge of the messenger platform in use.
Not all messenger services are equal
SMS – your phone network provider supplies you with the ability to send and receive SMS. They may apply a weak encryption along the way, but too weak to consider this secure. So this is unsecure, which doesn’t mean it is unusable, but certainly an awareness of this suggest you shouldn’t send credit card details or any other sensitive personal data via SMS.
Facebook Messenger – Not encrypted and Facebook’s T&C even say they will read and have the right to assess and use your messages for their purposes.
Whatsapp – While one of the largest services and widely used with an excellent set of functions and is End-to-End encrypted, I have some concerns about the security. Whatsapp is not open source. So the coding cannot be independly assessed. So we have to believe, that they are not doing anything untowards with our messages.
In addtion they say the encryption keys are only on your own phone and that of the person you communicate with, the keys and all messages are still going via their servers. Also Facebook (now Meta, owner of Whatsapp) are based in the USA and could be obligated to give access to your messages to their legal system. So they must be able to do this. The easiest way is to keep your keys somewhere on their systems. We like to believe them, but they certainly have the technical ability to do otherwise. And they require your phone number. Thus making you identifyable.
Signal – A competing messenger service to Whatsapp, but it is open source and indeed an non-profit organisation. So somewhat that might instill more trust, that they will do the right thing, but they are also based in the USA. Thus the same obligation to their legal system is present. And also all keys and messages are going via their servers. They also require your phone number. Thus making you identifyable.
Telegram – Another open source messenger service. They are based in Dubai, a kingdom where the non-elected king takes an active role in governing the country. Telegram offers encrytion, but you need to select to send secure messages. The default is to send NOT secure (like SMS and Facebook Messenger). All keys and messages are also sent via their servers and a phone number is also required to sign up.
Threema – A messenger service based in Switzerland. So you would be covered by Switzerland’s stringent privacy laws. It is not free, but the once off cost of US3.00 is small. It is open source and no phone number is required for sign up. They say they are not keeping your messages, but all keys and messages are going via their servers until they are delivered to your device.
Briar – A messenger service using the Tox protocol harnessing the TOR network and not relying on a central server or needing a phone number. It can also utilise Wifi without internet connection and Bluetooth to transmit messages. “…designed for activists, journalists, and anyone else who needs a safe, easy and robust way to communicate…..”. This is possibly a more convenient solution, but usually with more convenience may come less security.
Tox – A messenger service, that is open source and free, no phone number is required for sign up. So it can be totally anoymous. Since keys are truely only kept locally on your phone or computer and indeed if you want to connect with someone else on this service you would have to find your own way to give them your key so they can communicate with you. So the keys are not going through their servers. The messages are also not going via their servers, but directly from your device to the device of the person you commuicate with. Therefore they and you would have to be online at the same time in order for messages to be delivered between you. You could have the messenger software running in the background (much like all the other messenger services) and messages will be delivered and received (if your communication partner also has it runnning in the background). In addtion you can use the TOR network with the messenger, which is another layer of protection to keep your location anonymous.
I will now describe how to set up a Tox client on Android and on Windows and how to add the TOR network function to the Windows installation. There are clients for Apple MacOS, but unfortunately not for iPhone. The reason for this is possibly, that iPhone’s systems are too restrictive to add the secure Tox client.
I am not going to discuss here why you should use Mastodon over anything else. There are plenty of discussions everywhere. You are here because you already know you want an account and need a quick start:
Go here: https://mastodon.au/ You will get a username like @something@mastodon.au
Click on “Create Account”
Agree to the terms
Fill in 3 fields
Confirm your email address
Done. Start posting.
If you want more details read on:
There is a lot of talk about the apparent (but not real) difficulty of choosing the “right” server for yourself. Before you launch into that consider these points:
An account with ANY of the many Mastodon servers will:
make your posts visible to ANY users on all Mastodon servers in the “Multiverse”
enable you to see posts from all accounts on all Mastodon servers
allow you to change easily to another server at any time. Including your followers
Notwithstanding this you may want to consider, that the choice of your server somewhat fits with your interests. For example if you are not Australian, in Australia or have an interest with Australia perhaps another server would be wise. Simply so your values and interests fit with those of the other users on your server.
The following sites will make the choice of another server easier:
Setting up an IMAP account on any phone, pad or computer will result in your email to be replicated on the server and all other devices setup with this IMAP account. There are several issues with this: A. You are occupying ever more space on the server, which could result in extra costs. B. You are occupying every more space on all your other devices as well. You could run out of space. C. All your email is sitting on the server and anyone (with appropriate access rights) can see all your mail. The alternative is to set up the POP3 access method, which will retrieve messages from the server every time you check your mail.
Go to Settings > Mail
Go to Accounts
Click Add Account
Select Other
Select Add Mail Account
Type your name, email and password
IMAP tab must be highlighted. Copy the server host information below and fill in with your account details
This is just a preview, so hit Next
Make sure Mail is Enabled (Green)
Open the Mail app and confirm your emails are downloading and folders are showing
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Please do this only if instructed by your sysadmin or you know what you are doing. THIS WILL ERASE ALL YOUR CONFIGUARTION DATA and YOUR PHONE WILL STOP WORKING. You would only want to do this if your want to completely reconfigure your phone.
Press the button under the button with the envelope (the button above the lit button in this picture – may not be lit on your phone)
2. Scroll down with the bottom of the scroll key to number 14
3. Press the Select button
4. Press OK to confirm the factory reset – ALL CONFIGURATION DATA WILL BE DELTETED. YOUR PHONE WILL STOP WORKING.
There are some tricks required to overcome Sophos’ install idiosyncrasies when trying to install Sophos XG firewall from ISO on a Vultr virtual server.
Sophos UTM (the predecessor) used to be easy to install, but with XG Firewall Sophos have gone back to inflexibility with some basics, that, in my opinion, are unnecessary (SOPHOS, these are things you should fix):
2 network interfaces needed
Pre initialisation command line does not allow setting default gateway of any interfaces
Pre initialisation command line does not allow setting static IP of all interfaces (only on interface 1)
Changing network settings in web admin during initialisation causes loss of access (in this setup case)
So these problems require certain things from Vultr:
2 instances (1 for the XG and another – Linux or Windows – to initially manage the XG)
2 IP addresses in the same subnet (necessary because the XG will only see IPs in the same subnet)
Console access to the running instances, which is provided freely by Vultr.
Download link to Sophos’ XG ISO
Step by step what I did:
Started 10 (yes ten) servers of the cheapest kind in the hope to get 2 IP addresses in the same subnet, which I did.
Shutdown the other 8 servers as soon as possible, as they cost money.
“Converted” those 2 IP addresses to “reserved IP addresses” – this way you keep them to assign them to the 2 instances you need for this setup process.
Shutdown the 2 instances whose IP addresses you have taken.
Download the Sophos XG ISO to Vultr
Start an instance to install from that ISO and assign one of those 2 reserved IP addresses
Go through the off ISO setup process for Sophos XG. Follow those instructions
Remove ISO from instance. This will reboot the instance and setup will continue.
Login and set the port 1 IP address to the IP address you have allocated above. Then the web interface becomes visible to this network subnet only.
Start another instance of choice with the other reserved IP address in the same subnet. I used a Linux instance, which I ssh’d into and made a tunnel to the XG web interface https://<IP>:4444, but there is no reason (other than cost) why you could not use a Windows instance to access the same web interface from there.
In the Sophos web interface setup enter new password, disable install new firmware and agree to license
select “Continue offline” and confirm you want to continue
Give your machine a name and select your timezone (although you can also change that later)
Continue after basic setup complete.
The next step is critical to get right put only the IP address and the subnet mask exactly like in the command interface in the “LAN Address and Internal Client Network Size” fields. Otherwise you will loose access to the instance and have to start from scratch.
And disable DHCP
Continue without ticks on network protection (can be changed later)
put your email addresses in the next step (can be changed later)
Finish. The XG will reboot
Once setup is complete go back into the web interface and login with your new password. You will get the normal XG web interface and you can then make the adjustments in your network settings to get internet access on your XG and register and update etc.
IMPORTANT: make sure you give yourself access to the admin interface from the WAN link otherwise you are locking yourself out and you can start again. See System/Administration/Device Access
Optional extras:
I did not register or install licenses or even started a trial and only updated the XG after setup and then I made a snapshot of the XG, because I wanted to release the reserved IP address, as it costs extra unnecessarily. When you create an instance from the snapshot it will have a new dynamic IP address, which is different and you will need to set this in the console interface, which works perfectly for setting the default gateway after setup (Sophos, why not during setup?). Then you can access your new XG via the new IP address. (Yes you can start multiple, because each can get their own IP, serial number and license).
Shutdown all unneeded instances and delete the reserved IPs
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Microsoft Outlook’s mobile app is popular nowadays to configure your email, however, it only accepts IMAP so it is not possible to use for your email provided by Blue Net. Your best option is to use Android’s native MAIL application which should be more than enough to utilize for your email access on your Android mobile phone / tablet.
Below are the step by step instructions in adding your POP email to Android’s MAIL app. Please note that the outline of the settings may differ depending on the version of your Android OS, but should almost be the same. The device used for this guide is Samsung Galaxy Note 4.
Go to Settings > Accounts
Click on Add Account
Select Email
Choose POP
Copy the settings below. Please note that your username should be your complete email address.
This should be your Outgoing settings.
You may select your sync schedule and peak schedule. Make sure Sync Email is checked.
Last window should be the account name (Optional) and your display name.
Click Done when finished. You should now be able to open your email. Wait for a few minutes and it should start syncing. If you will encounter any issues, please let us know by emailing support@blue.net.au
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wget http://rpms.famillecollet.com/enterprise/remi-release-6.rpm
rpm -ivh remi-release-6.rpm
vim /etc/yum.repos.d/remi.repo (you need to enable the parts you want in this file)
yum -y upgrade php*
yum -y update
reboot
done.
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